The current grant level is $300,000; $75,000 per year for a four-year period. For the 2025 award, one nomination will be invited from each of the participating institutions listed at the bottom of this page.
Eligibility for the 2025 Award
Candidates must meet all of the following eligibility requirements:
- Hold a doctorate in biomedical sciences, medicine, or a related field, including engineering or the physical sciences.
- As of Sept. 5, 2024, run an independent lab and hold a full-time appointment at the rank of assistant professor. (Appointments such as research assistant professor, adjunct assistant professor, assistant professor research track, visiting professor, or instructor are not eligible).
- Current appointments such as research assistant professor, adjunct assistant professor, assistant professor research track, visiting professor, or instructor are not eligible to apply. Please note that the applicant must not have been appointed as an assistant professor at any institution and have run an independent lab prior to June 10, 2020.
- Must not have been appointed as an assistant professor at any institution prior to June 10, 2020, whether or not such an appointment was on a tenure track. Time spent in clinical internships, residencies, in work toward board certification, or on parental leave does not count as part of this four-year limit. Candidates who need an exception on the four-year limit should contact Pew’s program office to ensure that application reviewers are aware an exception has been given.
- Please note that the eligibility criteria above have been temporarily expanded to account for COVID-related lab shutdowns. Please direct any questions to the program office at [email protected].
- May apply to the program a maximum of two times. All applicants must be nominated by their institution and must complete the 2025 online application.
- If applicants have appointments at more than one eligible nominating institution or affiliate, they may not reapply in a subsequent year from a different nominating entity.
- May not be nominated for the Pew Scholars Program and the Pew-Stewart Scholars Program for Cancer Research in the same year.
Based on their performance during their education and training, candidates should demonstrate outstanding promise as contributors in science relevant to human health. This program does not fund clinical trials research. Strong proposals will incorporate particularly creative and pioneering approaches to basic, translational, and applied biomedical research. Candidates whose work is based on biomedical principles but who bring in concepts and theories from more diverse fields are encouraged to apply.
Ideas with the potential to produce an unusually high impact are encouraged. Selection of the successful candidates will be based on a detailed description of the work that the applicant proposes to undertake, evaluations of the candidate’s performance, and notable past accomplishments, including honors, awards, and publications. In evaluating the candidates, the National Advisory Committee gives considerable weight to both the project proposal and the researcher, including evidence that the candidate is a successful independent investigator and has the skill set needed to carry out their high-impact proposal.
Funding from the NIH, other government sources, and project grants from nonprofit associations do not pose a conflict with the Pew scholars program. If you have questions concerning eligibility, please contact Pew Biomedical Programs ([email protected]) in advance of applying.
Terms of the Award
Funding terms
An award of $75,000 per year for four years will be provided to the sponsoring institution for use by the scholar, subject to annual review of the scholar’s progress. Grant agreements will be issued in August of the award year. The awarded funds may be used at the discretion of the Pew scholar, for personnel, equipment, supplies, or travel directly related to the scholar's research and as to best advance his or her research and career.
- The amount of the award that may be used for the principal investigator’s salary is limited to $12,500 per year (including benefits) or $50,000 over the duration of the grant. There are no limits on student or postdoctoral salaries.
- Not more than 8 percent ($24,000) of the total award value may be allocated for facilities and administration (F&A) charges or indirect costs (IDCs).
- Should the funds not be immediately required, they may be accumulated and carried over through the grant period and, with written approval of the program office, the grant may receive a no-cost extension for one additional year (without additional funds).
- Subawards are allowed.
Investigator effort
It is expected that Pew scholars will spend at least 80 percent of their time in work or activities related to the accomplishment of their overall research goals (which are not restricted to the specific aims proposed for this award). However, Pew provides flexible support to the general research aims of the scholar and does not require effort reporting.
Annual meeting attendance
During the four-year grant term, program participants are required to attend an annual meeting held in March or April. All eligible expenses for attendees’ travel, lodging, and meals are paid by Pew. The meeting provides Pew scholars with an opportunity to present their research and for scientific collaboration and exchange with other scholars and members of the National Advisory Committee.
Annual reports
Annual progress reports are required, describing research accomplishments, project status, and future directions. In addition, financial reports are required annually accounting for general grant expenditures. Funding for the second, third, and fourth years is contingent upon timely submission of acceptable financial and narrative progress reports and attendance at the annual meeting during the four-year term.
Participating Institutions
For the awards to be made in 2025, one nomination will be invited from each of the following 212 institutions. The Pew Charitable Trusts selects participating institutions based on the scope of the institution’s work in biomedical research and recommendations by the National Advisory Committee.
Institutions that would like to be considered for invitation may contact [email protected].
Albany Medical College
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Allen Institute
Arizona State University
Auburn University
Augusta University
Baylor College of Medicine
Benaroya Research Institute
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Binghamton University
Boston College
Boston University
Brandeis University
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Brown University
Buck Institute for Research on Aging
California Institute of Technology
Carnegie Institution of Washington
Carnegie Mellon University
Case Western Reserve University
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Children’s Hospital, Boston
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Children's Mercy Kansas City
Children's National Hospital
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
City of Hope National Medical Center
Clarkson University
Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
College of William and Mary
Colorado School of Mines
Colorado State University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dartmouth College
Drexel University
Duke University
Emory University
Florida State University
Forsyth Institute
Fox Chase Cancer Center
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Georgetown University
George Washington University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Gladstone Institutes
Harvard University
Henry Ford Health
Houston Methodist Research Institute
Howard University
Hunter College
Indiana University
Iowa State University
Jackson Laboratory
Johns Hopkins University
La Jolla Institute for Immunology
Lehigh University
Louisiana State University
Marine Biological Laboratory
Marquette University
Massachusetts Eye and Ear
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience
Mayo Clinic
Medical College of Wisconsin
Medical University of South Carolina
Meharry Medical College
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Michigan State University
Monell Chemical Senses Center
Montana State University
Morgridge Institute for Research
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
National Institutes of Health
National Jewish Health
Nebraska Medicine
New York Medical College
New York University
North Carolina State University
Northeastern University
Northern Arizona University
Northwestern University
Ohio State University
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
Oklahoma State University
Oregon Health & Science University
Oregon State University
Pennsylvania State University
Princeton University
Purdue University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rice University
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Rush University Medical Center
Rutgers University
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
St. Louis University
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
San Diego State University
Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute
Scripps Research Institute
Stanford University
State University of New York at Albany
State University of New York at Buffalo
State University of New York at Stony Brook
State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn
Stowers Institute for Medical Research
Syracuse University
Temple University
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
The Rockefeller University
Thomas Jefferson University
Translational Genomics Research Institute
Tufts Medical Center
Tufts University
Tulane University
University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Arizona
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Davis
University of California, Irvine
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Merced
University of California, Riverside
University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Francisco
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of Central Florida
University of Chicago
University of Cincinnati
University of Colorado, Boulder
University of Colorado, Denver
University of Connecticut
University of Delaware
University of Denver
University of Florida
University of Georgia
University of Hawaii
University of Houston
University of Idaho
University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Iowa
University of Kansas Medical Center
University of Kentucky at Lexington
University of Louisville
University of Maine
University of Maryland, Baltimore
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
University of Massachusetts Medical School
University of Miami
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota
University of Missouri
University of Missouri, Kansas City
University of Montana
University of Nebraska
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
University of New Hampshire
University of New Mexico
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina, Charlotte
University of North Dakota
University of North Texas
University of Notre Dame
University of Oklahoma
University of Oregon
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh
University of Rochester
University of Southern California
University of South Carolina
University of Tennessee Health Science Center
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
University of Texas at Arlington
University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at San Antonio
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
University of Utah
University of Vermont
University of Virginia
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of Wyoming
Upstate Medical University
Utah State University
Van Andel Research Institute
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest University
Washington State University
Washington University in St. Louis
Wayne State University
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Yale University
National Advisory Committee
The National Advisory Committee provides scientific leadership to the program, reviews all applications, and identifies candidates to be recommended to Pew’s board to be named scholars.
The National Advisory Committee currently includes:
Chair:
Niswander, Lee A., Ph.D.
Chair of Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology
University of Colorado, Boulder
Members:
Andreotti, Amy, Ph.D.
Roy J. Carver Chair and University Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology
Iowa State University
August, Avery, Ph.D.
Professor, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Professor of Immunology
Cornell University
Bautista, Diana, Ph.D.
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
University of California, Berkeley
Chiang, Cheng-Ming, Ph.D.
Professor of Pharmacology and Biochemistry
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Clemons, Bil, Ph.D.
Professor of Biochemistry
California Institute of Technology
Fenton, André, Ph.D.
Professor of Neural Science
New York University
Fuchs, Elaine, Ph.D.
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor
Rockefeller University
Goldstein, Bob, Ph.D.
James L. Peacock III Distinguished Professor
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Hur, Sun, Ph.D.
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology
Boston Children's Hospital
MacRae, Ian, Ph.D.
Professor of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology
Scripps Research
Patel, Nipam, Ph.D.
Director, Marine Biological Laboratory
The University of Chicago
Pe’er, Dana, Ph.D.
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Chair, Computational and Systems Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute
Scientific Director, Alan and Sandra Gerry Metastasis and Tumor Ecosystems Center
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Sánchez Alvarado, Alejandro, Ph.D.
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer
Stowers Institute for Medical Research
Salama, Nina, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President of Education
Professor of Human Biology Division
Professor of Public Health Sciences Division
Dr. Penny E. Petersen Memorial Chair for Lymphoma Research
Fred Hutch Cancer Center
Schmid, Sandra, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Chan Zuckerberg Biohub
Svoboda, Karel, Ph.D.
Vice President and Executive Director
Allen Institute
Theriot, Julie, Ph.D.
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Chief Scientific Advisor, Allen Institute
Professor of Department of Biology
University of Washington
Oral History Project
The story of scientific discovery is a personal one, and the Oral History and Archives Project for the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences has collected the life stories of more than 200 Pew scholars and produced one of the most extensive biomedical research oral history archives available today in the United States.
The oral history project, launched in 1988, provides an intellectual portrait of modern science and makes available significant insight into the factors that shaped the lives of some of today’s most accomplished biomedical scientists.
The oral history collection traces the scientific paths that the scholars pursued, the challenges they confronted, and the kinds of choices and decisions they made that shaped their careers. Such stories, in turn, can motivate and inspire others to follow similar routes.
The completed oral histories are archived at the Science History Institute in Philadelphia. Many of the histories are available for viewing and research upon request. For more information about the Pew scholars oral history collection, please contact the Science History Institute.