Calls for applications: October 1 and April 1 each year.
- A.1. Eligibility Requirements:
Reside and work in Costa Rica. - Have a formal employment relationship with a Costa Rican public university.
- Be pursuing or having completed a master's or doctoral degree in environmental science, occupational health, or a related field within the past 5 years.
- Demonstrate institutional support for participation in the fellowship.
- Commit to continuing scientific research in their home country.
- Present a feasible and high-quality research project plan to be carried out during the fellowship period.
A.2. Benefits:
- $10,000 to be used to fund equipment, supplies, travel, and other necessary expenses for the development of the accepted research project. This amount includes indirect administrative costs incurred by the awardee's institution (see section A.6).
- Mentoring and training, guidance in data analysis and publication, training in the ethical conduct of clinical trials, and other knowledge to enable participants to develop in the field of scientific research.
- The opportunity to spend one month in New York to meet with mentors at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. If a visit is arranged, airfare and accommodations will be provided by Mount Sinai and should not be included in the $10,000 award.
A.3. Documents to be Submitted:
- Curriculum vitae or resume.
- Letter of recommendation from your institution indicating support for the proposal.
- Research proposal of no more than 5 pages, including
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- Title.
- Statement of the problem and its importance.
- Materials and methods.
- Preliminary data (optional).
- Innovation - indicate the novel contribution the work would make.
- Work plan for a maximum of two years starting 6 months after the application deadline (April 1 and October 1 each year) (see section A.4).
- Budget and justification of expenses, including indirect costs.
- Documentation of compliance with the ethical, scientific and institutional requirements necessary to conduct the research. If these approvals are not available at the time of proposal submission, a letter explaining the situation should be included. The proposal may be pre-selected, but the disbursement of funds will be subject to compliance with these requirements (see section A.5).
A.4. Notification of results and payment of funds:
Notification to applicants of pre-selected proposals will be made within 2.5 months of the call deadline (October 1 and April 1 each year). After notification of results, the first disbursement ($4,000 in the case of pilot grants) will be made within approximately 3.5 months, subject to the scholar providing the necessary banking information and meeting the relevant ethical and scientific requirements. Other disbursements will be made as activities progress.
A.5. Ethical-Scientific and Institutional Requirements:
For research involving human subjects, for the first disbursement:
- Researchers involved in the proposal must have current accreditation with CONIS, if applicable.
- The research protocol must be approved by an Ethics-Scientific Committee (ESC). In the case of research that is part of a larger project approved by an ESC, this macro-approval must cover what is presented in the proposal.
- For research involving wild animals, the approval of the competent authority (CONAGEBIO, SINAC, Institutional Committee) must be obtained prior to sampling. The disbursement of funds for the sampling phase is subject to this approval.
- For proposals that are part of graduation projects, they must have the approval of the project by the relevant institutional bodies at the time of the first disbursement.
A.6. Banking Requirements:
If the proposal is selected, the program team will provide the scholar with the required banking information for deposits and a deadline for making all necessary arrangements. Scholarship funds will be deposited into an institutional account designated by the scholar's institution. The scholarship amount should include the indirect costs charged by the institution (not to exceed 8% of the direct costs to be incurred).
A.7. Budget and Schedule Format: Download the budget and timeline format here.
Link to Pilot Fellowship Application: https://redcap.mountsinai.org/redcap/surveys/index.php?s=EMKKAWTFLJ
Email for additional questions: