About the NSF Pickwick Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Sleep

Since 1995, the National Sleep Foundation Pickwick Postdoctoral Fellowship program has provided funds to enable young researchers to devote full-time professional effort to mentored research in sleep or sleep disorders. Fellowships are available for basic, applied or clinical research.

Who Can Apply?

Applicants for the NSF Pickwick Postdoctoral Fellowship must have a sponsor and plan to conduct research in recognized U.S. or Canadian programs of study or laboratories with strong mentorship in the appropriate area. Non-US citizens are eligible. A laboratory can have a maximum of one NSF Pickwick Fellow at any given time.

Candidates must have received either an MD, DVM, PhD or DO degree by the time the fellowship begins in July 2009. The degree or subsequent training must have been completed within the past five years. Individuals who have received a National Institutes of Health or National Science Foundation Research Grant, or hold a faculty position, are not eligible. The applicant must demonstrate evidence of aptitude for and proficiency in research and interest in pursuing a career in sleep research. Recipients are supported to conduct mentored research for a greater proportion (at least 75%) of their time.

Award Structure

Pickwick Fellows receive funding based on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Research Service Award (NRSA) schedule, which is based on years of postdoctoral research experience, plus a benefits allowance of $7,000. 

Award Structure

The funding amount is for two years, with the second year of support dependent upon satisfactory progress in the first year.

Time Frame

The deadline for application is November 1, 2008. Awardees will be notified by April 1, 2009. Funding begins July, 2009.

How To Apply

The application used for this year's NSF Pickwick Postdoctoral Fellowship program is the same as that required for the National Research Service Award for individual postdoctoral fellows (NRSA PHS 416-1), available with instructions from the NIH, but with minor changes. These changes are as follows:

• The description of the research training plan is limited to five pages.
  
• The sponsor should limit responses on Previous Trainees, Training Plan/Environment/Research Facilities, and Number of Fellows/Trainees to Be Supervised During Fellowship to a single page.
  
• The candidate should assist the sponsor in writing Applicant's Qualifications and Potential.
  
• The methodology for use of human subjects or vertebrate animals use in the proposed research must be described in the Research Training Plan, including completing section E for human subjects or section F for vertebrate animals. Prior to funding of the Pickwick Fellowship, a copy of the letter of approval of the research protocol by the Institutional Review Board (IRB, human subjects) or the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC, vertebrate animals) must be submitted to NSF.
  
• The candidate should submit a budget that itemizes the use of the funds and lists other sources of funding. The greater proportion of funds should be applied to salary. Indirect costs will not be covered. A financial statement is required at the end of each year.
  
• Include a cover letter indicating your interest and plans for pursuing a career in sleep research.
  
• E-mail the application and supplemental materials (e.g. articles) to Jessica Steinitz at jsteinitz@sleepfoundation.org.
  
• For a copy of the application for the National Research Service Award (PHS 416-1) and instructions, you can access the NIH Web page and download the information.
  

Please contact Jessica Steinitz (jsteinitz@sleepfoundation.org) if you have any questions.

Donating to Support the Pickwick Fellowships

The Pickwick Postdoctoral Research Fellowships are supported in part by the Pickwick Club, a special group of donors to the National Sleep Foundation who are interested in furthering the public and professional education programs of the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). Named after the society described in Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers, the Pickwick Club pays honor to those who have known intimately "a sensation of bodily weariness [that] in vain contends against an inability to sleep."

You can help NSF maintain excellence in clinical science and research by supporting young people entering the field and encouraging the participation of investigators from other disciplines to enter the important field of sleep research. To join the Pickwick Club, please click here .

To download a PDF flyer for the NSF Pickwick Fellowship, click here.

(To download Adobe Acrobat, click here.)