Fellowship Research Grant

The fellowship grant is for applicants who have spent two years or less performing research in transplantation and/or immunology since their last doctoral degree. Applicants must have a sponsor.

Applicant's Position:
a. The applicant (MD, PhD, PharmD, or equivalent degree) must be within the first two years of post-doctoral training (not including clinical training) by the grant application deadline (December 1). Applicants who have worked in other fields or taken a leave of absence are eligible beyond this two-year period, but this must be directly addressed in the sponsor's letter.
b. Throughout the period of the grant, the applicant must be at a "fellowship training" level and may not hold an independent faculty level position or a salaried senior staff position (or equivalent). The AST defines an independent faculty level position as: a) Assistant Professor or equivalent; or b) regardless of title, institutional support that includes independent lab space and/or start-up funds to allow independent research.
c. The applicant’s fellowship must commence prior to or on the start of the grant term (July 1, 2021).
d. The minimum protected time for basic or translational grants is 50% and for clinical grants is 25%.

For information about the Applicant’s Sponsor and Institutional Support, see here:
https://www.myast.org/sites/default/files/research/2021_AST_Research_Grants_Fellowship.pdf#page=3

AST Membership:
a. The applicant is not required to be an active AST member.
b. The applicant’s sponsor must be an active AST member or have submitted a completed membership application by December 1, 2020.
c. If the applicant is awarded a grant, the sponsor’s membership must be maintained throughout the term of the grant.

Candidates can apply for an AST Fellowship Research Grant at the same time as applying as primary investigator on a K-series, individual fellowships, career development awards, or other grants that support their salary, but may not retain AST funding if the other grant is awarded.

Location: The proposed work is to be performed in a North American research setting.

Education: The applicant must have an MD, DO, PhD, DVM, PharmD or equivalent graduate degree at the time of the application.

Citizenship: The applicant must be either: a) a U.S., Canadian, or Mexican citizen; b) a lawfully admitted permanent resident foreign national of the U.S., Canada, or Mexico with a valid visa during the awarded period; or c) a foreign national admitted lawfully for residence in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico during the awarded period. J1 and H1B visa holders are eligible to apply.

Two grants from the same group or from the same institution with significant scientific overlap will not be funded regardless of score.

Fellows who currently are PI on a K-series grant or hold other individual fellowships, career development awards, or other grants awarded in their name that support their salary are not eligible to apply for an AST Research Network Fellowship Research Grant

Individuals who previously received an AST Fellowship Research Grant are not eligible to apply again.

The following expenses are not permitted: institution overhead, capital equipment, or travel costs.

During the term of the research grant, there can be no concurrent extramural funding.

The application deadline is 11:59 pm Pacific Standard Time on December 1, 2020.

Applications must be complete and submitted online through the AST Research Network submission website.

The cycle for AST career development grants is:

- Submissions are accepted between August 1 and December 1 (New submission period beginning with 2020 grant cycle).
- Applicants are notified in the following March.
- Research begins the next July.

Grant recipients will be recognized during the 2021 American Transplant Congress June 5-9, 2021 in Seattle, WA. Recipients are expected to register for and attend ATC. Registration is not included as part of the AST grant.