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Pope Fellowship

About the Fellowship

Fellowship Term

The Pope Fellowship is awarded for a one or two-year term to researchers who have a PhD and/or an MD and are considered mentored awards. The second year of funding is contingent upon adherence to the training program outlined as well as research progress. A single year of support can be considered with approval by the Pope senior advisory committee.

Fellowship Curriculum

The purpose of the Pope Fellowship is to provide an interdisciplinary training curriculum. Therefore, the Pope Fellow will be required to participate in or apply transdisciplinary skills.

Fellows are also expected to participate actively in transdisciplinary opportunities that may include the following, depending on the credentials, training, and interest of the applicant.

  • In-house post-doctoral seminars presented by the fellows
  • Annual UNC Lineberger Trainee Research Day
  • Panel discussions on career advancement
  • Ethics in research training
  • Monthly research clubs
  • Interactions with patient advocates
  • Grant writing and grant review program

In addition to above, each fellow will form an individualized training program in conjunction with their mentor and with the Pope Fellowship leadership. These individual training programs will include relevant training workshops and/or formal coursework. It is important that both the fellow and mentor understand the commitment of the fellow to participate in the above outlined training opportunities.

Additional support from the Pope Fellowship is available for formal coursework to acquire additional relevant skills (upon request).

The application period for 2025 is now closed. 

Important Dates

  • February 8, 2025: Optional letter of intent (LOI) due – contact Jeanne Guerra, jmguerra@med.unc.edu, with your name, degree, mentor and current position/title
  • March 8, 2025: Application due
  • April 1, 2025: Awards announced for FY 2026

How to Apply

Each applicant must submit an application packet and request a minimum of two letters of recommendation.

Application Packet

Please compile the components below into a single PDF and send to Jeanne Guerra, jmguerra@med.unc.edu

  • Title page (1 page) – include project title, applicant name and terminal degree, mentor name(s) and degree
  • Abstract / specific aims (1 page)
  • Applicant NIH Biosketch (5 pages) – include MyBibliography link to all publications and note number of first author publications in the text before the link
    • Complete list of published work in MyBibliography (XX first author publications)
  • Mentor NIH Biosketch (5 pages)
  • Proposed training plan (1 page)
  • Applicant research career goals (half page)
  • Proposed research plan (2 pages)
  • Mentor letter of support (no limit)

Confidential Letters of Recommendation

The applicant will need to request a minimum of two letters of recommendation (no limit to the number of recommendation letters that are submitted).

To maintain confidentiality, the letter writers need to send directly to Jeanne Guerra, jmguerra@med.unc.edu