Program Description |  Eligibility Guidelines  |  Financial Information
Application Deadline  |  Application Instructions 

The next application deadline is April 1, 2012.

Program Description

The Irvington Institute Fellowship Program of the Cancer Research Institute, formerly the Cancer Research Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, answers the need for more researchers in the field of cancer immunology. It supports qualified young scientists at leading universities and research centers around the world who wish to receive training in cancer immunology. A panel of scientists drawn from our Scientific Advisory Council rigorously evaluates each candidate, the intended sponsor and training environment, and the nature and feasibility of the proposed project.

CRI has recently reevaluated its laboratory and research training programs in an effort to better align funding priorities with the overall mission of the organization—the support and coordination of laboratory and clinical efforts that will lead to immunological treatment, control, and prevention of cancer.  As a result, CRI will now designate ALL fellowship funds to projects clearly related to the Institute’s mission and that seek to solve the cancer problem through immunological means.

Eligibility Guidelines

• Applicants for the CRI Fellowship Program must be working in areas directly related to cancer immunology. An eligible project must be immunology with direct relevance to solving the cancer problem. Proposals outside this area will not be considered. Applicants must include a summary describing how their proposal falls within these criteria.
• Applicants must have a doctoral degree by the date of award activation and must conduct their proposed research under a sponsor who holds a formal appointment at the host institution.
• Applicants with 5 or more years of relevant postdoctoral experience are not eligible, with the exception of M.D. applicants, who should not include years of residency in this calculation.
• Only in exceptional circumstances will applicants who have already spent 3 or more years in a sponsor’s laboratory by the start date of fellowship be considered for a fellowship award.
• The fellowship can be performed in the United States or abroad, but must take place at non-profit institutions.
• Only one fellow per sponsor may apply per application round, and faculty sponsors may not have more than three CRI-supported fellows at any time.

Financial Information

The fellowship provides stipends of $50,000 for the first year, $53,000 for the second year and $57,000 for the third year. In addition, an allowance of $1,500 per year is allotted to the host institution for use at sponsor’s discretion to help pay for the fellow’s research supplies, travel to scientific meetings or health insurance. Stipends and institutional allowances are not permitted to cover administrative expenses. Payments are made monthly in U.S. currency to the host institution.

Application Deadline

Applications must be received by April 1 and October 1 annually; when those dates fall on the weekend, applications are due the following Monday. Applicants are notified of fellowship decisions within approximately 10 weeks of the application deadline.

Fellowships can be activated three months after the application deadline but no later than one year following the deadline. Awards activate on the first of the month.

Application Instructions

Returning Applicants
To log into your account to retrieve your saved application, click here.

New Applicants
Applications will be accepted in electronic format only. The application process requires you to download a PDF Application Form for institutional signature and certification. You must also submit an electronic application (link at bottom of this page), which will require you to upload supporting materials.

Please read all the following instructions before proceeding to the online application.

Step 1: Download the PDF Application Form
Before you submit the online application, you should first download and fill out the PDF Application Form. Fill out the form, print it and obtain signatures for the Institutional Certifications section. Signatures will be required from the following individuals:

1. The institution’s Administrative Officer.
2. The institution’s Financial Officer.

When your form is complete, you should scan it as a PDF and upload it with your other supporting materials when completing the online application (see Step 2). You must retain your original copy of the PDF Application Form, as you will be required to mail it along with other original documentation in the event that you are selected to receive an award.

Step 2: Submit the Online Application and Uploading Supporting Materials
NOTE: You MUST have a valid email address in order to submit the online application.

A link to the online application can be found at the end of these instructions. You will first be asked to answer six questions that will help you determine whether you are eligible to apply for a CRI Fellowship. If you meet the required criteria, you will be directed to the online application.

Provide all relevant information, paying special attention to spelling and punctuation. Please avoid using abbreviations, acronyms, and typing in all capital letters. To navigate the application, use your “Tab” key to move from field to field. To move from page to page, click the numbered links at the top of your Web page. DO NOT USE YOUR BROWSER’S “BACK” BUTTON TO NAVIGATE FROM PAGE TO PAGE, AS THIS WILL CAUSE ALL DATA TO BE LOST.

TIP: You can save your application at any time by clicking the “Save” button at the bottom of each page. You will be asked to create a user account unique to you, which will catalogue all applications you submit to CRI. When creating your account, please remember your account name and password, or you will have difficulty accessing your applications.

When you have filled out all required fields on the online application, you will be asked on the final page of the application to upload, in this order, the following supporting documentation:

1. The scanned, signed copy of the paper Application Form you completed in Step 1 above.
2. Brief description of the applicant's background and research accomplishments.
3. List of other funding sources to which applications have been or will be submitted, with due dates.
4. Applicant’s curriculum vitae and bibliography.
5. A brief summary of your project, including a description of how the proposed research is directly relevant to solving the cancer problem through immunological means. Direct relevancy to cancer immunology must also be reflected throughout the research proposal (see item #7).
6. Abstract of research in non-technical English explaining the importance of the proposed research and its potential clinical relevance. The abstract will be used for fundraising purposes and submitted to CRI’s lay Board of Trustees.
7. Concise research proposal (background, significance, specific aims, materials and methods, summary) not to exceed 6 pages inclusive of tables and figures, exclusive of references. Applications exceeding this page limit will be disqualified.
8. Letter from the sponsor introducing the applicant and describing the sponsor’s qualifications to direct the proposed research. The letter must contain assurance that the applicant’s project will be conducted under the direct supervision of the sponsor. The sponsor should also emphasize the relevance of the proposed project to cancer immunology.
9. Sponsor’s curriculum vitae, bibliography (limit bibliography to past 5 years or to publications relevant to proposed research) and a list of sponsor’s current research support.
10. Two letters of recommendation are required. One letter must be from the applicant’s thesis advisor. Applicants who received an M.D. or otherwise who do not have a thesis advisor should have some other qualified individual submit this letter. The second letter should be from an individual well acquainted with the applicant’s work. The sponsor may not submit one of these letters. If the sponsor was also the applicant's thesis advisor, you must contact CRI for further instruction.

Important Note on Letters of Recommendation

In cases where the referee submits the recommendation letter to the applicant, the applicant should scan the original, signed letters and collate them into the supporting documentation attachment that is uploaded at the time of electronic application submission. All letters should be scanned in grayscale at a maximum resolution of 300 dpi to keep file size to a minimum. Do not scan in color, as this will significantly increase the file size, which could potentially cause uploading problems.

In cases where referees prefer to submit letters directly to CRI, the referee must scan a copy of their letter and email it to grants@cancerresearch.org.

In all cases, the original copies of all letters should be retained in the event that you are selected to receive an award. At that time, you will be required to submit all original documents.

Uploading Your Supporting Materials 

Applicants may upload MS Word or PDF documents. IMPORTANT: You must combine all the files into one document, and name it according to the following formula: if your name is Eric Brown, your file should be called Brown, Eric.doc or Brown, Eric.pdf. Do not submit multiple attachments.

When you have finished uploading the attachments, click “Submit.” You will receive a notice confirming that you have successfully submitted your online application. Immediately after, an automated notification from CRI will be sent to your email address, also confirming submission.

If you forget to upload your attachment, you may email it to grants@cancerresearch.org. Please be sure to note the application number, which will be assigned to you at the time of submission.

Online applications will be accepted up until 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the deadline date. If the deadline falls on a Saturday or Sunday, applications will be due at the close of business that following Monday.

We strongly suggest submitting your applications as early as possible to provide ample time in case your application is incomplete. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Preparation Guidelines

Any documents you attach to your online application must be typed single-space using a 12 pt. or larger font size. Please review other preparation guidelines outlined in the PDF Application Form.

Click here to download the PDF Application Form.

Click here to access the online application.

For more information or if you have any questions about this application, please call (212) 688-7515, fax (212) 832-9376, or e-mail grants@cancerresearch.org.