The Brookdale
Foundation
Leadership in aging fellowship

2010 Fellowship Candidate Guidelines

The primary goal of The Brookdale Leadership in Aging Fellowship Program is to foster the development of a new generation of leaders in the field of aging by supporting investigators in the developmental stages of their careers.

The Foundation is looking for future leaders in aging and, therefore, is not providing Fellowships for people who are already well established in the field. Applicants who have had an NIH or R01 type award would generally seem too far into their career to apply for this Leadership in Aging Fellowship. Candidates must demonstrate that they would benefit from a concentrated period of time to undertake a research project with significance in the field of aging.

All applications must:

  1. Provide learning and leadership opportunities for the candidate;
  2. Involve a project with potential to advance the knowledge base in the field of aging;
  3. Be based at the sponsoring institution.

Each candidate must:

  1. Demonstrate leadership potential;
  2. Provide evidence of an ongoing commitment to a career in aging;
  3. Have a mentor (or mentors) willing and able to provide professional guidance and to be helpful in the development of the candidate's career and research project (Although it is preferred that at least one mentor is based at the sponsoring institution, we understand that in some fields, such as the arts and humanities, appropriate mentors might not be at one's home institution. If your mentors are not at your institution, please explain why.);
  4. Be willing to commit at least 75 % of his or her time for career development for each of the two years of the Fellowship;
  5. Propose a project related to the field of aging that displays a meaningful and precisely defined role in his or her career development and has practical implications for the field of aging.
  6. Have already earned a PhD or MD; candidates should be between their first and tenth years of their graduate degree.

Each application will be scored as follows:

  1. Candidate: up to 10 points
  2. Project: up to 5 points
  3. Mentor/Institution: up to 5 points

    Total = up to 20 points

Candidates who are up to ten years from their graduate degree are eligible to apply. Any candidates who are more than 10 years from the graduate degree must explain the particular circumstances that they feel make them eligible for consideration in Section I, Career Information. Examples of special circumstances include: 1) candidates whose period following their graduate degree (including internship, residency and fellowship training) is exceptionally long (e.g., residencies of great length); 2) candidates who, following training in another field have switched to geriatrics; 3) candidates who are changing the focus of their work to the field of aging; and 4) candidates who have had career interruptions due to family responsibilities.

The candidate to the best of his/her knowledge must not be related to any Senior Fellow or to any officer or director of the Foundation nor someone whose selection would result in a private benefit to any Senior Fellow or to any officer or director of the Foundation. (See FAQ for more information.)

While there is no limit to the number of applications that can be submitted by an institution, each institution should exercise discretion in endorsing only those candidates who fit the criteria and eligibility requirements of the Program and whose leadership and research skills make them viable competitors for a Fellowship award. It is expected that an internal Review Panel at each institution, comprised of department heads, senior faculty, gerontologists and geriatricians, will review all candidates and will endorse only those candidates who are the most qualified to be considered for Brookdale Leadership in Aging Fellowship awards.

Applications must be approved by an authorized person at each institution. As part of the application process, the sponsoring institution must fax a letter endorsing each candidate.

The Fellowship Program supports investigators whose primary work during the two years of the Fellowship grant is the Brookdale Research Project.  The Brookdale Fellowship is not intended to supplement other grants or fellowships and will only be awarded to candidates who are committing at least 75% of his/her time exclusively to the Brookdale Fellowship Research for each of the two years of the Fellowship.

Candidates who have submitted an application for an NIH-type career development award are eligible for a Brookdale award as long as they have not already received the NIH-type award at the time of application to Brookdale. If they receive both the Brookdale Fellowship Award and the career award, they can continue to be designated a Brookdale Fellow and can participate in the network and retreats, but not receive salary support from the Brookdale award during the period they receive salary support from the other career development award.

The Fellowship Grant is given by the Foundation to the sponsoring institution to provide salary and fringe benefit support for the candidate commensurate with the wage scale of the institution. The Fellowship will be awarded without regard to any individual’s age, race, color, creed, sex, national origin, religion, physical or mental disability, citizenship or sexual orientation.

The funding caps cover 75% of the candidate’s base salary and fringe up to a total of $125,000 for each year relating to candidate’s time devoted to the fellowship. Additionally, a financial incentive of $3,000 will be provided by the Foundation for the mentor each year for the two years of the Fellowship.

It is the responsibility of each sponsoring institution receiving Fellowship support to provide all supportive services necessary for the candidate's research.  This includes office and lab space, equipment, supplies, research assistants if needed, conference and travel expenditures, secretarial assistance and all expenditures other than the candidate's salary and fringe benefits covered by the Brookdale Fellowship.  If the candidate selects a mentor at their base institution, it is the responsibility of that institution to support the mentor's time and expertise. Institutional commitment must be assured and are an integral part of the application.

It is the policy of The Brookdale Foundation Group not to allow indirect costs for the administration of this award.

All Applications must be completed online (www.BrookdaleFoundation.org) and should include all required information. There are three sections to the application:

  1. Candidate information and project description
  2. Mentor’s role and statement
  3. Sponsoring institution information, including a letter that must be faxed to the Foundation to confirm their endorsement and commitment to the project.

The deadline for application submission is 5 p.m. ET Thursday, November 5, 2009. Applications will only be accepted through the Brookdale Leadership in Aging Program’s Online Application system; no late submissions or submissions sent by mail, email or facsimile will be accepted.

It is recommended to access the application, review it, and see the FAQ section before contacting the Foundation with any questions. For more information contact:

Cara Kenien
The Brookdale Foundation
Phone: (212) 308-7355, ext. 101
Email: cjk@brookdalefoundation.org