Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences: Funding for Early-Career U.S. Researchers

Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences: Funding for Early-Career U.S. Researchers

The Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences is one of the longest-running and most respected sources of flexible research funding for early-career scientists in the United States. Administered by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the program has supported hundreds of investigators since 1985, providing multi-year funding that a researcher can direct toward the questions they judge most important. What sets it apart from many federal grants is its flexibility: the money follows the scientist and their ideas rather than a single, tightly defined project.

This page explains what the award provides, who it is designed for, how the nomination process works, and how a researcher hoping to be put forward by their institution can prepare. One point is worth stating at the very top, because it shapes everything else: this is a nomination-based program. Individual scientists cannot apply directly. Only invited U.S. institutions may nominate candidates, and each participating institution may normally put forward a single nominee per cycle. If you are an eligible researcher, your first step is not to fill out a Pew application; it is to be selected internally by your own university or research institute.

Key Details at a Glance

Figures above reflect the program’s recent cycles. Exact dates, the appointment cutoff, and the roster of invited institutions are set fresh each year, so always confirm the current terms on the official Pew page before relying on any specific number.

What the Award Offers

A Pew scholar receives US$300,000 over four years — about US$75,000 per year — as flexible support for their research program. The grant is made to the scholar’s academic institution on the scholar’s behalf, and the scholar directs how the funds are used within their laboratory.

The flexibility is the defining feature. Unlike a project-specific grant that ties spending to aims listed in a proposal, Pew funding is intended to give a young investigator room to pursue promising and sometimes unexpected directions. Scientists early in their independent careers often encounter results that point somewhere they did not anticipate; a rigidly scoped grant can make it hard to follow those leads. Pew funding is designed to reduce that friction, letting the scholar move quickly when the science calls for it.

In recent cycles, the program has published some limits on how the money is allocated. Reported terms include a cap on the amount of the principal investigator’s own salary that can be charged to the award (recently noted at US$12,500 per year including benefits) and a low cap on indirect costs (recently around 8 percent). These specifics can change from year to year, so treat them as indicative rather than fixed, and verify the current budget rules in the official program materials.

Beyond the money, becoming a Pew scholar carries significant recognition. Scholars join a national community of Pew-funded investigators, attend an annual meeting that connects them with peers and program alumni, and gain the visibility that comes with a selective, well-known award. For an early-career scientist, that network and prestige can matter as much as the dollars.

Who the Program Fits

The Pew Scholars Program is built for scientists at a specific and pivotal moment: the first few years of running their own independent laboratory. If you have just started a tenure-track assistant professorship, hold a research doctorate, and study questions that bear on human health, this program is aimed squarely at you — provided your institution is among those invited to nominate.

The program has historically supported a wide range of biomedical research, including basic molecular and cell biology, genetics, neuroscience, immunology, structural biology, and translational work that connects laboratory discovery to clinical questions. Candidates from quantitative and physical-science backgrounds — engineering, chemistry, physics, computational biology — have also been nominated when their work is directed at biomedical problems. The common thread is not a narrow subfield but a focus on advancing understanding relevant to human health, combined with clear evidence of exceptional promise.

If you are a postdoctoral researcher, a graduate student, or a faculty member who is well past the early years of your appointment, this particular program is not the right fit. Pew runs and supports other biomedical initiatives, and other funders offer early-career mechanisms; the section on related programs below points to some of them.

Eligibility Requirements

Eligibility is defined tightly and reassessed each cycle. Based on the program’s recent terms, a candidate generally must:

• Hold a doctorate — a PhD, MD, DVM, or equivalent — in the biomedical sciences, medicine, or a closely related field.
• Hold a full-time, tenure-track appointment at the rank of assistant professor at the nominating institution at the time of application. The appointment must involve running an independent research program.
• Be early in that appointment. Pew sets a cutoff date for each cycle: candidates must have been appointed as an assistant professor no earlier than a specified date, which in practice keeps the pool to roughly the first three years of independent faculty life. For example, one recent cycle required that the candidate had not been appointed as an assistant professor running an independent lab before a set date about three years earlier.
• Conduct research relevant to human health, whether basic or translational.
• Be nominated by an invited institution. Candidates cannot self-nominate or apply directly to Pew.

Two additional rules commonly appear in the terms. First, candidates may normally apply to the program a maximum of two times, so an institution and its nominee should think carefully about timing. Second, a candidate typically cannot be nominated simultaneously to the Pew Scholars Program and the related Pew-Stewart Scholars Program for Cancer Research in the same cycle; the institution must choose which program fits the candidate best.

Because the appointment cutoff date and other specifics move each year, anyone assessing their eligibility should read the current cycle’s official announcement rather than relying on a previous year’s numbers.

How the Nomination-Based Process Works

This is the part that surprises many first-time candidates, so it deserves a clear explanation. The Pew Scholars Program does not accept open applications from individuals. Instead, it works through a two-stage funnel:

1. Institutional invitation. The Pew Charitable Trusts invites a set list of U.S. academic and research institutions to participate. Only researchers at these invited institutions are eligible to be put forward.

2. Internal institutional selection. Because each invited institution may normally nominate only one candidate, institutions run their own internal competition — often managed by a research development office, a limited-submission committee, or a similar body. Interested faculty submit materials internally, and the institution selects the single person it will nominate.

3. Nomination and application to Pew. Once chosen, the institutional nominee is submitted to Pew, usually through a letter of intent or nomination step, followed by a full application. In a recent cycle, the sequence ran from an institutional nomination due to Pew in the spring to full proposals due to Pew in early September.

4. National review and selection. Pew’s National Advisory Committee reviews the nominated candidates and selects the new class of scholars.

The practical consequence is important. If you want to be a Pew scholar, the competition you most need to win is the internal one at your own institution. That internal deadline typically falls months before Pew’s own deadlines. Miss it, and you cannot be nominated that year no matter how strong your science is.

Timeline and Deadlines

The program runs on an annual cycle, but the exact dates shift each year and — critically — the internal deadline at each institution is earlier than Pew’s. Based on recent cycles, the rhythm looks roughly like this:

• Winter to early spring: Invited institutions announce their internal limited-submission competitions and collect materials from interested faculty. Internal deadlines have recently fallen in the March–April range.
• Spring: The institution notifies its chosen nominee and submits the nomination or letter of intent to Pew (recently in mid-May).
• Late summer: Full proposals are due to Pew (recently around September 3).
• The following June: Pew announces the new class of scholars, whose funding then begins.

Because this is a nomination-driven program with institution-specific internal deadlines, there is no single public application deadline that applies to individual scientists, which is why the deadline field on this page is left empty. The date that matters most to you personally is your own institution’s internal submission deadline — find it through your research development or sponsored programs office as early in the cycle as possible. Always confirm the current Pew letter-of-intent and full-application dates on the official program page.

What the Funding Can Be Used For

Pew funding supports the scholar’s independent research program broadly. In practice, scholars have used the award for the kinds of costs that keep a young lab moving: personnel such as technicians, students, and postdocs; laboratory supplies and reagents; equipment; animal or model-system costs; and other direct research expenses.

Two boundaries are worth remembering. The award places a cap on the principal investigator’s own salary that may be charged to it, and it applies a low indirect-cost rate compared with typical federal grants. Both reflect the program’s intent that the money go primarily toward doing science rather than toward overhead or salary offset. The specific caps have been published for recent cycles but can change, so build your budget against the current year’s official terms.

The flexibility of the funds is their greatest strength for an early-career investigator. If a preliminary result opens an unexpected and promising line of inquiry, a scholar can redirect effort toward it without renegotiating a narrow set of grant aims. That freedom is precisely what the program is designed to provide.

Preparation Strategy for Prospective Nominees

Because the real gate is internal selection, a researcher hoping to become a Pew scholar should plan around their own institution’s process. A few practical steps help:

• Contact your research development office early. Ask whether your institution is invited to nominate for the Pew Scholars Program and, if so, when the internal competition opens and closes. These offices manage limited-submission opportunities and can tell you the exact internal deadline, which is the one you cannot miss.
• Confirm your eligibility against the current cycle. Check the appointment cutoff date for the year in question and make sure your assistant-professor start date falls within the eligible window. If you are near the boundary, the timing of your nomination attempt matters, especially given the two-application limit.
• Build a clear, forward-looking research narrative. Reviewers are choosing people of exceptional promise, not only a single project. Articulate the central questions your lab will pursue and why they matter for human health, and show that you have the independence and vision to pursue them.
• Gather strong support. Because you will compete internally first, cultivate relationships with senior colleagues and your department chair, whose backing often shapes who an institution chooses to nominate.
• Show early independent productivity. Preliminary data, first-author or corresponding-author work from your independent lab, and evidence that you can drive a program forward all strengthen the case.
• Decide between Pew Scholars and Pew-Stewart. If your work is cancer-focused, discuss with your institution which of the two programs is the better fit, since you generally cannot be nominated to both in the same cycle.

Start these conversations well before you think you need to. Many strong candidates lose a year simply because they learned about the internal deadline after it had passed.

Common Mistakes and Misconceptions

• “I can apply directly to Pew.” You cannot. The program is nomination-based and works only through invited institutions. Your first move is internal, not external.
• “The Pew deadline is my deadline.” No. Your institution’s internal deadline is earlier — often by several months — and is the one that governs whether you can be nominated at all.
• “Any university can nominate me.” Only invited institutions participate, and each may normally put forward a single candidate. Confirm your institution’s status before investing effort.
• “I have plenty of time; I’m a new professor.” The eligibility window is narrow — roughly the first few years of your assistant-professorship — and there is a cap on how many times you can apply. Waiting can cost you the opportunity entirely.
• “It funds a specific project.” The award is deliberately flexible support for your research program, not a project grant with fixed aims. Frame your case around your promise and your program, not a single experiment.
• “The numbers are fixed forever.” Award terms, the appointment cutoff, budget caps, and deadlines are set each cycle. Always verify against the current official announcement.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the award and for how long? US$300,000 in total, paid as about US$75,000 per year over four years, as flexible research support.

How many scholars are chosen each year? Historically around 22. The most recent class named 21 scholars. The number varies slightly by year.

Can I apply on my own? No. This is a nomination-based program. Only invited U.S. institutions may nominate, and each normally nominates one candidate. You must be selected through your institution’s internal process.

Who is eligible? Broadly, early-career scientists who hold a research doctorate (PhD, MD, DVM, or equivalent), hold a full-time tenure-track assistant professorship at an invited institution, are within the first few years of that appointment as defined by the cycle’s cutoff date, and conduct basic or translational research relevant to human health.

How many times can I apply? Candidates may normally apply a maximum of two times, so timing your nomination matters.

When are scholars announced? Pew has typically announced each new class in June of the year following the application cycle, with funding beginning thereafter.

What is the difference between this and the Pew-Stewart Scholars Program? The Pew-Stewart Scholars Program for Cancer Research is a related Pew-supported program focused specifically on cancer research. A candidate generally cannot be nominated to both in the same cycle, so your institution helps decide which fits your work best.

Where can I find the exact current-year terms? On the official Pew program page linked below. The appointment cutoff date, deadlines, budget caps, and invited-institution list are updated each cycle.

Official Links and Next Steps

• Official program page: Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences (redirects to pew.org).
• Broader Pew biomedical work: Pew Biomedical Scholars and Biomedical Research at The Pew Charitable Trusts.

If you believe you are eligible, take one concrete step now: contact your institution’s research development or limited-submission office and ask whether it participates in the Pew Scholars Program and when its internal competition opens. That single conversation determines whether you have a path to nomination this year. Always confirm current amounts, deadlines, and eligibility details directly on the official Pew page before acting, as the program’s specific terms are set anew each cycle.