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The Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar Awards Fellowship

The Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar Awards Fellowship

Updated Information

Applications for the AY 2025-2026 are open. Applications are due by September, 17th 2025.

Warren Alpert Award: https://www.warrenalpertfoundation.org/awards/

2025-26 Cohort Call for Nominations

UC San Diego has been invited to submit one nomination for the The Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar Awards. The Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholars Award program enables a postdoctoral researcher to advance to become a full-time faculty member at the Assistant Professor level or higher and to promote the development of a laboratory program that will lead to independent funding. 

Award Details

The fellowship award will be disbursed annually at the beginning of each academic year, and are conditional upon the Scholar’s full time employment. 

  • The medical school, research institute, or academic hospital appointing the scholar will be awarded $200,000 annually for two years.

  • Award is intended to cover salary, lab costs, and related expenses.  Under certain circumstances, the awardee may transfer funding to support their beginning faculty position. 

  • Indirect costs of up to 15% of direct costs, may be included in the $200,000.



Nominees must meet the following criteria to be considered:

  •  

    • Must have an MD, PhD, or both

      Must hold a post-doctoral research position at a United States medical school, research institute, or academic institution.

      Minimum of 3 years and no more than 6 years of a post-doctoral fellowship by July 1, 2026

      Research focused in the field of Neuroscience

      Commitment of a minimum of 75% effort

      Budgets submitted in NIH G300 format

      Scholars will be chosen on the basis of the success in their prior post-doctoral work and other research as well as in the importance and creativity of their proposed future research.

Scholars will be chosen on the basis of the success in their prior postdoctoral work and other research as well as in the importance and creativity of their proposed future research. 

  • This is a limited-submission opportunity. UC San Diego may nominate a total of one (1) postdoctoral scholar to the Warren Alpert Foundation. Student nominees OR faculty advisors are eligible to submit an application for this competition. Student nominees MUST confirm with their faculty advisor that they are selected as a nominee prior to submitting an application on their own behalf. *

  • Each nominated postdoctoral scholar must be submitted for a unique neuroscience research topic. 

  • An individual nominee’s underrepresented group status will not be collected in the application by Warren Alpert, and applications will be reviewed based solely on the strength of the submitted materials.

Nomination Materials

Please submit the following materials for each postdoctoral scholar's nomination:

  • Completed application form through InfoReady, including the following information:

    • Project title and summary (250 words max.)

    • Statement on the background of the applicant and the special characteristics that they have for implementing the project and career plan (350 word count).

  • Research proposal that includes an introduction to the project and methods, description of likely results, and articulation of the importance of the project (max. 4 pages);

  • Bibliography;

  • Biosketch (submit in NIH format - max. 5 pages);

  • Three (3) letters of recommendation;

  • Proposed budget and budget justification submitted in NIH G300 format;