Solicitation for Concept Papers

The purpose of this solicitation is to select one UM nominee for the 2012 Searle Scholars Program. The nominee selected will be expected to submit a full proposal to Searle by September 30, 2011. This is the seventh year UM has been invited to participate in this prestigious annual competition, whose prime objective is to support the research and career development of junior faculty with outstanding potential.

The focus of this competition is on junior faculty pursuing independent research careers in biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, immunology, neuroscience, pharmacology, physiology, and related areas in chemistry, medicine, and the biological sciences. Candidates should have begun their first appointment at the assistant professor level on or after July 1, 2010 and therefore be in their first or second year in a tenure-track (or equivalent) position in an academic department.

Information and form required, UM selection criteria and review process, and other details about UM's nomination for the 2012 Searle Scholars Program are given in the solicitation. The internal UM application deadline is 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, August 23, 2011.

About the Searle Scholars Program

The Searle Scholars Program was established at The Chicago Community Trust in 1980 and funded from the estates of Mr. and Mrs. John G. Searle. Mr. Searle, grandson of the founder of the G.D. Searle & Company pharmaceutical firm, expressed the wish that certain of his funds be used to support “research in medicine, chemistry and the biological sciences.” To achieve this goal, grants are made to selected academic institutions to support the independent research of outstanding individuals who are in the first or second year of their first appointment at the assistant professor level, and whose current appointment is a tenure-track position.

Grants are normally $300,000 for a three-year period, with $100,000 payable in the first year and equal sums payable in the second and third years, subject to the receipt of acceptable progress reports. Normally, fifteen new awards are made annually.

For more information, including invited institutions, news about past and present Searle Scholars, and more, visit the Searle Scholars Program website.