The Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a cure for this disease and to improving care for sarcoidosis patients. Since its establishment in 2000, FSR has fostered over $6.5 million in sarcoidosis-specific research efforts and has worked diligently to provide resources to thousands. Find all open applications below.
Thank you for your interest in the FSR Early Career Fellowship Grant (2025-2027). Please complete this request form. Once you have hit "Apply" on this form, you will be redirected to the full application. You will also receive a link to the live application via email.
If you have any questions, please contact the FSR Research Team:
- Elise Hoover - Vice President of Research - elise@stopsarcoidosis.org
- Timothy Legenzoff - Research Manager - tim@stopsarcoidosis.org
- Paloma Howard - Senior Clinical Research Coordinator - paloma@stopsarcoidosis.org
Request for Applications
FSR Early Career Fellowship Grant (2025-2027)
The FSR Early Career Fellowship Grant provides an opportunity for early-stage investigators to develop specialized skills and gain experience within the field of sarcoidosis and contribute directly to advancing knowledge about sarcoidosis and enhancing medical care for sarcoidosis patients. Each candidate must apply with a proposed study that is innovative and likely to add significant knowledge to the field. International applicants are welcome to participate in the FSR Early Career Fellowship Grant process.
The FSR Early Career Fellowship Grant is designed to increase clinical and/or scientific engagement and commitment within the sarcoidosis field. The intent of the funding opportunity is to ensure medical and/or research-dedicated professionals interested in sarcoidosis can succeed in the field. FSR encourages applicants hoping to utilize this funding opportunity to transition from Fellow to faculty appointment by enhancing their academic credentials.
Fellowship Specifics:
- FSR will fund two fellowships, each for a two-year period.
- Maximum funding for each fellowship is $75,000 per year ($150,000 over a two-year period).
- Applicants must be no longer than 6 years past their clinical or postdoctoral training. This does not include medical leave, FMLA, or pandemic-related delays.
- Applicants must describe career goals and specify how the Fellowship will be utilized in their training towards a long-term career commitment to sarcoidosis research and/or clinical care.
- Applicants must have a dedicated and significantly involved institutional mentor for their project. Co-mentors are allowed in situations where mentors with sarcoidosis-specific expertise are not available at the PI’s institution. Basic and translational science projects without direct engagement with patients should include clinic-designated time in the mentorship plan.
- Applicants with NIH funding are not eligible for an FSR Early Career Fellowship. This includes R01, P01, P50, and other major individual career development awards (e.g., K01, K07, K08, K22, K23, K25, K76, K99/R00) or the equivalent.
o Current and former recipients of an NIH Small Grant (R03), Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21/R33), Planning Grant (R34/U34), Dissertation Award (R36), or SBIR/STTR (R41, R42, R43, R44) remain eligible, as do awardees of Transition Scholar (K38) awards and individuals appointed to institutional K programs (K12, KL2).
- The award funding, restricted to the compensation package of the Fellow and associated research costs, will be provided directly to the hosting institution bi-annually, dependent on receipt of required progress reports.
- Funding cannot be applied to overhead.
- The funding is to be applied to the stipend or salary of the Fellow by the Grantee institution, as specified in the FSR-approved budget.
- This grant in no way requires a grantee institution to provide employment beyond the grant period and in no way requires the Fellow to accept an employment offer provided by the grantee institution.
- Applicants must submit proof of IRB approval of their project, as applicable, before funding is released to the sponsoring institution.
For projects intending to use human tissue samples, approximately 10 tissue samples may be available through the Human Tissues and Organs for Research Resource (HTORR) Program. Applicants interested in this possibility should send a brief letter of intent describing the necessary sample type to elise@stopsarcoidosis.org by January 31, 2025.
Application instructions:
1. Overall Project Description/Abstract (500 words)
2. Lay Summary of Project Description/Abstract (250 words)
3. Proposed role in the project (300 words)
4. Research Plan (including significance, innovation, specific aims, approach, and potential pitfalls) (1,500 words))
5. Proposed Budget
6. Fellow’s current CV (no page limit)
7. Personal Statement, describing the applicant’s interest in sarcoidosis, plans for the current, near and long- term research. It should also describe how the receipt of the grant award would further the applicant’s career goals and positively impact sarcoidosis research (500 words)
8. Description of remaining effort outside of FSR Fellowship award (200 words)
9. Additional funding (200 words)
10. Mentor letter of support and Biosketch (PDF only, no word limit)
11. Institutional support letter
12. Other supporting documents
Applications will be evaluated in the following areas:
Overall Impact of the Proposal
- Demonstration of significant impact from the project on the field of sarcoidosis
Applicant
- Commitment to, or intent to pursue, a career related to sarcoidosis.
- Quality of academic background and previous training.
- Applicant’s description of career goals as related to long-term commitment to sarcoidosis research, quality care improvement, and education.
Mentorship team
- Established sarcoidosis physician or laboratory-based scientists with experience in training fellows.
- Commitment of the primary Mentor for the duration of applicant's training and/or project.
Project Rationale, Purpose, and Feasibility
- Reason the study should be conducted.
- Outlined scope of the project.
- Likelihood study will be accomplished given approach.
Research Training Plan and Training Potential
- Overall quality and organization of the training program.
- Impact of proposed training on career development.
- Potential of training proposal to develop applicant into a productive, independent physician scientist or laboratory-based investigator.
Environment
- Quality of institution’s sarcoidosis clinical and research programs.
- Institution’s commitment to provide opportunities for career development related to sarcoidosis.
Allowable Costs
- Budget Expenditures - Direct Cost Only
Salaries
- Fellow (50-80% effort requested) salary + fringe benefits
- Mentor efforts are NOT covered
Materials and Supplies
- This can include cell reagents, arrays, kits, and other lab supplies. Categories must be detailed and explained when supplying the budget. For example, if research includes animals, budget should include number of animals expected to be used, price for the animals, and per diem for animal care, as well as details on the length of time the animals will be used for.
Publication costs
Travel
- Detailed outline of conferences the Fellow is planning to attend and the average cost of attendance.
2025 Timeline for Applicants
December 2024 - Applications open
February 28, 2025 - Deadline for applications
March – May 2025 - Review period
Early June 2025 - Awardee notification
Reports and payments
- Bi-annual Report: The Fellow and Mentor will send a bi-annual report of activities. The Mentor will send a financial report to FSR through Submittable. Periodic evaluations of the Fellow will also be sent to the FSR Research Department by email to info@stopsarcoidosis.org
- Grant fund payments will be contingent on and align with the bi-annual report schedule.
- Annual Report and Evaluation: All Fellows and Mentors may be asked to participate in a patient-friendly colloquium reporting on the experience, research outcomes, and grant preparation and application process.
Any resulting publications or presentations must acknowledge the support of the host institution and FSR. FSR should be sent a copy of all resulting publications in PDF format.
If you have any questions, please contact tim@stopsarcoidosis.org.
Thank you for your interest in the 2024 FSR Fellowship Grant. Please complete this request form. Once you have hit "Apply" on this form, you will be redirected to the full application. You will also receive a link to the live application via email.
If you have any questions, please contact the FSR Research Team:
- Tricha Shivas - Chief of Staff and Strategy - tricha@stopsarcoidosis.org
- Timothy Legenzoff - Research Manager - tim@stopsarcoidosis.org
FSR Fellowship Grant
The FSR Fellowship Grant provides an opportunity for early-stage investigators to develop specialized skills and gain experience in clinical settings directly within the field of sarcoidosis and contribute directly to advancing knowledge within the field and medical care for patients. Each candidate must apply with a proposed study that is innovative and likely to add significant education to the field. The Fellows are placed at world-renowned medical centers. International applicants are welcome to participate in the FSR Fellowship Grant.
The FSR Fellowship Grant is designed to increase clinician and researcher engagement and commitment within the sarcoidosis field. The intent of the opportunity is, through funding, to ensure medical professionals interested in sarcoidosis and related aspects can remain in the field.
FSR prefers the grantees to use the first year for training that involves patient management, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures followed by a second year of training with a greater emphasis on the research project.
Fellowship Specifics:
· FSR will fund one fellowship for a two-year period. Maximum funding is $75,000 per year per fellow ($150,000 per Fellow over a two-year period).
· Applicants must describe career goals relating to a long-term commitment to sarcoidosis research and clinical care.
· The funding, restricted to the compensation package of the Fellow, will be provided directly to the hosting institution bi-annually, dependent on receipt of required progress report. Funding cannot be applied to overhead.
· This funding is to be applied to the stipend or salary of the Fellow by the Grantee institution.
· This grant in no way requires a grantee institution to provide employment beyond the grant period and in no way requires the Fellow to accept an employment offer provided by the grantee institution.
· Applicants must submit proof of IRB submission or IRB approval before funding is provided.
Applications will be evaluated in the following areas:
Applicant
• Commitment to, or intent to pursue, a career related to sarcoidosis.
• Quality of academic background and previous training.
• Applicant’s description of career goals as related to long-term commitment to sarcoidosis research, quality improvement or care.
Mentor
• Established sarcoidosis clinician/physician-scientist with experience in training fellows.
• Commitment of the primary Mentor for the duration of applicant's training and/or project plan.
Training Program
• Overall quality and organization of the training program.
• Impact of proposed training or career development.
• Potential of training proposal to develop applicant into a productive, independent scientist.
Environment
• Quality of institution’s sarcoidosis clinical care and research programs.
• Institution’s commitment to provide opportunities for career development related to sarcoidosis.
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Allowable Costs
Budget Expenditures- Direct Cost Only
Salaries *mentor efforts are NOT covered
Fellow (50-80% effort requested) salary + fringe benefits
Materials and Supplies
This can include cell reagents, arrays, kits, and other lab supplies. Categories must be detailed and explained when supplying the budget. For example, if research includes animals, budget should include number of animals expected to be used, price for the animals, and per diem for animal care, as well as details on the length of time the animals will be used for.
Publications
Publication costs and number of expected publications should be outlined.
Travel
Detailed outline of conferences the fellow is planning to attend and the average cost of attendance.
2024 Timeline for Applicants
March 20, 2024 Deadline for applications
March 28 - April 27, 2024 Review period
June 15, 2024 Awardee Notification
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Pathways to Apply:
TYPE 1: Application from Fellow Applicant with pre-identified Mentor, institution and project support. Project can be new or on-going.
TYPE 2: Application from an Institute/Mentor seeking a Fellow to match with a pre-identified sarcoid-specific project.
Reports:
· Bi-annual Report: The Fellow and Mentor will send a bi-annual report of activities. The Mentor will send a financial report to FSR through Submittable. Periodic evaluations of the Fellow will also be sent to the FSR Research Department through the Submittable platform.
· Annual Report and Evaluation: All Fellows and Mentors may be asked to participate in a patient-friendly colloquium reporting on the experience, research outcomes and grant preparation and application process.
Any resulting publications or presentations must acknowledge the support of the host institution and FSR. FSR should be sent a copy of all resulting publications in PDF format.