The goals of the Research Fellows Program are to:

• Provide opportunities for the Fellows to develop and further refine their research programs and research funding opportunities;
• Provide the Fellows with detailed information about the sources of funding, including federal agencies, industry, non-profit societies, and foundations;
• Develop the grant writing skills of the Fellows through exposure to and interaction with faculty mentors who are experienced in obtaining extramural funding;
• Provide Fellows with systematic feedback regarding a grant writing project designed to strengthen their research proposal writing and increase their chances for funding;
• Structure a support system for the Fellows to share ideas with colleagues from other disciplines who may have similar or complementary interests and who face similar challenges.

This program is meant primarily for earlier career faculty members (first to third year in a tenure-track position at the time of nomination) at the University of Georgia. More senior faculty members may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Selection

Up to 10 faculty members will be selected each fall semester to participate in the program that begins the following spring. A selection committee comprised of the program coordinators and senior faculty members (Research Fellows from prior years will be included later) will interview and select the finalists from among applicants/nominees. Demonstrated passion for and commitment to excellence in research is a key factor in selection. Notifications of the committee's decision will be made by the end of fall semester.

The application deadline for the 2009 Research Fellows Program is October 20, 2008. The application form is available here.

Each application must be supported by a recommendation from the applicant's department head or dean.

Year One

• Each Fellow selects a mentor for the year. The mentor may come from within or outside the Fellow's department. In addition to the Fellow-mentor relationship, each Fellow interacts with the other mentors associated with the program. Mentors participate in group activities as their schedules permit and are invited to attend the year-end retreat.
• A day-long Spring Retreat will be held early in the spring semester. Program officers from key federal programs will be invited, and topics related to research planning and grant writing will be presented. The program will be Webcast for other interested faculty. The Fellows will also develop a series of discussion topics and a meeting schedule tailored to the unique interests of the group.
• The Fellows meet approximately twice a month for discussion of the selected topics. Mentors and key experts from the university community are generally invited to each meeting as well. Meetings are highly interactive.
• During early spring, each Fellow develops grant proposals for submission to the granting agency of their choice by June 1 (this may depend on the individual granting agency). An award of up to $1,500 per Fellow is provided when the first proposal is submitted. The award can be used to pay honoraria for an external review of the proposal, if expertise from outside UGA is required or it can be used for Fellows to attend one conference related to their research. After the proposal is reviewed by granting agencies, the mentoring process continues.  For example, help will be provided in analyzing reviewer comments and preparing for resubmission, if needed.
• Fellows are invited to attend a second year-end retreat in June after proposal submission. At this meeting, the Fellows - with their mentors - have an opportunity to reflect on and discuss major changes they have experienced and lessons learned.  Time will be devoted to generating ideas for future activities that will stimulate growth and development among young faculty at the University of Georgia.
• Opportunities for Fellows and mentors to meet with prior-year Fellows and their mentors will be provided, as the program grows.
• Mentors in the program will be recognized by the university through acknowledgement in Columns and/or letter from the Provost and/or Vice President for Research.
  An oversight committee comprising senior research faculty and administrators will be formed to evaluate the program (using process and outcomes data) and provide feedback and recommendations for future improvement.

• Dr. Kelly A. Dyer
  Department of Genetics
• Dr. Kamal J.K. Gandhi
  Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
• Dr. Changying Li
  Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering Tifton
• Dr. Scott Jason Schatzberg
  Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery
• Dr. Susanne Ullrich
  Department of Physics and Astronomy
• Dr. Jason Zastre
  Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences
• Dr. Ji Shen
  College of Education
• Dr. Minsun Shim
  Department of Speech Communication
• Dr. Anneliese A. Singh
  Department of Counseling and Human Development Services School Counseling Program
• Dr. Susan N. Tanner
  Department of Anthropology