UW Distinguished Research Fellows Program

Number of Fellowships Available: 10

About the Program

The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research is pleased to announce the UW Distinguished Research Fellows Program (DRFP), designed to support outstanding postdoctoral trainees in interdisciplinary research areas related to RISE-AI, RISE-THRIVE, and RISE-EARTH. UW–Madison tenured faculty, tenure-track faculty and researchers with permanent PI status are invited to apply and nominate outstanding postdoctoral candidates for this fellowship. The intent of this program is to support exceptional emerging scholars in collaborative research that spans two distinct units (schools, colleges, centers) at UW–Madison, and that synergizes distinct disciplinary approaches. Fellowships are designed to guide new research efforts beyond traditional disciplinary lines to answer important and impactful challenges facing society. Applications are expected to incorporate exceptional mentorship plans.

Awards will be for two years and will provide $125K per year to cover an annual salary of $75K, benefits (including health insurance), and a research and professional development allowance (up to $35K with justification). For this solicitation, research and training in research areas related to RISE-AI, RISE-THRIVE, and RISE-EARTH will be supported. Up to 10 fellowships will be awarded.

Eligibility

Eligibility Criteria for Prospective UW Distinguished Research Fellows

Eligibility Criteria for Primary and Secondary Faculty Mentors

Proposals are invited from tenured faculty and tenure-track faculty and researchers with permanent PI status. Prospective Distinguished Research Fellows nominated for this award must anticipate defending their Ph.D. by June 2025 or be no more than two years into a postdoctoral position. Proposals must have a primary sponsoring faculty mentor and a secondary faculty mentor from different colleges/schools/centers and different disciplines at UW–Madison.

Proposals must have both research and training goals. The research plan must use interdisciplinary approaches to answer compelling research questions in areas related to RISE-AI, RISE-THRIVE, and RISE-EARTH. The mentorship and training plan must describe how each mentor will be actively involved in training the fellow. Mentors may have pre-established collaborations, but formation of new partnerships between mentors that have not previously worked together is encouraged. The primary faculty mentor should have a record of successfully training post-doctoral fellows and trainees.

Primary and secondary mentors are required to have completed a mentoring training course prior to the start date of the Distinguished Research Fellow appointment. An example of such a course can be found here: https://wiscience.wisc.edu/faculty-staff/advancing-research-mentoring-practice/

Applications for funding through this program will be accepted starting on Jan. 13, 2025 until April 30, 2025. Requests will be considered on a rolling basis. The OVCR will provide up to $2.5 million for this initiative.

Candidates who are selected as UW Distinguished Research Fellows must begin their postdoc positions at UW–Madison no later than Jan. 6, 2026.

Program Timeline

Jan. 13, 2025: General call for proposals released.

Jan. 13, 2025 – April 30, 2025: Full proposal materials accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. We anticipate a 4-6 week review process before notification of the results. Awards will be made on a rolling basis until funds are expended and no later than June 1, 2025. Up to 10 fellowships will be awarded. We will update the number of fellowships remaining weekly on the top of the UW DRFP webpage. Please check back often as you prepare your proposal to ensure fellowships remain. We anticipate relaunching the UW Distinguished Research Fellow initiative again in Fall 2025.

Ultimate start date: Candidates who are selected to join this program as a UW Distinguished Research Fellow must begin their postdoc positions at UW–Madison by no later than Jan. 6, 2026.

Program Description:

The UW Distinguished Research Fellows Program is designed to support outstanding postdoctoral trainees in interdisciplinary research areas related to RISE-AI, RISE-THRIVE, and RISE-EARTH. The intent of this program is to support exceptional emerging scholars in collaborative research that spans two distinct units (schools, colleges and centers) at UW–Madison, and which synergizes distinct disciplinary approaches. The proposed research and training plan should enhance the individual’s potential to develop into a productive, independent researcher by providing strong mentorship, appropriate training, and career development opportunities. Distinguished Research Fellows will participate in research colloquia/workshops within the RISE themes and will also meet regularly as a cohort. Fellows will also be provided with additional training via the UW–Madison Office of Postdoctoral Studies to assist in applying for further research and training/career development awards.

Applications for funding through this program will be accepted starting on Jan. 13, 2025 until April 30, 2025. Requests will be considered by the OVCR on a rolling basis. The OVCR will provide up to $2.5 million for this initiative.

Candidates who are selected to join this program as a UW Distinguished Research Fellow must begin their postdoc positions at UW–Madison by no later than Jan. 6, 2026.

To Apply:

The on-line application form is available at: https://vcr-uwmadison.smapply.io/ .

You may log-in using your UW–Madison NetID and password. Select the “UW Distinguished Research Fellows Program” title. Click “Apply” to start a new application.

Please read the entire instructions before submitting an application.

Required Application Materials:

All submissions must include the following:

Cover Sheet: Primary and secondary mentors’ names, Mentors’ departments and School/College/Center affiliations, name of post-doctoral nominee, Date (or anticipated date) of nominee’s PhD. Proposed Research Area (RISE-AI, RISE-THRIVE, and RISE-EARTH), Requested start date (between July 1, 2025 – Jan. 6, 2026).

Project Summary (limited to 1 page): Description of the research plan and goals, training goals and career development activities for the Fellow, and broader impacts of the study should be described. The summary should highlight the innovative interdisciplinary approaches and how the fellowship will guide the Fellow’s research efforts beyond traditional disciplinary lines to answer important and impactful challenges facing society.

Research Plan (limited to 5 pages): The research plan must use interdisciplinary approaches to answer compelling research questions in areas related to RISE-AI, RISE-THRIVE, and RISE-EARTH. The research plan section should provide:

specific aims and goals of the proposed study;
hypotheses (if relevant);
a research strategy describing the significance of problem, research approach, and expected outcomes;
the study’s research methods and interdisciplinary approaches and techniques to be used;
a description of the study’s broader impacts;
a description of how the research is related to RISE-AI, RISE-THRIVE, or RISE-EARTH;
the unique interdisciplinary qualifications of the research team for ensuring project success.

Mentoring and Training Plan (limited to 3 pages): The plan should be based on the individual development plan submitted by the nominee. For information: https://postdoc.wisc.edu/careers/idp/

The training and mentoring plan should describe:

the research skills and techniques that the Fellow will learn during the award period;
professional development activities for the Fellow;
the roles of the primary and secondary mentors and how they will communicate and coordinate their efforts to mentor the Fellow effectively;
opportunities for interaction with other groups and scientists.
how the Fellow’s independence will be nurtured.

Nominee’s curriculum vitae: The CVs should be limited to 5 pages in length. Please make sure that the CV does not include personal information such as social security numbers, visa or passport numbers, pictures, summary of personal details such as nationality, date of birth, marital status, and number of dependents, or a list of hobbies and interests.

Education and background statement written by the nominee. 1-2 pages, single spaced statement addressing the nominee’s:

research background and career trajectory;
career goals and an explanation of how the Fellowship will enhance the nominee’s career development;
selection of University of Wisconsin–Madison and the two sponsoring faculty members in light of the nominee’s career goals.

Up to three letters of recommendation emphasizing the nominee’s potential to be an exceptional interdisciplinary scholar. Two letters of recommendation are required, but a third is strongly encouraged. Letters of recommendation should be sent directly to the faculty member nominating the candidate, as these letters must be submitted with the complete nomination package as a single PDF file. Do not send them to the Office of Vice Chancellor for Research.

Nomination letter from the primary and secondary faculty mentors/sponsors. The letter should describe the nominee’s potential to be an exceptional interdisciplinary scholar, the expected impact of the applicant on the mentors’/sponsors’ research program and the likely impact in the field of inquiry, as well as their commitment to mentoring the Fellow in establishing their own research program.

Primary and secondary mentors CVs or Biosketches: The documents should each be no more than 5 pages in length and uploaded as one PDF.

Primary and secondary mentors CVs and postdoctoral training track records. The two training forms (see below) should be uploaded in a single pdf file.

Mentors in fields with a tradition of postdoctoral training: A table listing the last 5 postdoctoral scholars trained by the nominating faculty member and their training outcomes is required. If the faculty member has trained less than 5 individuals, list them all. Please use the Experience Mentoring Postdoctoral Trainee form to report the training records of both the mentor and co-mentor (separate forms for each faculty member need to be uploaded in a single PDF file).
Mentors in fields in which postdoctoral training is new: A table listing the last 5 doctoral/MFA scholars trained by the nominating faculty member and their training outcomes is required. If the faculty member has trained less than 5 individuals, list them all. Please use the Experience Mentoring Doctoral/MFA Trainee form to report the doctoral/MFA training records of both the mentor and co-mentor (separate forms for each faculty member need to be uploaded in a single PDF file).

Evidence of mentoring training course completion (or registration for a course) for primary and secondary mentors before the Fellow’s start date. For one such course, see https://wiscience.wisc.edu/faculty-staff/advancing-research-mentoring-practice/ for details and to register. Sessions start in Jan, Feb, and May 2025.

Evidence of nominee’s individual development plan (IDP) completion. Information can be found here: https://postdoc.wisc.edu/careers/idp/ Please provide a brief attestation in the on-line form that the primary and secondary mentors have received and read the nominee’s IDP and have used it to develop the mentoring plans.

Budget and justification. Please complete the budget template located here. Please indicate your total funding request to VCR (last line of the budget form) in the space provided in the on-line form. Once you have completed the budget and justification template, save the entire document as a PDF (and the worksheet as a single page in the PDF) and upload the PDF document into the on-line submission system.

Submission of nomination

Nomination materials must be submitted by the primary faculty mentor/sponsor.
When creating and uploading documents, please use Times New Roman 11 pt. font wherever possible. Documents should be single-spaced.
The application will not be reviewed by specialists in your field so please write for a general scientific/academic audience.
Materials must be submitted as PDF files.
Nominations will be accepted on a rolling basis starting Jan. 13, 2025 until funds are expended and no later than April 30, 2025.
Questions should be sent to: competitions@research.wisc.edu.

Eligibility Criteria for Prospective UW Distinguished Research Fellows

Candidates must:

Have obtained a fully conferred PhD or other appropriate terminal degree from an accredited university prior to starting the Fellowship.
Received their PhD or other appropriate terminal degree within the past two years (after July 1, 2023) if the nominee is currently in another postdoctoral training role. PhD or other appropriate terminal degree can have been received earlier than two years ago if the candidate took a break between their graduate training and pursuing postdoctoral training.
If a candidate received their degree before July 1, 2023 and will have more than two years of postdoctoral training, they are ineligible for this program.
Begin their postdoctoral position between July 1, 2025 and Jan. 6, 2026.
Complete an individual development plan (IDP). The IDP should serve as the basis for the mentoring and training plan. For more information: https://postdoc.wisc.edu/careers/idp/
Complete UW–Madison Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR) course in Canvas.
Show evidence of exceptional scholarly achievement (such as research or creative expression outcomes, honors or other academic designation).
Demonstrate a commitment to a career in research and creative expression.

Notes:

Nominees who are currently working at University of Wisconsin-Madison as postdocs (research associate, postdoctoral fellow or postdoctoral trainee) must have been hired after July 1, 2023.
There is no citizenship requirement for this initiative.

Eligibility Criteria for Primary and Secondary Faculty Mentors

Mentors must:

Be a UW–Madison tenure-track faculty member or have permanent PI status.
Be a primary or secondary mentor on only one proposal.
Not be the candidate’s PhD or terminal degree advisor.
Not be the candidate’s current postdoctoral advisor.
Submit a joint mentoring plan based on the candidate’s individual development plan (IDP). For more information: https://postdoc.wisc.edu/careers/idp/
Attend an orientation session to learn more about the program and the review criteria for the year two renewal. Both the primary and secondary mentors must attend.
Agree to review future applications for this initiative.
Complete a research mentoring training course before the Fellow’s start date. Both the primary and secondary mentors must complete such a course. An example: https://wiscience.wisc.edu/faculty-staff/advancing-research-mentoring-practice/
Both the primary and secondary mentors must complete UW–Madison Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR) course in Canvas.
For faculty in fields with a tradition of postdoctoral training: Have experience training postdoctoral scholars and provide a list of postdoctoral mentees in the Experience Mentoring Postdoctoral Trainee form. If the nominating faculty member does not have the required postdoctoral training experience, they must include a co-mentor who has mentored at least three postdoctoral scholars.
For faculty in fields for which postdoctoral training is new: Have experience training doctoral/MFA students and provide a list of terminal degree mentees in the form provided for providing evidence of postdoctoral training experience. If the nominating faculty member does not have the required doctoral/MFA training experience they must include a co-mentor who has mentored at least three doctoral/MFA students.

Review Criteria

Applications will be selected by evaluation of:

The applicant’s academic record and individual career development plan.
The qualifications of the mentoring team.
The integration and quality of the team’s mentoring plan.
The rigor and feasibility of the research project.
The use of interdisciplinary approaches in the proposed research and its relevance to RISE-AI, RISE-THRIVE or RISE-EARTH.
The overall impact of the proposed research.
The innovation in the subject area, methods, and synergy of approaches.