The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is offering two-year Faculty Research Fellowships to surgeons entering academic careers in surgery or a surgical specialty through the generosity of Fellows, chapters, and friends of the College. The closing date for receipt of the completed online application and all supporting documents is November 19, 2021.The fellowship will assist a surgeon in the establishment of their research program under mentorship, with the goal of transitioning to becoming an independent investigator. Applicants should have demonstrated their potential to work as independent investigators.
The fellowship will assist a surgeon in the establishment of their research program under mentorship, with the goal of transitioning to becoming an independent investigator. Applicants should have demonstrated their potential to work as independent investigators. The fellowship award is $40,000 per year for each of two years, and acceptance of it requires commitment for the two-year period in full-time research.
The specific fellowships are as follows:
- The Franklin H. Martin, MD, FACS, Faculty Research Fellowship of the ACS honors Franklin H. Martin, MD, FACS, founder of the ACS
- The C. James Carrico, MD, FACS, Faculty Research Fellowship for the Study of Trauma and Critical Care honors C. James Carrico, MD, FACS, ACS Past-President, and is designated for research in trauma and critical care
General policies
The following criteria are applied in awarding the ACS Faculty Research Fellowships:
- The fellowship is open to Fellows or Associate Fellows of the College who have done the following:
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- Completed the chief residency year or accredited fellowship training within the preceding five years, not including time off for maternity leave, military deployment, or medical leave.
- Received a full-time faculty appointment in a department of surgery or a surgical specialty at a medical school accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education in the United States or by the Committee for Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools in Canada. Preference will be given to applicants who directly enter academic surgery following residency or fellowship.
- Recipients may use the award to support their research or academic enrichment in any fashion that the recipient deems maximally supportive of their investigations. The fellowship grant is to support the research of the recipient. Indirect costs are not paid to the recipient or to the recipient’s institution.
- Application for this fellowship may be submitted even if a comparable application has been made to organizations such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or industry sources. If the recipient is offered a scholarship, fellowship, or research career development award from such an agency or organization, it is the responsibility of the recipient to contact the College’s Scholarships Administrator to request approval of the additional award. The Scholarship Committee reserves the right to review potentially overlapping awards and adjust its award accordingly.
- Applicants who have previously won an award of more than $25,000 from another professional society or NIH are not eligible for this fellowship. Intramural K awards are permitted.
- Supporting letters from the head of the department of surgery (or the surgical specialty) and from the mentor supervising the applicant’s research effort must be submitted. This approval would involve a commitment to the continuation of the academic position and of facilities for research. Only in exceptional circumstances will more than one fellowship be granted in a single year to applicants from the same institution.
- The applicant must submit a research plan up to five pages, excluding references, and budget for the two-year period of fellowship, even though renewed approval by the Scholarships Committee of the College is required for the second year.
- A minimum of 50 percent of the Fellow’s time must be spent in the research proposed in the application. This percentage may run concurrently with the time requirements of NIH or other accepted funding.
The Faculty Research Fellows are expected to attend the Clinical Congress of the ACS in 2023 to present a report and receive a certificate at the annual meeting of the Scholarships Committee.
For further information regarding this fellowship, visit the ACS website or e-mail to scholarships@facs.org.