Brief Description:

Description:

The Smith Family Foundation Odyssey Award was created to fuel creativity and innovation in junior investigators in the basic sciences. The award supports the pursuit of high impact ideas to generate breakthroughs and drive new directions in biomedical research. The awards will fund high-risk, high-reward pilot projects solicited from the brightest junior faculty in the region. Faculty who were appointed to their initial faculty appointments between July 1, 2011 and July 1, 2016 who have not received tenure are eligible to apply.

The two-year award supports established junior faculty engaged in basic biomedical research. Investigators in the physical sciences (physics, chemistry and engineering) whose projects focus on biomedical science are also encouraged to apply. Clinical research is beyond the scope of this program.

Application Information:

This is a limited submission opportunity and FAS and SEAS may each nominate two candidates for this opportunity. FAS and SEAS pre-proposals must be submitted by January 22, 2020 by 5:00pm by clicking the Apply button on the top right corner of this page.

Pre-proposals must include the following materials uploaded as separate documents:

Description of proposed research (PDF, limit two pages. A third page may be used for references and graphics.)
Biosketch (PDF, current NIH format)
Nomination letter from department chair or area chair. In addition to addressing the applicant’s qualifications, the letter should explain how the institution will contribute and support the applicant’s proposed research.

If nominated, applicants will submit full proposals to the foundation by March 18, 2020. All full proposals must be submitted to the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) for review at least five business days in advance of the sponsor deadline.

Eligibility Criteria:

Applicants must be full-time, independent faculty at academic research institutions who have not yet achieved tenure or its equivalent by the funding start date of July 1, 2020.

Applicants must have received their first independent faculty appointment on or between July 1, 2011 and July 1, 2016.

If an applicant has been on medical or family leave, or if research was interrupted for other reasons, this period of absence does not count towards eligibility. In these cases please address any gaps in work history in the Personal Statement of the Biosketch. The chair’s letter must also confirm the leave of absence and the applicant's eligibility.

Applicants are ineligible if, at the time of application, they have combined federal and non-federal funding totaling $750,000 or more in direct costs per year in either of the first two years (7/1/20 - 6/30/21 or 7/1/21 - 6/30/22) of the two-year Smith Odyssey Award. This figure refers to external funding only and not an applicant’s start-up package, other intramural support, or the Smith Award. Investigators are ineligible to receive this Award if they have secured a combined total of $750,000 or more in direct costs from combined federal or non-federal grant sources, including any funds they receive notification of securing on or prior to May 1, 2020. Notification of funding after May 1, 2020 will not impact eligibility for a Smith Family Award.

Review Criteria:

The Scientific Review Committee uses the following criteria to evaluate applications:

Impact potential of the research for generating breakthroughs and driving new directions in biomedical research
A clearly stated hypothesis, based on sound precedents and rationale, that is supported by relevant literature
Preliminary data may be minimal
Objectives that are technically feasible and personnel who are qualified to carry out the proposed research
Applicant’s potential to successfully carry out innovative research
Institutional commitment to the applicant

Additional Information, Related Websites, and Proxy Instructions:

More detailed information about this opportunity can be found on the program website at https://hria.org/tmf/smithodyssey/.

Recent recipients include Ben de Bivort (OEB, 2018) and Ya-Chieh Hsu (SCRB, 2018).

Questions may be directed to Erin Hale (erin_hale@fas.harvard.edu, 617-496-5252) or Susan Gomes (sgomes@fas.harvard.edu, 617-496-9448).

Search Filters:

Institution

Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Position

Assistant Professor
Associate Professor

Type of Competition

Limited Submission

Discipline

Basic Science
Engineering
Life Science
Physical Science
Other

Type of Award

Career Development
Early Career
Research

Begin Accepting Applications Date:

12/19/2019

Deadline Date (EST Time Zone):

1/22/2020 5:00 PM