Purpose
The Doris Duke Physician Scientist Fellowship program provides grants to physician scientists at the subspecialty fellowship level who are seeking to conduct additional years of research beyond their subspecialty requirement. The goal is to aid in the transition into a research faculty appointment.
Rationale & History
Physician scientists play a unique role in scientific discovery and advancement and must undergo extensive training towards successful careers in biomedical research. While subspecialty fellows typically receive funding from their departments for a year of required research, there are few opportunities to obtain external support for their research during this phase between residency and early faculty. In 2019, based on research into the needs of the field, the Medical Research Program of the Doris Duke Foundation (DDF) created the Physician Scientist Fellowship to provide subspecialty fellows with the opportunity to conduct additional years of research to enhance their skills and knowledge as clinician investigators.
Award Details
The Physician Scientist Fellowship consists of $100,000 for annual direct costs plus $10,000 (10%) for annual indirect costs for two years. The priority of the Physician Scientist Fellowship program is to fund outstanding individuals with excitement for clinical research careers, whose projects will address highly significant research questions and lead to career advancement. DDF does not have funding priorities for this fellowship based on disease area or research type. To see previous awardees of the Physician Scientist Fellowship, please visit our searchable Grant Recipients database.
In keeping with the wishes expressed in Doris Duke's will, experiments that use animals or tissues derived from animals, including cell lines, are not supported by this program.
To receive announcements from DDF’s Medical Research Program about future competitions for this fellowship and other funding opportunities, please sign up at the bottom of the page.
A 2024 Doris Duke Physician Scientist Fellowship competition is not being offered. Read more about the ongoing evolution of our support for clinical research.
