Stryker/ORS Women’s Research Fellowship

• The Fellowship will be offered for 1 year.
• The award amount is up to $50,000 per year, for direct costs. Indirect costs are not permitted.
• The fellowship is not intended to provide full time salary.
• For postdoctoral fellows, costs associated with tuition and fees are allowable only if they are required for specific courses in support of the research training. The application should request an institutional allowance to help defray the cost of fellowship expenses such as health insurance, research supplies, equipment, books, and travel to scientific meetings.
• At the time of Fellowship, individuals are required to pursue their research training on a full-time basis, normally defined as 40 hours per week or as specified by the research institution in accordance with its own policies.
• Two awards per person per lifetime are allowed (opportunity to re-apply)

• Recipient is expected to interact with Stryker personnel including, but not limited to, on‐site meetings and at least two presentations on research progress.
• Poster or podium presentation of the research at an ORS Annual Meeting

• Female
• Member of the ORS
• Post-doc (less than 3 years after obtaining Ph.D.)

Applicants must be in a full-time postdoctoral training position and are not eligible after three years of post-degree research experience. This experience is counted from the completion of the terminal doctoral degree until the beginning date of the award. Individuals at a faculty level (i.e., Instructor, Assistant Professor, or higher, as defined by their institution) are ineligible to apply for the Fellowship.

• PhD in science or engineering
• Currently conducting research in a field that will advance orthopedic science and technology
• Currently affiliated with a US based non-profit, public or private institution of higher education, such as teaching hospitals, medical schools, universities, colleges or research institution; awards may not be transferred outside the US.
• Has a legal working status in the US; US citizenship or permanent residency preferred. Individuals admitted to the United States as Permanent Residents must submit notarized evidence of legal admission.

Please read the application instructions carefully before applying.

You will be asked to upload the following documents to complete your application:

• CV or NIH Style Biosketch for applicant
• CV or NIH Style Biosketch for postdoctoral supervisor
• Personal statement (2 pages max)
  • Applicant’s future career goals
  • Related background examples and thoughts on how to support and advance women in science
• Resources and Facilities (1 page max) Please use this template. 
• Proposal research plan (5 pages max)
  • Abstract
  • Background and Significance
  • Preliminary studies
  • Research plan
  • Budget and timeline Please use this template.

The research plan should include expected milestones of progress toward the specific aims of the project and an estimated timeline for achieving those milestones. This information will be used to assess the feasibility of the project as well as ongoing progress. Progress towards these milestones should be detailed in two progress reports.

The research proposal should not contain any confidential or proprietary information of applicant, her institution or any third party.  Completed applications may be shared with the Fellowship sponsor.

• Two letters of recommendation with one from the current mentor

Two reference letters are required and are a critical element to the reviewer’s assessment of the applicant’s potential for a research career. One letter should be from the current postdoctoral supervisor and the other from an individual who will not be directly involved with the candidate’s postdoctoral training such as graduate adviser or an investigator in the same institution.

All applications submitted are considered confidential.  However, due to the nature of the event, we cannot guarantee complete confidentiality for proprietary matters.  The ORS is not responsible for any proprietary information and/or intellectual property included in the application.  The protection of sensitive materials; intellectual property, copyright, or patent confidentiality is the sole responsibility of the applicant. Non-disclosure agreements will not be signed by reviewers, ORS members or Stryker employees.

Scientific Conduct and IRB Approval

The ORS and STRYKER do not assume responsibility for the conduct of the investigation or the acts of the investigator, since both are under the direction and control of the recipient institution and subject to the institution’s medical and scientific policies. Recipient institutions must safeguard the rights and welfare of individuals who participate as subjects in research activities by reviewing proposed activities through an Institutional Review Board (IRB) as specified by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office for Protection from Research Risks (OPRR). In addition, institutions must adhere to current U.S. Department of Health and Human Services guidelines regarding financial conflict of interest, recombinant DNA, biohazards, research misconduct, and vertebrate animals.