Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Program

Interested in pursuing a career in research? The National Institutes of Health, in partnership with the Lasker Foundation, offers the Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Program, an historic “intramural-extramural” partnership to nurture the next generation of clinical researchers.

The Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Program aims to grow the diminishing pool of talented physician-scientists by providing the necessary financial support to establish their careers. It combines a five to seven-year period of independent research as an NIH Principal Investigator with the opportunity to then either remain at the NIH as a tenured Senior Investigator or apply for up to five years of extramural financial support ($500,000 per year plus overhead) at a university or other external research institution.

Qualifications/eligibility: Candidates must have an MD, MD/PhD, DO, DDS, DMD, RN/PhD, or equivalent clinical doctoral degree from an accredited domestic or foreign institution and must have a professional license to practice in the United States. The program is intended for early-stage investigators. At the time of application, applicants must be no more than 10 years from completion of their core residency training. Applicants who have completed their core residency in June 2007 are still eligible. Applicants will generally have completed or be completing a post-residency clinical fellowship, and will have demonstrated significant patient-oriented research experience to qualify for a tenure-track level appointment. Scholars do not have to be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Emphasis on diversity: The NIH and the Lasker Foundation recognize a unique and compelling need to promote diversity in the clinical research workforce. The NIH expects all of its efforts to diversify the workforce to lead to the recruitment of the most talented researchers from all groups; to improve the quality of the education and training of all researchers; to balance and broaden the perspective in setting research priorities; to improve the ability to recruit subjects from diverse backgrounds into clinical research protocols; and to improve the Nation's capacity to address and eliminate health disparities. Thus the NIH encourages applications from talented researchers from diverse backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical research, including underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, persons with disabilities and women.

Learn more here: https://www.nih.gov/research-training/lasker-clinical-research-scholars/calling-all-dedicated-clinician-scientists