Scholar Selection Process
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Interested applicants must meet in person with the Research Director, Dr. Chuang, prior to submission of the application.
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| BIRCWH Scholar Eligibility |
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| 1. Must hold a faculty appointment at the level of Assistant Professor (either tenure-track or non-tenure-track) in the Penn State College of Medicine, College of Health and Human Development, or College of Liberal Arts at the time of appointment as a PSU-BIRCWH scholar. |
| 2. Must have a clinical doctorate or PhD degree or its equivalent. |
| 3. Must have completed any postgraduate training normally expected for a faculty appointment in his or her field (including clinical or postdoctoral fellowship training, or residency if they have chosen not to subspecialize). |
| 4. Must not have been a Principal Investigator on an R01, R29, or subproject of a Program Project (P01), Center (P50, P60, U54) grant, mentored career development (K-series) grant, or other equivalent research grant awards; exceptions are R03 and R21. |
| 5. Must be a U.S. citizen or noncitizen national, or must have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence and possess an Alien Registration Receipt Card (1-151 or 1-155) or some other verification of legal admission as a permanent citizen; individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible. |
| 6. Must not have more than 6 years of research training experience beyond the last doctoral degree at the time of his or her application. |
| 7. Must identify at least two Penn State BIRCWH mentors in different disciplines. The mentor team should include at least one member from each campus (Hershey and University Park). A list of Penn State BIRCWH mentors is available on the website. The Primary Mentor must have currently funded research. |
| Application Submission |
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The candidate completes the Penn State BIRCWH Scholar Application attesting to their current position and eligibility. Additional required documents are the candidate's CV; a 3-5 page Statement of Professional Goals and Research Interests, 3 professional references; a signed statement of agreement from the proposed Primary Mentor and the Primary Mentor's CV; and a letter of support from the candidate's Department chair ensuring that 75% effort will be devoted to research and mentored research career development for the duration of the 2- or 3-year appointment as a BIRCWH scholar. The remaining 25% effort may be devoted to teaching, clinical care, etc. |
| The application and support documents are submitted to the PSU-BIRCWH Research Director, Dr. Cynthia Chuang. |
| Review of Applications |
After confirming the candidates meet the BIRCWH scholar eligibility criteria, the applications are reviewed by the BIRCWH Advisory Committee. Any members of the Advisory Committee who are named as a potential primary or secondary mentor for a BIRCWH applicant will recuse themselves from discussion, rating, and voting on the applicant. The application are evaluated on the following criteria: |
| 1. Quality of the proposed research project related to women's health or sex/gender differences related to health |
| 2. Commitment to interdisciplinary research |
| 3. Capacity to become an independent research investigator within 2-3 years |
| 4. Previous research training and experience |
| 5. Quality of references |
| 6. Appropriateness of the mentoring team (e.g. multidisciplinary, cross-campus, expertise of mentors |
The BIRCWH Advisory Committee will evaluate the applications using the Scholar Candidate Evaluation Form. |
After the BIRCWH scholars are selected by the BIRCWH Advisory Committee, each BIRCWH scholar is reviewed by the NIH for approval, which typically takes 3-4 weeks. |