The Clinical Research Mentorship program provides previously funded Doris Duke investigators the opportunity to foster the next generation of clinical researchers by mentoring a medical student for one year.
The 2018-19 Clinical Research Mentorship competition is now open. See Award Details section below for more information.
Award Details
Past and present principal investigators on medical research grants from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) identify a medical student to mentor for one year and then apply as a team. Alternatively, medical students identify a qualifying DDCF principal investigator and they apply together. In either case, the DDCF principal investigator must be the applicant.
A list of DDCF researchers willing to be contacted by interested medical students is available upon request. Send requests to mrp@ddcf.org with “2018 CRM” as the subject line. In your email, please specify that you are writing to request the list of DDCF researchers willing to be contacted by students.
No phone calls please. We are better able to address questions submitted via email and will respond within two business days.
Each mentor is required to provide a 12-month, full-time clinical research experience for the student mentee. Each mentee must be willing to take 12 months out from medical school, typically after the third year of school. Teams receive $70,400 over one year, inclusive of a $30,000 stipend for the student. The student’s year out will start in the summer of 2018 and end in the summer of 2019. DDCF expects to make awards to 10 mentor/mentee teams in 2018.
Note that only one application per year per mentor will be accepted for the Clinical Research Mentorship program. Mentors cannot oversee research for two students nor can mentees conduct research under two separate mentors.
Key Dates
| Applications Due | January 9, 2018 (3 p.m. ET) |
| Notice of Offer | By 5 p.m. ET, March 16, 2018 |
| Decisions Due | March 23, 2018 (1 p.m. ET) |
| Grant Start Date | June 1, 2018 |
| Research Year for Student | July 2018-June 2017 |
Eligibility Criteria
For a full explanation of the eligibility requirements, view the Request for Applications.
Mentees
- Students must be in good standing at any accredited, U.S.-based medical school working on an M.D. or D.O.
- Students do not have to be U.S. citizens but must be pursuing their M.D. studies in the United States and/or U.S. territories (including Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands).
- Students do not have to be matriculated at the mentor’s affiliated medical school, but the student must be willing to relocate to the affiliated institution for the research year.
- Students in a combined M.D./Ph.D. program are not eligible.
Mentors
Mentors must be DDCF researchers funded through the following programs:
- Clinical Scientist Development Awards from 1998 to 2016
- Distinguished Clinical Scientist Awards since 1999
- Innovations in Clinical Research Awards since 2009
Application Process
The mentor and student mentee should work together to develop a single application to submit using the DDCF online application site. The mentor must access the online application site using their email address. The online application form and confidential letters of support must be submitted by January 9, 2018 (3 p.m. ET).
Note that the mentor will need the tax ID of the institution where he/she holds an academic appointment in order to access the application website.
Access the application site here.