About|Donate|Contact

Predoctoral Award

Purpose: Conduct mentored training of predoctoral students engaged in hypothesis-driven research that is focused on contributing 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 to enhance the individual’s potential to develop into a productive, independent researcher or to establish an alternative career related to tobacco-related disease research.

Award overview:

  • Maximum stipend amount per year: Up to $60,000 
  • Maximum duration: 3 consecutive years 
  • Allowable direct costs: 
  • Stipend: Predoctoral stipend must adhere to NIH experience scale, or the rates set by their institution with institutional documentation of the alternate payment scale.
  • Tuition and Fees: Predoctoral students may budget for full tuition and fee costs up to $50,000 per year. Documentation of the institution’s tuition and fees structure should be included in the budget justification.
  • Institution 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. These costs will be covered up to $4,400 per year. The institutional allowance is a fixed amount, and the institution is not required to account for these expenses on an actual cost basis.
  • 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 Predoctoral 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 predoctoral applicant’s own research project and is expected to clearly enhance the individual’s potential to develop into a productive, independent research scientist.
  • Awardees are required to commit at least 75 percent of their effort each year to activities supported by this award.
  • The candidate must be enrolled in a doctoral program at the time of application submission. Eligibility ends if the candidate successfully defends their dissertation and completes their degree requirements before the funding period concludes.
  • When a predoctoral trainee application involves multiple mentors, one must be identified as the primary mentor for programmatic purposes. This individual will be designated as the dissertation advisor, while others are listed as research advisors.
  • The predoctoral trainee 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 dissertation advisor and research advisors 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 dissertation advisor and a minimum of two additional references are required. Letters should address the candidate’s training and potential for independence in their chosen area of scientific research. The commitment of the dissertation advisor and the department to fostering the candidate’s career development should also be reflected in the letters. If an applicant has additional mentors (referred to as research advisors), they are not obligated to submit letters of support; however, such letters may strengthen the application.
  • The dissertation advisor and predoctoral 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 dissertation advisor, in collaboration with the predoctoral applicant, is required to develop a 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., research advisors) may also be included when appropriate.
  • The predoctoral applicant and dissertation advisor are both required to submit a biosketch. Applicants may also include biosketches for research advisors if they play a significant role in the training or research plan.
  • U.S. citizenship is not a requirement.