The goal of the program is to provide opportunities for accomplished investigators still early in their careers to study what happens at the points where the systems of humans and potentially infectious agents connect. The program supports research that sheds light on the fundamentals that affect the outcomes of these encounters: how colonization, infection, commensalism, and other relationships play out at levels ranging from molecular interactions to systemic ones. In general, faculty in their first 2–3 years are not yet competitive for this award.
The awards are intended to give recipients the freedom and flexibility to pursue new avenues of inquiry and higher risk research projects that hold potential for significantly advancing understanding of the pathogenesis of infectious disease. Researchers who start from the human host are appropriate applicants, as are those who start from the microbe or virus. Research on under-studied infectious diseases, including emerging diseases as well as well established ones, is encouraged. Work on fungal, protozoan, and metazoan diseases and emerging infections is especially of interest. In addition, work done in excellent animal models of human disease, including in veterinary research settings, is within the program’s scope. Interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged. Work connecting pathogenesis itself to climate change is also encouraged. Work that involves more elements in studies of pathogenesis, for example, vector biology in the context of human and pathogen biology, is very welcome.
The ideal candidate is an accomplished investigator at the mid-to-late assistant professor level with an established record of independent research in a tenure-track position or its well-supported equivalent in non-tenure offering departments. Very few newly appointed assistant professors are competitive for this award. Most should consider applying later in their career.
For more information, please visit the website. Faculty interested in applying should contact the Foundations Team.
Deadline: July 17, 2025 at 3:00PM ET