THE ACVP/STP COALITION
FOR VETERINARY PATHOLOGY FELLOWS
Request for Applications (RFA):
The Linda Munson Fellowship for Wildlife Pathology Research
(MUN-15-130)
Name of Training Institution/Program
Applicant/Principal Investigator
Name
Address
Phone
E-mail
____ PhD Candidate or ____ Post-Doctoral Fellow (place an X in front of one)
Name
Address
Phone
E-mail
Application Deadline
20 July 2015
Date Application Submitted
Submit Electronic Applications to:
www.vetpathcoalition.org
Address Questions to:
info@vetpathcoalition.org or gcockerell@vetpathcoalition.org
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Introduction
Through the generosity of the late Dr. Linda Munson, Diplomate and Past President
of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists (ACVP), ACVP has received funds to
support the Linda Munson Fellowship for Wildlife Pathology Research. ACVP Council has
enlisted the assistance of the Coalition for Veterinary Pathology Fellows, an educational
partnership between ACVP and the Society of Toxicologic Pathology (STP), to solicit,
review and award applications for this fellowship, and to oversee its completion. This RFA
will be issued from time-to-time as funds become available and as described in the
accompanying cover letter.
Eligibility Requirements
Candidates must have a DVM (or equivalent), must have completed a residency in
anatomic pathology by the time the fellowship begins, must have taken or be scheduled to
take the ACVP Certifying Examination, and be either a PhD graduate student or a postdoctoral (post-PhD) fellow. PhD candidates must have completed their didactic coursework,
must not have been enrolled in graduate school for more than 3 years and must devote the
majority of their time to research. Candidates must be pursuing research training in a
mentored environment on a topic that contributes to the understanding of diseases of wildlife,
preferably with a conservation impact.
If candidates have not done so already, they will be expected to successfully complete
the ACVP Certification Examination and/or the PhD degree within 2-years after the end of
this fellowship, and to pursue careers as veterinary pathologists in academia, the private
sector or government. If the fellow leaves the training program for any reason prior to
completion, it will be the responsibility of the academic mentor to contact the Coalition
Director within 30 days to develop a plan for disposition of the position and funding.
Funding
The fellowship award will provide a maximum of $60,000/year, which may only be
used for stipend and medical benefits, for 3 years for a PhD graduate student or for 2 years
for a post-doctoral fellow. Stipends should be provided according to the NIH National
Research Service Award (NRSA) experience-based scale shown in Table 1. The
applicant/training institution must agree to provide supplemental funding for each year of the
fellowship, including (i) additional stipend to meet the NIH NRSA experience-based rate
and/or additional medical benefits if fellowship funds are not sufficient, (ii) applicable
tuition/fees, (iii) travel, (iv) research and (v) educational supplies. From the standpoint of the
Coalition, it is acceptable for applicants/training institutions to supplement this fellowship
with funds from federal, state, private and other sources so long as permissible according to
stipulations for use of those funds.
Travel funds should be provided for fellows to attend annual meetings of the ACVP
and to present results of their research at Coalition Scientific Conferences when held in
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association with ACVP annual meetings. Fellows are also eligible to apply for graduate
student travel awards from the ACVP to attend the annual meeting.
Funding will be renewed on an annual basis, subject to satisfactory progress as
evidenced by annual progress reports submitted by the fellow and reviewed by the Coalition
Board of Governors. ACVP Council will have the sole right to revoke a fellowship. This
fellowship will be listed on the Coalition web site (http://www.vetpathcoalition.org/), and
fellows and their academic mentors will be encouraged to participate in Coalition activities,
including Coalition Scientific Conferences.
Table 1. Stipend levels (FY 2015 NRSA experience-based scale, 2 January 2015,
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-15-048.html
Years of Relevant
Annual
Experience*
Stipend
0
$42,840
1
$44,556
2
$46,344
3
$48,192
4
$50,112
5
$52,116
6
$54,216
≥7
$56,376
*Relevant experience may include research experience, teaching assistantship,
internship, residency, clinical duties, or other time spent in a health-related field
beyond the DVM.
Application Submission, Review and Award Process
Applications may be submitted from any North American institution that trains
veterinary pathologists as one of its primary functions and must be submitted electronically
through the Coalition web site www.vetpathcoalition.org. The submission process requires
each institution to establish a user name and password before submitting the application. The
application system includes a brief form to be filled out on line, and an application document
created in MS Word that can then be attached and submitted through the website.
Applications must be submitted by the principal investigator (PI)/major professor of
the proposed PhD candidate or post-doctoral fellow. Citizenship requirements of fellows
will be commensurate with the requirements of the training institution. The Coalition urges
that institutions put forward candidates with diversified training experience as evidenced by
attendance at different academic institutions for their veterinary medical and post-doctoral
education.
In order to simplify the application process, this RFA requests information that has
likely already been assembled at the training institution. This information, explained in
greater detail below, will be evaluated and scored by the Coalition Board of Governors
(excluding members with conflicts of interest) according to the system shown in Table 2.
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Table 2. Criteria and Point Value System for Evaluation of Applications.
Item
Graduate research faculty
Current pathology PhD grad students and post-docs in program as a whole and
those for whom PI serves as major professor/mentor
Pathology PhD grad students and post-docs who matriculated from program in
past 10 years and those for whom PI served as major professor/mentor, ACVP
exam results, current employment
Credentials of PI (e.g., CV, research support and environment, publication record)
Credentials of PhD candidate or post-doctoral fellow (e.g., CV, transcripts,
proposed research project, career objectives and letters of recommendation)
Interaction with other training environments
Other factors that particularly enhance the training environment
Point Value
(total = 100)
10
10
15
25
25
5
10
Fellowship selection criteria will be based on the qualifications of the candidate and
mentor, and quality of the research project and environment. Fellows will be selected based
on academic qualifications, potential for successful career in wildlife disease research, and
evidence of commitment to wildlife pathology research and conservation. Mentors must
provide evidence of research success, expertise in the area of the research and a history of
research mentoring. The research environment should provide the necessary equipment as
well as the diversity of expertise and resources for optimal research training. The research
project must be hypothesis-driven, aimed to advance knowledge in some area of wildlife
pathology, and preferably have conservation impact. In cases where applications from two
or more institutions are judged to be of equal merit, institutions without a similar actively
funded Coalition position, or that have not been previously awarded such a position, will be
given special consideration. Once the training institution is selected, a written agreement
will be executed between the Coalition and the selected training institution specifying terms
of the fellowship.
Information to be Included in the Application
Note: This section contains tables to enable uniform responses from applicants.
Please be brief and concise, using the example shown in the first row of each table.
Each application must include a completed version of the front page of the RFA. All
applications should include a description of the items listed below. The relative point value
assigned to each of these items during the application review process is shown in Table 2.
Graduate Research Faculty (Table 3). List the names, titles (academic rank) and
credentials (academic degrees, specialty board certifications) of faculty who are actively
involved in pathology-related graduate training and who serve on PhD graduate committees
in the department/unit. Indicate how faculty are involved in research training (e.g., research
laboratory responsibilities, graduate course instruction, participation on graduate committees)
and other types of interactions with graduate students. Indicate the percentage of time/effort
(T/E) devoted to research.
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Table 3. Graduate Research Faculty.
Name
First Last
Summary
Degrees,
% T/E for
Type of Involvement in Research
Certifs
Research
Training
Professor
DVM,
50%
Directs a full-time research lab;
PhD,
major prof for 2 PhD candidates;
DABT
heads tox path grad course
No. of faculty involved in graduate research/total no of faculty (%)
Title
Current PhD Candidates and Post-Doctoral Fellows (Table 4). List the names of
current PhD graduate student candidates and post-doctoral fellows in the pathology program
of the department/unit as a whole and the responsible major professor. Indicate whether or
not they have completed a veterinary pathology residency program, their performance on the
ACVP Certification Exam, and the start and completion date for their PhD program.
Table 4. Current PhD Candidates and Post-doctoral Fellows.
Type of
ACVP Exam*
PhD Start/
Residency/
Completion
Year(s)
Year
Date
Dates
Attempted
Passed
Completed
First Last
First Last
Clin path/2005
2005/2009
Summary
Total no. of PhD candidates and post-docs currently enrolled
* Training institutions that are unable to supply this information for individual PhD candidates may
provide summary data only.
Name of
Candidate
Name of Major
Professor
Past PhD Graduate Students and Post-Doctoral Fellows (Table 5). List the names of
graduate students and post-doctoral fellows who completed a PhD degree or post-doc in the
department/unit and a pathology residency (at the same or different institution), in the past 10
years, and the responsible major professor/mentor. Indicate their performance on ACVP
Certification Exam and their current professional positions.
Table 5. Past PhD Graduate Students and Post-Doctoral Fellows (10 years).
ACVP Exam*
Current Position
Year(s)
Year
Attempted
Passed
First Last
2001
2001
Study pathologist, Company X
No. of PhD students completing ACVP exam in past 10 yrs/total no. of PhD
students in past 10 yrs (%)
* Training institutions that are unable to supply this information for individual past PhD graduate
students may provide summary data only.
Name of Grad
Student/PostDoc Fellow
First Last
Summary
Name of Major
Professor
Credentials of Principal Investigator. The mentor of the proposed PhD candidate or
post-doctoral fellow must submit a curriculum vitae and a letter providing evidence of
expertise in the research area of the Fellow, a history of research mentoring, and a
description of the mentoring environment including planned contact with the Fellow, sources
of funding for the research project, available laboratory facilities, access to diverse expertise
through other researchers and options for seminars
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Credentials of PhD Candidate or Post-Doctoral Fellow. The proposed PhD candidate
or post-doctoral fellow must submit a curriculum vitae and statement of career goals,
transcripts from veterinary school and all post-veterinary school education, letters of
recommendation from three individuals familiar with candidate’s aptitude in wildlife
pathology, and a research proposal. The research proposal (maximum of 10 pages not
including references) should include (i) a statement of the problem and justification for the
research, (ii) specific aims and hypothesis, (iii) proposed methods, (iv) potential pitfalls, (v)
potential impact of results on conservation, and (vi) references.
Interactions with Other Training Environments. Given the complexity of issues with
which modern veterinary pathologists must deal, it is difficult for all programs to provide
adequate training in all the necessary disciplines within their own program. Applicants
should describe interactions with other environments that enhance training beyond that which
is available within their own department.
Other Factors that Particularly Enhance the Training Environment. Applicants should
describe any other elements that do not fall within the items listed in Table 2 that particularly
enhance the training environment. For example, applicants may wish to describe particularly
strong interactions with medical schools, the biopharmaceutical industry or government
agencies, or special efforts to ensure trainees are well mentored.
Additional Items to be Submitted
The applicant/PI or department/program head must submit a letter electronically
confirming the amount of funds that will be provided for the candidate each year, including
(i) additional stipend to meet the NIH NRSA experience-based rate and/or medical benefits
to be provided over the maximum $60,000/yr fellowship award, (ii) tuition/fees, and (iii)
travel.
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