Fellows-to-Faculty Award

Yes, if you are unsure if your area of research aligns with the goals of this award, you may contact the scientific staff with a 3-5 sentence description of your research vision. Applicants are required to focus their scientific proposal on their plans for their future lab, not the remainder of their postdoctoral position nor a specific three (3) year project proposal.

Scientific staff by science area:

• Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI): [email protected]
• Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain (SCPAB): [email protected]

Due to a high volume of inquiries, program staff may require a week to respond.

Yes. For the 2025 request for applications (RFA), we seek to support scientists whose scientific vision for their future independent laboratory contributes to the mission of either or both of the following scientific areas:

• Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI), consistent with SFARI scientific perspectives
• Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain (SCPAB), consistent with SCPAB’s mission

Individuals may submit an application to SFARI, SCPAB or both. If submitting to both areas, applicants must submit two (2) separate applications, tailored to the respective scientific areas. If selected, applicants may only accept one award.

No. Proposals for clinical efficacy trials are not allowed.

No. If you are seeking a faculty position at a non-U.S. institution, please refer to our International Awards policy.

Please note that in the event of budgetary or other considerations The Simons Foundation, Inc. reserves the right to refer an application to The Simons Foundation International, Ltd. (SFI) for consideration and funding, in which case SFI’s grant policies would apply.

The eligibility criteria can be found in the Eligibility section of the RFA.

No. Please do not send us any supporting documentation.

We will rely on your signed self-attestation form (available for download within the application in SAM) and cannot make a formal determination regarding identity, disability status or social and/or economic background.

Yes. U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status is not required.

Yes.

Yes. See the full RFA for information about funding.

No. We acknowledge that some individuals may be well placed to begin their professorships without having completed a postdoctoral fellowship. Our review criteria include whether an applicant is currently poised to begin a tenure-track or equivalent faculty position at this time, as evidenced by their scientific contributions and vision, and not based on whether the applicant has conducted postdoctoral training per se.

A medical residency or fellowship may be equivalent preparation for an independent research career in some fields.

No. We do not restrict eligibility based on duration of postdoctoral training or how long ago the Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent degree was earned.

No. Applicants must be poised to apply to tenure-track faculty jobs at the time of application.

Individuals with titles other than postdoctoral researcher are eligible to apply so long as you can provide confirmation (e.g., letter from department chair or grant office) of your position being a non-independent, mentored training position.

A clinician who holds a faculty position in order to fulfill their clinical responsibilities may be eligible if and only if they are in a non-independent, mentored training position in a faculty member’s research lab and do not hold an independent research faculty position.

We may require written confirmation of the distinction between the applicant’s clinical and research responsibilities. Please contact Simons Foundation administrative staff to confirm eligibility status prior to application submission.

Administrative staff by science area:

• Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI): [email protected]
• Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain (SCPAB): [email protected]

Applicants must be in a non-independent, mentored training position to be eligible to apply.

No. In order to be eligible, applicants must not have accepted a formal offer for a tenure-track faculty position by the time of award notification.

No. Applicants may not simultaneously hold other career development awards that facilitate a transition to an independent research career. These awards include, but are not limited to:

• NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award
• Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Awards for Medical Scientists (CAMS) or Career Awards at the Scientific Interface (CASI)
• American Academy of Neurology Career Development Award
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute Hanna H. Gray Fellows Program
• Ramón y Cajal Fellowship
• Simons Foundation Independence Awards

You are strongly encouraged to contact Simons Foundation administrative staff before applying if you believe your career development award is comparable to this award but is not listed above.

Please note that other NIH K awardees may be eligible to apply if they are in a non-independent, mentored training position., e.g., recipients of K01 and K08.

Administrative staff by science area:

• Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI): [email protected]
• Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain (SCPAB): [email protected]

Individuals who have already applied to any of the Simons Foundation Independence Awards (e.g., SFARI Bridge to Independence Award, SCGB Transition to Independence Award, SCPAB Transition to Independence Award) for any two (2) years in the past are not eligible to apply to the Fellows-to-Faculty Award.

If you are unsure of the number of years you applied to the Independence Award programs, please contact Simons Foundation administrative staff before applying.

Administrative staff by science area:

• Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI): [email protected]
• Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain (SCPAB): [email protected]

Institutional sign-off is required in order to submit your application by the deadline. All applicants are encouraged to contact their signing official early (before preparing and finalizing the application) to discuss the institution’s process, application requirements and application deadline. Refer to the How to Apply tab for more instructions.

Yes. You must provide a response to all required fields; however, ‘Prefer not to disclose’ is an available option for each required question. Disclosing demographic data is voluntary. To complete these fields, the user must navigate to the ‘Personal Data’ section of their profile.

The demographic data provided by applicants and grantees will serve multiple purposes: to help us understand how our grantmaking reflects the communities we seek to serve; and to equip our staff with critical data to help create equitable funding opportunities as one part of our overall commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. By providing demographic data, applicants and grantees consent to the collection and processing of personal data relating to the applicant and/or grantee, so that we can fulfill the purposes outlined above. Demographic data will not be shared with reviewers or otherwise used during the application review process unless stated otherwise in the RFA. Aggregate data may be used publicly. Demographic data is only visible to the applicant and a subset of staff, such as programmatic and grantmaking staff. If you wish to review our data collection and use practices, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

No. Applicants are required to focus their scientific proposal on their plans for their future lab, not the remainder of their postdoctoral position, nor a specific three (3) year project proposal.

For the full prompts and formatting requirements, applicants must download the application templates from SAM.

No, applicants must only provide a budget for the two (2) year postdoctoral award in this application. If selected for funding, you will be asked to provide a budget for the three (3) year faculty research award after securing a tenure-track faculty position.

No. Applicants only need to provide a copy of their own biosketch, other support and publications. The only item that your current scientific mentor(s) must provide is a letter of recommendation.

Yes. Three (3) confidential letters of recommendation are required from current or previous mentors and/or senior scientists who have substantial familiarity with your scientific career thus far. At least one (1) letter of recommendation must be from a current scientific mentor. Your current scientific mentor(s) must explain the portion of research you will take with you for your future independent laboratory and which will remain with them as your postdoctoral mentor.

You will not be able to submit your application until all three (3) letters of reference are submitted by the referees. Additionally, you will not be able to submit if you have more than three (3) letters of reference.

Confidential letters must be submitted through SAM.

Three (3) confidential letters of recommendation are required to apply. If you are currently co-mentored by two (2) scientists, you may either choose to invite one to submit one (1) co-signed letter or invite both mentors to submit one (1) letter each. Your current scientific mentor(s) must explain the portion of research you will take with you for your future independent laboratory and which will remain with them as your postdoctoral mentor.

You will not be able to submit your application until all three (3) letters of reference are submitted by the referees. Additionally, you will not be able to submit if you have more than three (3) letters of reference.

Confidential letters must be submitted through SAM.

As part of our mission to promote excellence in science, we are committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion across the foundation and the broader scientific community. The Inclusion and Belonging Statement helps the review committee understand your future plans for contributing to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in your own independent laboratory.

Similar statements are typical in faculty job applications, especially in the United States. We strongly recommend you seek guidance from trusted mentors and peers. There are also many resources available online, which we encourage you to explore as you craft your own.

No. We only accept applications submitted online through SAM. Full instructions on how to submit an application is provided in the How to Apply instructions.

Click the ‘Check Application Progress’ button to check for any missing required information or files. All missing required information will be listed at the top of the screen and must be corrected before the application can be sent for sign-off. If you are still receiving error messages after completing and saving the indicated sections, please contact [email protected].

Please see the How to Apply tab for the SAM Application Instructions.

You must contact Simons Foundation staff prior to the 12:00 p.m. (noon) Eastern Time January 14, 2025 deadline in order to make changes to your application. Please email Simons Foundation administrative staff if you would like to make any modifications to your proposal.

Administrative staff by science area:

Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI): [email protected]
• Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain (SCPAB): [email protected]

The only changes allowed after the deadline are updates to the status of a previously reported publication or other support. Please refer to the How to Apply tab for more details.

Biosketches or other application materials may not be updated after the submission deadline.

Fellows are expected to activate this grant within the first 12 months of starting their faculty position. In order to activate the Faculty Research Award, the fellow is required to submit an application 2-3 months prior to the desired award start date. Review of the Faculty Research Award application is a non-competitive, internal process intended to confirm that the fellow has secured a suitable position.

Fellows are encouraged (but not required) to apply for independent positions in different departments and institutions from where they conducted their mentored research. It is important for all fellows, but especially fellows who intend to stay at their mentoring institution for their independent role, to discuss their intentions with Simons Foundation staff. Fellows who accept faculty positions at their mentoring institutions may be asked to submit a letter from their department chair outlining their commitment and plans for ensuring the fellow’s independence.

No, there is no minimum percent effort for the Faculty Research Award.

The Postdoctoral Award must start on September 1, 2025. The end date of the Postdoctoral Award is the date the fellow departs from their postdoctoral position at their current institution or August 31, 2027, whichever occurs first.

The Postdoctoral Award includes the following, annually:

• $85,000 USD stipend
• $10,000 USD career development allowance intended for the fellow’s exclusive and flexible use for costs that contribute to the success of the fellow in the transition to a tenure-track or equivalent faculty position. Allowable expenses include, but are not limited to, laptop and software purchases, travel-related expenses, conference and workshops costs, and more.
• $15,000 USD health insurance and other benefits allowance which may be spent on health insurance for the fellow and family and other benefits as required by the institution.

Applicants must review the full 2025 Request for Applications for details.

Awards must be administered through the fellow’s institution. Please discuss the policies regarding eligibility for health insurance and other benefits with your postdoctoral institution.

If you are eligible to receive fringe benefits at your institution, you may use all or a portion of the $15,000 USD health insurance and other benefits allowance toward fringe costs.

No. No indirect or overhead costs may be charged.

No, there is no minimum percent effort for the Postdoctoral Award.

No, there is no stipend maximum for fellows. However, the fellow can only charge up to $85,000 in stipend annually from this grant. Funds may be supplemented from other sources of funding, e.g., the fellow’s institution, mentoring Principal Investigator or another fellowship if permissible under the terms of that fellowship. Applicants must review the full 2025 Request for Applications for details.

The end date of the Postdoctoral Award is the date the fellow departs from their postdoctoral position in order to transition to a faculty position or August 31, 2027, whichever occurs first. The postdoctoral award funds cannot be transferred to the fellow’s faculty institution or added to the faculty research award. Any unspent funds at the end of the grant must be returned to the foundation.