Simons Foundation - Fellows-to-Faculty Award program

Research

What?

The Fellows-to-Faculty Award program supports talented early career scientists by facilitating their transition into tenure-track faculty positions. The focus of this program is the 600,000 USD three (3) year faculty research grant. Additionally, fellows engage with a community of investigators and receive mentoring and peer support during their transition.

The Simons Foundation’s Autism & Neuroscience division offers the program to nurture new talent and to broaden the community of scientists contributing to the basic science missions of our programs. 

They support high-risk, high-reward basic science research with transformative potential. This RFA is open both to applicants with experience in these areas and to those newly applying their expertise to these areas. They highly encourage basic science proposals from scientists with clinical training backgrounds, as well as scientists who bring theory and computational approaches to our mission areas. They welcome both human subject studies and research in other experimental systems or models.

Each fellow is provided up to five (5) years of financial support, split into a faculty research award over three (3) years, and an optional preceding postdoctoral award for a maximum of two (2) years. Fellows may activate awards at research institutions within or outside of the United States.

Who?

This request for applications (RFA) is intended for Ph.D.- and/or M.D.-holding scientists currently in mentored research training positions who will seek tenure-track research faculty positions during the upcoming academic job cycle. Applicants must have a scientific vision for their future independent laboratory that advances the mission of the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI), Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain (SCPAB) or Simons Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience (SCENE).

This RFA is intended for applicants currently competitive for a faculty job. Most successful applicants will have at least one (1) publication or preprint from their current position.

Fellows are expected to apply to tenure-track (or equivalent) faculty positions in September 2027 and begin their faculty role during the 2028–2029 academic year.

Application?

Applicants must submit a full application via the Simons Award Manager (SAM) by 12:00 p.m. (Noon) Eastern time on January 13, 2027. A detailed “How to Apply” can be found here.

The scope of the application should be similar to that of a faculty job application, including specific research directions, relevance to the scientific mission of the area(s) and demonstration of preparedness for launching an independent laboratory at this time. Applicants should focus their scientific proposal on their plans for their future lab rather than a specific three (3) year project proposal. Postdoctoral research aims or training goals should not be included in the application.
  

More information?

You can find more information on the Fellows-to-Faculty Award program webpage.

On 21 October 2026 a webinar will be organised (1:00 p.m.–2:15 p.m. Eastern time on Zoom. Register here.)

Please always contact research@uhasselt.be if you want to apply.
 

Deadline

13.01.2027

Contact Hasselt University?

E-mail brecht.vanhoof@uhasselt.be

Tel. +3211268744