Dr. Frommeyer with residents James Barrett and Crawford Owen, Jr. (Photo courtesy of UAB Archives)The Walter B. Frommeyer, Jr., Fellowship in Investigative Medicine is an annual research award supported by the UAB Department of Medicine. This fellowship is designed to foster the development of outstanding physician-scientists by supporting a two-year intensive, mentored research experience.

Dr. Frommeyer was Distinguished Professor of the University of Alabama and Professor of Medicine in the School of Medicine. He served as a teacher, investigator, clinician, and administrator at UAB for more than two decades. In 1968, after eleven years as the third Chairman of the Department of Medicine, he stepped down from the role to devote more time to serving as President of the American Heart Association.

ELIGIBILITY FOR AWARD

The candidate must…

• have a clinical doctoral degree (MD or DO).

• be enrolled in a clinical training program in the UAB Department of Medicine

  -OR- be a junior faculty member (Instructor or Assistant Professor) with less than or equal to two years at rank at the time of award.

• have completed at least one year of post-residency training at the time of award activation.

• be able to identify a Faculty Research Mentor with extensive research experience.

• be willing to spend a minimum of 75% of full-time professional effort performing research and research career development. 

Preference will be given to candidates who are early in their research careers and show research potential, but are not yet prepared for independent research.

Candidates currently funded by Research Training Grants may apply, but must first determine their eligibility with their current mentor and Training Grant Principal Investigator (see also Allowable Costs).

Candidates who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States should demonstrate that their immigration or visa status will allow completion of their research training and pursuit of an academic research career in the United States.

2018 DEADLINES

• Submission of Application: April 16

• Notification of Award: June 11

• Funding to begin: July 1

• Research progress summary: May 2019

MECHANISMS OF AWARD

1. Candidate’s Statement. The application must provide evidence of a serious intent to pursue biomedical research through an academic career. 

2. Research Program. The candidate must provide a description of a research plan. It should start with a creative and detailed basic science or clinical investigative learning experience and culminate in a research project to be carried out under the guidance of a qualified Research Mentor at UAB. The application should be organized according to the following format: 

   1. Face Page (download form here)

   2. Research Plan (a-e limited to six pages)

      1. Background

      2. Preliminary work by the applicant

      3. Significance of project

      4. Methods

      5. Literature Cited

   3. Budget and budget justification (download form here)

   4. Curriculum vitae for the applicant and Faculty Research Mentor

   5. Letters of support from the Faculty Research Mentor and the Division Director

   6. Reprints of articles by the applicant which are pertinent to the application

3. Letters of Support. The candidate must identify a UAB faculty research mentor who is recognized as an accomplished investigator in basic science or translational research, who has experience in training independent investigators, and who will provide the candidate appropriate guidance in the conduct and development of the research plan. Both the candidate’s Research Mentor and Division Director must each provide detailed letters of support. These letters should include:

   1. An evaluation of the candidate’s potential for a research career in academic medicine.

   2. A summary of the candidate’s training support, including plans regarding applications for support from NIH, NSF, and/or foundations. 

   3. A defined plan for the candidate’s career development as an independent physician-scientist. 

   4. The research mentor's detailed list of laboratory-based resources, i.e. space, supplies, equipment that will be available to the candidate during the fellowship award.

   5. The Division Director must specify his/her commitment to provide the candidate with 75% protected time during the fellowship award (see Duration and Effort). 

4. Duration and Effort

   This is a two-year award. The second year of funding is contingent upon the candidate demonstrating sufficient progress with the proposed research. A minimum of 75% percent of the candidate’s effort must be devoted to the research and the research training program. Specifically, the awardee should not be assigned more than one month of clinical attending duties per year or more than 1/2 day per week serving in an outpatient clinic.  The balance of the candidate’s effort can be devoted to other clinical and teaching pursuits only if they are consonant with the program’s goals, i.e., the applicant's development into an independent physician-scientist.

ALLOWABLE COSTS

1. Total Award. This fellowship will provide two years of support, including up to $50,000 per year for salary support for fellows and up to $75,000 salary support for junior faculty (plus appropriate fringe benefits).  Also, up to $10,000 per year will be provided for supplies and/or equipment that are directly relevant to the proposed research project.

2. Salary and Related Benefits. For fellows, salary support up to $50,000 per year (plus appropriate fringe benefits) will be provided by the Department of Medicine to support the candidate’s salary based on the NIH pay scale for postdoctoral fellows (plus the cost of fringe benefits where applicable). For junior faculty, salary support up to $75,000 per year (plus appropriate fringe benefits) will be provided by the Department of Medicine to support the candidate’s salary. For successful candidates, additional salary support per year may be provided by the sponsoring Division at the Director’s discretion.

   Note: Individuals whose salary would be covered by a Training Grant in the year of activation of the Frommeyer Award will receive a maximum of $10,000 in supply money, subject to budget approval.

3. Concurrent Awards. The Walter B. Frommeyer, Jr., Fellowship in Investigative Medicine is a source of initial research support which is designed to help to prepare the postdoctoral physician candidate to compete for extramural funding for research.  During the term of the fellowship, the fellow is expected to apply for extramural research support, such as the Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award (K08), appropriate VA support, the National Research Scientist Award (NRSA, F32 or T32), or other applicable support.  Frommeyer Fellows who receive extramural awards during their fellowship period should promptly notify the Chair of the Department of Medicine’s Research Development Group. The Research Development Group will evaluate the type of award received and whether support from the Frommeyer Fellowship should be continued.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

The application should be submitted to domresearch@uabmc.edu before close of business on April 16, 2018.

Submit the application as a single PDF file. Please include a letter of support from the respective Division Director and a letter of recommendation from the Faculty Research Mentor for the proposed Frommeyer Fellowship. 

Reprints of articles published by the applicant that are pertinent to the application may also be submitted. No other material (including appendices) is necessary.

Candidates who have submitted an application to the NIH K08 Award or equivalent program and have been unsuccessful should provide a copy of that application and the summary statement as part of the application for the Walter B. Frommeyer, Jr., Fellowship in Investigative Medicine.

EVALUATION

Candidates will be evaluated on their potential to pursue an academic career in basic investigation or translational research.  Research projects will be reviewed for scientific and technical merit by the Department of Medicine’s Research Development Group and appropriate secondary reviewers.

For additional information, please contact:

Cynthia Joiner, PhD, MPH, RN

Assistant Vice Chair for Research

Department of Medicine

PHONE: 934-7520