Research Fellowships: Rewards Can Be Substantial

It is an extraordinary time to complete psychiatry training. Research touching every facet of psychiatry promises to revolutionize the delivery of psychiatric care, quite likely within the span of our careers. Research fellowship training gives young psychiatrists a rich opportunity to craft the future of our practice.

Entering a psychiatry research fellowship can be a daunting transition. Careful planning and good mentorship can, however, help create a supportive and productive training environment for research fellows.

Grantsmanship is an essential skill for academic psychiatrists, and fellowship training often provides the first practical experience in this area. In fact, some programs require research fellows to secure their own funding for at least part of their salary and research support.

Many research fellows look to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and to private philanthropic organizations for grant support. Junior investigator awards from APA (information is available at<www.psych.org/edu/res_fellows/res_training/awards.cfm>), National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (<www.narsad.org/research>), and Stanley Foundation (<www.stanleyresearch.org/programs>) provide generous support for research fellows.

There are several NIH programs designed for postdoctoral fellows (<http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/funding_program.htm>), most notably the Ruth L. Kirchstein National Research Service Award. NIH Institutional Research Training Grants (T32 awards) provide support to medical schools, which use this funding to provide salaries for junior investigators. The NIH Loan Repayment Program (<www.lrp.nih.gov>) can substantially ease the financial burden of young clinical researchers, providing up to $35,000 of debt relief per year for up to four years.

The ultimate goal of many postdoctoral research fellows is to obtain an NIH career-development award, known as a K award. These provide up to five years of salary and research support, as well as funding to develop specialized training (e.g., course work and conference travel). Widely considered the gold standard for developing scientific independence, a K award requires both academic promise and strong preliminary data. However, evidence of good mentorship and institutional support are also essential for successful K award applications.

Mentors serve critical roles in teaching, advising, and fostering independence. Obtaining mentorship on four overlapping levels provides an ideal milieu for academic development.

The “uber” mentor. This is typically a senior member of your department who has overseen the advancement of many junior investigators. He or she can help brainstorm around inter- and intra-department collaborations and can help you think about your career in broad strokes. These individuals also can play important roles in allocation of departmental resources, so it is important for them to be familiar with your work. You may not meet regularly with these extraordinarily busy people, so when you do, maximize your time by coming well prepared.

The senior mentor. A senior mentor is usually the head of a large lab group or the director of a clinical research program. He or she is often the last author on your grant applications and publications until you achieve independence. Many senior mentors have large federal grants and preexisting data sets that can support new fellows who need to generate salary and pilot data. You should meet with your senior mentor regularly to plan projects and review your progress.

The junior mentor. As an early fellow, you interact with your junior mentor on a daily basis. He or she is typically several years ahead of you and is well on the way to independence (e.g., late in a K award). Your junior mentor can be invaluable in helping navigate through logistical and technical aspects of your work, strategizing about funding, familiarizing you with relevant literature and key support personnel, and refining grant applications and manuscripts.

The off-site mentor. It is often useful to gain the perspective of a researcher who works in a related area, but not within your group (or even your department). As an objective source of information, an off-site mentor can help you think creatively about your career development.

Even after the long medical training process, research fellowships entail lower relative salary and delayed professional gratification. Further, as federal funding continues to tighten, research fellows are competing for a shrinking pool of resources. However, for those who are motivated and patient, the rewards can be substantial and well worth the effort. Thoughtful attention to mentorship, funding, and career planning will help ensure success in these challenging but exciting times for young clinician-scientists in psychiatry.▪