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 Biomedical Sciences Career Awards for Medical Scientists (CAMS) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Eligibility Is the guideline that candidates should not be more than 120 months past their most recent doctorate a firm rule? Yes. No exceptions will be made. Is the 75 percent time devoted to research a firm policy? Yes. Programs and department chairs need to provide adequate protection for the candidate to conduct research. If I have an NIH K08 or K12 award, am I eligible for the award? Yes. If I have an NIH K99/R00 or R01 award, am I eligible for the award? No. My title is instructor or assistant professor, non-tenure track. Am I eligible for the award? Possibly. If your position is a mentored one and you have at least 24 months of research experience, and have been in a faculty position for two years or less at the time of application, you may be eligible. To meet this requirement, the applicant’s junior faculty appointment must have begun no earlier than July 1, 2006. What if I am planning to start a faculty position after the application deadline and before the interview? This award cannot be made to a faculty member, because it is a transition award. If you are planning to start a faculty position before the award begins you are not eligible to apply. My field is health services research and policy. Am I eligible for the award? No. The award is only for individuals in the basic biomedical, translational, or molecular, genetic, or pharmacological epidemiology research. I have applied for permanent residency in the United States and have not received my Permanent Resident card. Am I eligible for the award? No. You must have your Permanent Resident card in hand and provide documentation by the application deadline.How do I go about getting a nomination from my university? Each university selects its nominees differently. Usually it is through the dean’s office at the medical school or the grants office. You must secure your university’s nomination before submitting an application.Application/Format/Application Logistics Do I need a commitment from a university for a faculty appointment to apply for the award? No. The purpose of the award is to help you obtain a faculty appointment. Candidates may apply for faculty positions during the application and review process but if you hold or accept a tenure-track appointment, you are not eligible. Is the BWF application deadline firm? Yes. Can support letters be sent separately? No. All support letters (faculty sponsor letter, chief of service and/or graduate advisor’s letter, plus the two additional recommendation letters) must be uploaded and attached to your application and submitted electronically by the application deadline: 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time on October 1, 2008. Faxed letters will not be accepted. To whom should my letters of recommendation be addressed? Letters of recommendation should be addressed to the CAMS Advisory Committee and must be uploaded and attached to your application and submitted electronically by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on October 1, 2008. Faxed letters will not be accepted. What is a “signature block”? A signature block is found at the end of a letter and includes the letter writer’s name, title(s), department(s), and institution. It is usually found just after the closing of the letter (e.g., just after the word ‘Sincerely,’ or ‘Yours truly,’) and just under the letter writer’s signature. Here is an example of a signature block: Jane Smith, M.D., Ph.D. If I attach a bibliography to my research plan, does it count toward the six-page maximum? No. Also, glossaries of technical abbreviations and terms are acceptable and encouraged if they clarify the proposal to the general reader and do not count toward the page limit. What about figures, tables, graph, diagrams, pictures included in my research plan? Are they included in the six-page limit or can they be included separately? All figures, tables, graphs, diagrams, pictures, etc., included in your research plan count toward the six-page limit. Do I need to submit a proposed budget with my application? No, a budget is not required at the time of application. Is there a template for the research plan? No. Are there font or margin requirements for the research plan? Yes. Use standard 11- or 12-point type for the text, and no smaller than 9 to 10-point type for figures, legends, and tables. Text must be single-spaced, with one-inch or larger margins on all sides. The font-size requirement is strictly enforced. Do I need to submit a Letter of Intent prior to beginning an application? No. BWF does not require a letter of intent prior to beginning an application. However, you MUST be nominated by a degree-granting institution in order to apply to this program. An “institution” includes its medical school, graduate schools, and all affiliated hospitals or research institutes. You should contact the appropriate officials (generally the grants office, office of research, or office of sponsored programs) for information about the nomination process at your institution. Can I submit a paper application? No. BWF requires that all applications for this program be submitted electronically. Paper applications will not be accepted. The only paper to be sent to BWF is the two-page Signature Page Form, with original signatures. It is due to BWF by the application deadline. What is the Signature Page Form? How do I submit it? The Signature Page Form summarizes the information from all the sections of the application and provides signature lines for the Applicant, the Institutional Signing Official and the Dean or Department Chair from the nominating institution. An application is not considered complete without the two-page Signature Page Form. You must send a paper copy of the two-page Signature Page form with the required original signatures to BWF for receipt by 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time October 1, 2008. BWF strongly recommends using a courier service to send the two-page Signature Page Form. Faxed and electronic Signature Page forms will not be accepted. How do I access the Signature Page Form? The two-page Signature Page form can be printed once you complete all the data entry proposal sections of the online application in proposalCENTRAL. You can access the Signature Page Form by clicking “Print Signature Page” in the gray Navigation Menu on the left of the screen. Do not print the Signature Page Form until you have completed all data entry screens of the application. For delivery by express courier service (recommended) For delivery by U.S. Postal Service Who needs to sign the two-page Signature Page Form? Three people must sign the first page of the Signature Page form: 1) The Applicant - in the signature box marked “Signature of Applicant”. Note: There is a fourth signature box marked “Additional Signature”, which is not used for the Career Awards for Medical Scientists application. Only three signatures are required for this program. Can I print the Signature Page Form prior to completing my application – in order to obtain the required signatures in time? Yes. If you have correctly completed the data entry for all fields in the following sections of your application, you may print the Signature Page Form to obtain the required signatures:
As long as all data has been entered correctly in these sections, the printed Signature Page Form will contain all required information. It is not necessary to have all PDF files uploaded and attached to your application prior to printing the Signature Page Form. Can I fax the two-page Signature Page Form by the application deadline? No. Faxed documents will not be accepted. The hard copy of the two-page Signature Page Form with original signatures must be received by BWF by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on October 1, 2008. Using a courier service to send your two-page signature page form is strongly recommended. Can I upload and attach an electronic version of the Signature Page (PDF file) to my application? No. An electronic Signature Page Form will not be accepted. The hard copy of the two-page Signature Page Form with original signatures must be received by BWF by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on October 1, 2008. Using a courier service to send your two-page Signature Page Form is strongly recommended. I noticed that some of the information that printed on the Signature Page form is incorrect. How do I correct it? All of the data that prints on the Signature Page Form was entered in the various proposal sections found in the gray Navigation Bar on the left of the screen in proposalCENTRAL. To correct an entry, you must go back to the appropriate proposal section and edit the data there (e.g., Applicant Information, Title Page, etc.). I noticed that not all of the fields are populated with data on the Signature Page Form. Is this correct, or have I done something wrong? This program does not require some types of data that are shown on the Signature Page Form. As a result, there will be several blank fields on the PDF form. The field labels will appear, but the field itself will be blank. Examples of such fields include, but are not limited to, Proposal Type, Prior Grant #, RFA?, Recombinant DNA, and Biohazards. Can I change my application once submitted? Once you submit the application, the information is “locked” and cannot be changed without “un-submitting” the application. You may un-submit your application, make changes and resubmit it at any time prior to the application deadline (4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on October 1, 2008). After that time, an application cannot be changed. If I’m having trouble with the electronic application, whom can I contact for help? For problems with the electronic application, please contact proposalCENTRAL customer support by email or by phone 1-800-875-2562 (toll free).Can I change institutions during the course of the award? The award is portable. Most awardees will change institutions to begin a faculty appointment. However, transferring your award is not guaranteed. The institution that you wish to transfer to must demonstrate a commitment to you by offering you a tenure track or equivalent faculty appointment and significant start-up money. In addition, BWF must approve the transfer. Transfers during the faculty portion of the award are discouraged. May I interrupt the award because of family commitments or to complete clinical or other training? Yes. BWF will allow you a no-cost extension during the term of the award. Are awardees permitted to have other simultaneous funding, for example, from the National Institutes of Health (e.g. R01) or another foundation? Award recipients may obtain funds from other sources for research in the same or similar areas as that conducted under these grants, so long as there is no conflict with meeting the terms of BWF’s award. Award recipients may not hold concurrent BWF awards or NIH K99/R00 awards.What are my chances of receiving a Career Award for Medical Scientists? For the 2008 grant cycle, the success rate was 13%, which makes this program quite competitive. Who were the successful applicants for the 2008 grant cycle? See a list of “Grant Recipients.”For answers to eligibility issues not covered in the program guidelines or the FAQs, please contact Debra Holmes, program associate, (Debra Holmes or 919/991-5134). Questions regarding whether your work falls within the scope of the program may be directed to the program officer, Rolly Simpson (Rolly Simpson or 919/991-5110). For problems with the electronic application, contact proposalCENTRAL customer support or by phone 1-800-875-2562 (toll free).
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