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Postdoctoral Award

Purpose: For postdoctoral investigators to conduct hypothesis-driven research in a mentored training environment. The research project should contribute to the advancement of one or more stated TRDRP research priorities. A highly innovative project with clear potential for impact is a key component of this award type. The objective of this integrated program of research and training is to support the applicant’s own research project and to enhance their development into a productive and independent scientific professional within the tobacco-related disease research field.

 Award overview:

  • Maximum stipend amount per year: Up to $70,000
  • Maximum duration: 3 consecutive years
  • Allowable direct costs:
    • Stipend: Postdoctoral stipend must adhere to NIH experience scale, or the rates set by their institution with institutional documentation of the alternate payment scale.
    • Institutional Allowance: The applicant may request an institutional allowance to help defray the cost of expenses such as health insurance, medical liability or other special insurance, research supplies, equipment, courses and educational materials, project related travel, and travel to scientific meetings. TRDRP will cover up to $38,000 per year for these costs. The institutional allowance is a fixed amount, and the institution is not required to account for these expenses on an actual cost basis. Postdoctoral Award applicants should fully justify Institutional Allowance costs in their budget. Costs should be broken out by year, including overall cost by category, an itemized sub-category list, and description of costs. See Appendix C for examples of how costs should be described.
    • Travel to TRDRP Conference: All applicants should budget a separate one-time $750 expense under year 1 for "Travel – TRDRP Meeting" to attend the TRDRP conference. This $750 expense is not part of the institution allowance.
  • Indirect Costs: Not allowed.

A Note on Stipends and Employee Benefits: Since TRDRP Postdoctoral Awards are not provided as a condition of employment with either TRDRP or the sponsoring institution, institutions may not seek funds, or charge individual awards, for costs that normally would be associated with employee benefits (e.g., FICA, workman’s compensation, life insurance, union dues, and unemployment insurance).

Award requirements:

  • The proposal must reflect the postdoctoral applicant’s own research project that builds upon their prior experience and furthers their development as a productive, independent research scientist.
  • A minimum 75 percent time commitment on the part of the postdoctoral trainee is required.
  • The candidate must be recognized by the applicant institution as a postdoctoral trainee no later than the award start date. Eligibility ends when a postdoctoral trainee moves into a non-mentored staff or faculty-level role, even if this occurs before the funding period concludes.
  • When a postdoctoral trainee application involves multiple mentors, one must be identified as the primary mentor for programmatic purposes. This individual should be designated as the research advisor, while others should be listed as mentors.
  • The applicant is responsible for preparing the application and for uploading and submitting all required research-related documents as part of the application package. As a demonstration of the quality of the mentoring environment, the research advisor and mentors are encouraged to support the trainee by providing guidance and feedback during the application process. The application must describe an original research project and not replicate the aims of any existing grants or applications held by the research advisor or mentors, whether funded by TRDRP or another source.  
  • A letter of support from the research advisor and a minimum of two additional references are required. Letters should address the candidate’s previous training and potential for future leadership of an independent research program. The commitment of the research advisor and the department to fostering the candidate’s career development should also be reflected in the letters. If an applicant has additional mentors, they are not obligated to submit letters of support; however, such letters may strengthen the application.
  • The primary research advisor and postdoctoral applicant must complete an Individual Development Plan (IDP) using the provided template. The IDP is an informal document to aid in establishing mutually agreed upon research and professional goals for the applicant and approaches for achieving those goals. The IDP is not the formal training plan but should contain the source material for the formal Training Plan described below. The IDP should be uploaded as part of the Appendix. See https://trdrp.org/trainee-corner/apply-and-manage.html for details.
  • The primary research advisor, in collaboration with the postdoctoral applicant, is required to develop a formal Training Plan that is tailored to the applicant's specific research and professional development needs as described in the IDP. The Training Plan should describe activities that will take place during the course of the project designed to further the professional development of the applicant. It is allowable for details on the IDP and Training Plan to overlap but the two documents must not be identical as they differ in scope and required information. Input from the broader mentoring team (i.e., mentors) may also be included when appropriate. The postdoctoral applicant and primary research advisor are both required to submit a biosketch. Applicants may also include biosketches for mentors if they play a significant role in the training or research plan.
  • U.S. citizenship is not a requirement.