Rheumatology Future Physician–Scientist Award Available for MD/PhD Students

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The Rheumatology Research Foundation is now offering the Rheumatology Future Physician-Scientist Award to enhance the training of promising MD/PhD or DO/PhD students who intend to become physician-scientists. As part of the Foundation’s work to recruit and train the next generation of rheumatology professionals, the award supports the nation’s top emerging physician-scientists.

S. Louis Bridges Jr., MD, PhD, director of the Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, explains how vital funding for early-stage training is to the field:

“The unique combination of clinical expertise and scientific perspective of physician-scientists is essential for the advancement of rheumatology through a deeper understanding of the pathogenesis of the rheumatic diseases and translation of these findings into novel ways to diagnose, treat [and] prevent [illness] or cure patients. The Rheumatology Future Physician-Scientist Award will help create a strong pipeline of physician-scientist rheumatologists who will serve as future thought leaders and pioneers in the field. This is particularly important in today’s environment, where there are decreasing numbers of such investigators.”

The two-year grant provides up to $30,000 per year in direct costs to promote interest in basic/translational investigative careers in rheumatology. Funding will support dissertation research projects in scientific health-related fields relevant to the Foundation’s mission to improve the health of people with rheumatic diseases.

Final applications for the Rheumatology Future Physician-Scientist Award must be submitted by 5 p.m. EST, Dec. 1. For further details on requirements and the submission process click here.