2024 Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain (SCGB) Transition to Independence Award

Eligibility

To be eligible for the SCGB TTI Award, applicants must meet the following criteria. We will rely on your signed self-attestation and cannot make any other formal determination regarding your identity, disability status or disadvantaged social and/or economic background. We recognize that diversity varies across different settings and across countries. For additional information, see our FAQ.

• U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status is not required.
• The program is open to individuals who self-identify as members of diverse groups within these categories: race, ethnicity, disadvantaged social and/or economic background, gender identity, sexual orientation and disability status. Examples of eligible applicants include individuals identifying as:
  • Black;
  • Indigenous;
  • Latine;
  • Having a disability;
  • A woman;
  • A member of the LGBTQIA+ community or a sexual or gender minority;
  • For U.S. applicants, studied or are currently in a position at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), Hispanic-serving Institution (HSI), Tribally Controlled Colleges and University (TCCU), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institution or Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI); or
  • Coming from a disadvantaged social and/or economic background. We will consider individuals to have come from a disadvantaged background if they meet two (2) or more of the following criteria:
    • Were or currently are homeless;
    • Were in the foster care system;
    • Have/had no parents or legal guardians who completed a bachelor’s degree;
    • Were eligible for government-assisted meal programs, such as, for U.S. applicants, the U.S. Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program;
    • Were eligible for government-assisted programs for low-income individuals, such as, for U.S. applicants, the U.S. Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children as a parent or child;
    • For U.S. applicants, grew up in one of the following areas: (a) a U.S. rural area, as designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer, or (b) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-designated Low-Income and Health Professional Shortage Areas (qualifying zip codes are included in the file).
• Applicants must hold a Ph.D. and/or M.D., or equivalent degree.
• Applicants must be currently in a non-independent, mentored training position as recognized by their institution.
• Applicants must be actively seeking and applying to tenure-track faculty positions at research institutions within or outside the U.S. between September 2024 and May 2025. Independence Fellows are expected to apply, secure and transition to a tenure-track faculty position at a research institution within or outside the U.S. by the end of the 2025–2026 academic year.
• Applicants may not simultaneously hold other career development awards with similar budgetary scopes, such as: NIH K99/R00, Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award, American Academy of Neurology Career Development Award and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Hanna H. Gray Fellowship.
• Applicants must not have accepted a formal offer for a tenure-track faculty position by the time of award notification.
• Applicants are limited to one application resubmission (a total of two (2) submissions to the SCGB TTI RFA).

All applicants with a change in their eligibility status, for example, due to acceptance of a faculty position or grant of similar budgetary scope, must notify Simons Foundation staff without delay.

Summary

The program is aimed at Ph.D. and/or M.D.-holding scientists from diverse and/or historically underrepresented groups in science who are currently in a non-independent, mentored training position at an institution within or outside the U.S. and who will be actively seeking and applying to tenure-track faculty positions between September 2024–May 2025. Independence Fellows are expected to apply, secure and transition to a tenure-track faculty position at a research institution within or outside the U.S. by the end of the 2025–2026 academic year. U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status is not required. The SCGB TTI Award program welcomes applications from scientists doing work consistent with SCGB’s scientific mission, specifically investigating large-scale circuits at single-cell resolution to understand neural dynamics and coding.

We seek to support the next generation of outstanding systems and computational neuroscientists. The SCGB TTI Award program welcomes applications from scientists planning to do work consistent with SCGB’s scientific mission, specifically investigating large-scale circuits at single-cell resolution to understand neural dynamics and coding. Applicants are required to focus their scientific proposal on their plans for their future lab and independent research program, not the remainder of their postdoctoral position.

Independence Fellows will receive up to two (2) years of postdoctoral fellowship support during their job search, with an annual salary of $85,000 USD, fringe benefits, an annual resource and professional development allowance of $10,000 USD, and indirect costs (see our grant policies) followed by a commitment of $600,000 USD over three (3) years, including indirect costs (see our grant policies), activated upon assumption of a tenure-track research professorship. The fellows will form a learning community and engage in professional development activities throughout their transition to research independence.

Overhead

Indirect Costs: Indirect costs (20 percent of modified total direct costs, see our grant policies) must be listed in this budget section.

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

The deadline for application submission is 12:00 p.m. (noon) Eastern Time on Wednesday, January 10, 2024.

Applications must be submitted via the Simons Award Manager (SAM). Please click on the Funding Opportunities icon and navigate to the Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain – Transition to Independence Postdoctoral Award call. Click the Create Application button to begin. Applications should be started and submitted under the applicant’s own account in SAM.

Informational Session for Potential Applicants

The Simons Foundation will be holding an informational webinar for all Independence awards, featuring Simons Foundation scientific staff, on Thursday, November 2, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. (noon) EDT. Click here to register. Please note that the webinar will be recorded and a copy of the recording will be available on this webpage within two weeks.

Informational videos on how to navigate the grants management system SAM can be found here.