John F. Perkins, Jr. Research Career Enhancement Award

John F. Perkins, Jr. Research Career Enhancement Award is designed to enhance the career potential of the awardee. The award of up to $20,000 allows a member in the early phases of their career to obtain special training or an member in the later phases of his/her career to develop new skills or retrain in areas of developing interest.

The award can be used to support visits to other laboratories to acquire specific new skills and/or to support attendance at special courses devoted primarily to methodologies appropriate for either a new investigator or a more senior investigator entering a new field of research. The award does not include any reimbursement for indirect costs or daily per diem.

Please note: the awardee is expected to attend the APS annual meeting (following the awardee announcement) for the award presentation. It is incumbent upon the awardee to assure that they will be able to attend the APS annual meeting with their own travel support. The award cannot be deferred to future years. Applicants are allowed to receive this award once.  

Applications submitted for the May 31 deadline should request funding for career enhancement activities that will be undertaken after July 15.  

Applicants should note that incomplete applications will not be reviewed.  A condition of the award is that successful applicants complete a short survey on the outcomes of their career enhancement activity 3-5 years after its completion.  In addition, the Award should be acknowledged in any publications arising from the Research Career Enhancement Award. The funds for the award should be used within one year. 

• Applicant must be a member in good standing of the APS for a minimum of two consecutive years at the time of application.  U.S. residency is NOT required. 
• Hold a rank equivalent to Assistant Professor or above.

• Provide a detailed description (not to exceed 3 pages) of their proposed research project and/or of the course(s) that they propose to attend (detailed course outlines are acceptable).
• Provide a description of their current research program, highlighting how the proposed research project and/or course(s) will enhance their research and ability to obtain future funding (not to exceed 3 pages).
• Appropriate approvals by institutional oversight committees (e.g., IRB, IACUC) or proof of exemption for any educational research study or teaching materials development project involving animals or humans.
• Provide a justification for the requested funds (not to exceed $20,000). Please provide as much detail as possible (i.e. if you are using partial funds for a flight or ground transportation please indicate it on the document. Must include a quote for any products/equipment being purchased from vendors. If quotes are not provided it can affect the amount of funds provided.
• Provide a list of current and pending research support.
• Provide a letter of recommendation from the Chair of their Department or equivalent.
• Provide a letter of support from the host laboratory agreeing to the proposed research program (not required if funding is requested to attend a course).
• Provide a Biosketch (not to exceed 5 pages) for the chief of the host laboratory (not required if funding is requested to attend a course).
• Provide a detailed curriculum vitae.

Applications are only accepted via online submission.

View Past Awardees