Albrecht Struppler Clinician Scientist Fellowship
Background
The Fellowship is named after Albrecht Struppler (1919-2009), the first holder of a chair of neurology at TUM and a pioneer in building a bridge from the neurosciences to engineering. With this Fellowship, the TUM-IAS would like to encourage out-of-the-box ideas and cross-disciplinary exchange that may otherwise get lost in the busy everyday clinical routine, and reinforce health and medical sciences with perspectives and expertise from non-medical disciplines.
Please note
There are currently no upcoming calls for applications for this fellowship program.
Target Group and Aim
The Albrecht Struppler Clinician Scientist Fellowship is designed for physicians working at the TUM School of Medicine and Health, TUM University Hospital or German Heart Centre Munich who intend to further develop an independent research profile while at the same time continuing their clinical qualification. The Fellowship is aimed at outstanding, high-potential early-career scientists who have already or will shortly receive their certification as medical specialist (Facharzt/-ärztin) and who have already successfully secured third-party funding. The Fellowship offers a relief of 50% from clinical duties, which gives Fellows time to carry out a transdisciplinary research project in collaboration with scientists from a school different to the TUM School of Medicine and Health.
Duration
The Fellowship lasts three years during which the Fellow will continue their clinical duties to a reduced extent (relief of 50%). The regulations of the applicant’s home clinic at TUM regarding leave times have to be met by the Fellow.
Connection to a TUM school other than the TUM School of Medicine and Health
Since it is the aim of this Fellowship to bridge medicine with other scientific fields represented at TUM, a cooperation partner/group from a TUM school other than the TUM School of Medicine and Health must be identified in advance of the application. If applicable, this cooperation partner confirms to grant the Fellow use of facilities at their school (research, office, etc.).
TUM-IAS Connection
During the Fellowship, the Fellow is welcome to make use of the office space at the TUM-IAS building (long-term or short-term use possible). The Fellow should also actively contribute to interdisciplinary TUM-IAS events.
Funding
Since the Fellowship offers a relief of 50% from the Fellow’s clinical duties, 50% of the Fellow’s salary (TV Ärzte Ä2/Ä3) will be paid by TUM-IAS for the three years of the Fellowship (with the remaining part continuing to be paid by the Fellow’s home clinic at TUM). The Fellowship also comprises 15k € per year for consumables, travel, workshop organization etc., and funding for a doctoral candidate (TV-L E13, 75%) for three years or a postdoctoral researcher (TV-L E13/E14 position, 100%) for two years. The Fellow’s home clinic/institution at TUM will cover 50% of the funding for the doctoral candidate or postdoctoral researcher.
Fellows will be given a maximum degree of freedom as to how they utilize these funds (within bounds set by funding agencies; funds will be administered by the TUM-IAS) and their time.
Supervision of doctoral candidates
The doctoral candidate will be co-advised by the Fellow and their senior mentors at the TUM School of Medicine and Health and the co-hosting TUM school. Doctoral candidates should be pursuing a graduation as Dr. rer. nat., Dr. med. (dent.) sci. or PhD. The doctoral work should be performed mainly during the Fellowship time; therefore, the search and hiring process of a candidate should be accomplished within three months after the Fellowship appointment.
How to apply
Please submit the following application documents:
- a cover page (available for download),
- a letter of support (1-2 pages) by the chair/head physician of the applicant’s home clinic at TUM (including the confirmation that 50% of the accompanying personnel costs will be covered by the applicant’s home clinic at TUM),
- a letter of support (1-2 pages) from the dean of the TUM School of Medicine and Health, TUM University Hospital or German Heart Centre Munich,
- a letter of support (1-2 pages) from the dean of the school of the cooperation partner/group,
- a CV (no more than 5 pages) including a list of secured third-party funding,
- a list of major publications (please highlight the 3-5 most important publications of the past five years),
- a statement of purpose (no more than 5-10 pages) jointly signed by the candidate and their collaborator(s) outside the TUM School of Medicine and Health, describing how the Fellowship would contribute to the innovation of the scientific or technological environment at TUM, and the specific goals to be achieved. The statement of purpose should also include the following elements:
- an abstract,
- a budget and a time plan,
- an identification of possible additional (interdisciplinary) collaboration partners both within TUM-IAS and within TUM as well as a short explanation as to why this collaboration would be beneficial for the outlined research project,
- an outline for an international workshop/colloquium, to be organized at the TUM-IAS during the active Fellowship period,
- a list of 4-6 international peer-reviewers without any conflict of interest (definition: please see here) – if applicable, also a list of persons who should be excluded from reviewing the proposal.
Evaluation
Decisions will be made by the TUM-IAS director in mutual agreement with the dean of the TUM School of Medicine and Health, supported by external reviews and advised by the TUM-IAS Advisory Council including a representative of the TUM School of Medicine and Health. Decisions will be sent via email within six months.
