Fellowships & Funding Opportunities

BPP Travel Support Award

The Office of Biomedical Postdoctoral Programs (BPP) is committed to supporting the professional and career development of postdoctoral trainees in the biomedical schools at Penn and sees presenting at scientific conferences and attending professional workshops as a critical component of this development. These opportunities provide postdoctoral trainees with the opportunity to disseminate their research, build professional networks, and gain critical skills in their field. To that end, BPP will award faculty members up to $2,000 in support of expenses related to a postdoctoral trainee in their lab presenting at a scientific conference or attending a professional workshop. These funds are not intended to fully subsidize travel costs, and it is expected that faculty mentors will also contribute funds, as their budgets allow. Eligible expenses include registration, travel, lodging, and poster printing.

Apply through InfoReady

Applicant must be:

  • A full-time faculty member (Tenure, Research, Clinical-Educator, or Academic-Clinician Tracks) appointed in either the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Dental Medicine, School of Nursing, or School of Veterinary Medicine.
  • The primary mentor of an active postdoctoral trainee appointed through the Office of Biomedical Postdoctoral Programs (BPP).

Conference or workshop must:

  • Take place after the application submission date and fall within the postdoctoral trainee's current appointment period, or a future, already-confirmed reappointment period.
  • Postdoctoral trainee must be presenting at a conference (oral, poster, or otherwise), or attending a professional workshop

 

Applicants will be required to provide:

  1. Application coversheet (completed through InfoReady)
  2. Conference / Workshop information form (completed through InfoReady)
  3. Uploaded documents:
    1. Current CV of postdoctoral trainee
    2. Most recently completed IDP
    3. Completed Budget Form, including justification (template document provided) 
    4. Written statement (max 1 page) addressing: 
      1. The nature of the proposed conference/workshop and how it aligns with the postdoctoral trainee's career development goals
      2. The financial need. Please specify what other funds are being used in support of the trainee's travel and explain why additional BPP funding is necessary to make the requested travel possible.

Funds will be awarded based on financial need, the postdoctoral trainee's career stage, whether the postdoctoral trainee has had limited prior opportunities to attend conferences, and whether the postdoctoral trainee will have an active presenting role (oral or poster) at the conference. Preference will be given to situations where it is clear that participation in the conference/workshop will directly benefit the trainee's progress toward their career goals, and where due to limited lab funding, participation might be impossible without supplemental financial support. 

Applications will be reviewed on a semi-annual basis, and awards are contingent on the availability of program funds for that cycle.

      1.  

BPP Administered Limited Submission Opportunities

Open opportunities can be found on Penn's InfoReady Portal:

InfoReady

  • Brody Family Medical Trust Fund fellowships for medical research in incurable diseases (applications open in August)
  • Hartwell Fellowship (applications open in April)
  • Regeneron Prize for Creative Innovation (applications open in December)
  • Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholars Fellowship Award in Translational Immunology (applications open in June)
  • Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholars Fellowship Award in Neuroscience (applications open in September)

Information and instructions for application will be distributed to all active BPP Postdocs when applications open each year.

Grant/Fellowship Databases

Databases and resources made avaiable to Penn and Penn-affiliated researchers

*️⃣PIVOT-RT by Clarivate - PIVOT-RT is a searchable database of global funding opportunities with powerful workflow, intelligence and discovery tools, trusted by over 700 of the world’s leading research institutions. All Penn affiliated users can access this database using their PennKey and Password to find funding opportunities, search previously awarded grants, get automated alerts and deadlines reminders, and locate potential collaborators.

Office of the Vice Provost for Research Funding Opportunities Database - OVPR manages a number of internal funding opportunities on behalf of the University as well as access to external funding opportunities. Users can filter and search opportunities based on various criteria. Links to apply are included with each listing.

Office of the Chief Scientific Officer Funding Opportunities - Here you will find links to a wide variety of sites with information on both internal and external funding opportunities, curated by the Perelman School of Medicine's Office of the Chief Scientific Officer.

Sponsored Programs Information Network (SPIN) - SPIN (Sponsored Programs Information Network) is a funding opportunity database that provides information on government and private funding sources in both the US and abroad. SPIN contains over 40,000 funding opportunities from more than 10,000 global sponsors. The University of Pennsylvania has subscribed to the SPIN database and provides access to all PennERA users.

Grant Advisor - Information on grant, research, and fellowship opportunities for U.S. institutions of higher education made available through Penn Career Services. Your PennKey is required to access the password to this site, which changes monthly.

Additional resources not affiliated with Penn but still recommended.

Postdoctoral Funding Opportunities from John Hopkins University - This is a continuously updated repository of federal and private funding opportunities curated by the John Hopkins University's Office of the Vice Provost for Research. The opportunities are pre-sorted chronologically and alphabetically, and can be searched by funding amount and subject matter.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Fellowship Finder - The Illinois Database of Grants and Fellowships for Graduate Students. Can be filtered for postdoctoral opportunities.

Office of Research Services (ORS)

The Office of Research Services (ORS) provides full life cycle administrative support to facilitate innovative research that positively impacts the world. ORS provides excellent customer service through knowledge-based leadership and stewardship. This includes timely clear communication to build partnerships with the Penn research community and our external sponsors.

Visit the ORS Website

Federal Funding Resources and Opportunities

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Resources

National Science Foundation (NSF) Resources

 

Other Foundation/ Organization/ Associations

 

Grant Writing Resources

  • Applying for an NRSA
  • UPHS Grant Writing Manual
    • This Manual accompanies the annual workshop, "The Art and Science of Obtaining Federal Funding," but can be picked up at any time from the Office of Sponsored Program Services. It is especially helpful at outlining the School of Medicine's resources and procedures to successfully get a grant application "out the door".
  • Grant Writing Proposal: Step by Step
    • Eastern Michigan University's Grant Writing Manual offers great guidance on writing your grant application. It covers the anatomy and nuances of each proposal section as well as strategies to beat the competition.
  • Proposal Writing
    • University of Pittsburgh Office of Research manages this resource site which offers simple tips on grant writing. Most helpful is their list of selected web sites.