Principal Investigator Eligibility

Applicants (PIs) must be independent research scientists who are AAI regular members in good standing. At the time of application, the PI should have no more than $350,000 U.S. dollars (USD) in total annual direct costs (excluding PI salary) from all funding sources, including start-up funds. Funding mechanisms and levels must be confirmed by the applicant’s department head or dean via signature on the Funding Confirmation Form (included with application). A PI may submit only one fellowship application per award cycle. Applicants may request salary support for a maximum of one predoctoral student or one postdoctoral fellow. PIs who have previously received an AAI Careers in Immunology Fellowship are not eligible to receive the award a second time (for the same or a different trainee). Scientists employed by for-profit corporations or government agencies, AAI Council members, and AAI Fellowship Committee members are ineligible to apply.

Trainee Eligibility

Trainees must be AAI members in good standing at the time of application and have a current Trainee Certification Form on record with AAI. Predoctoral trainees must have passed their Ph.D. qualifying/candidacy exams by the application deadline (April 1) to be eligible for a fellowship. To qualify as a candidate for postdoctoral support, the trainee must have passed his/her Ph.D. thesis defense by the fellowship application deadline. Postdoctoral fellows must be in years 1-5 of their postdoctoral training (start date on or after April 1, 2015); later-stage fellows (years 6 and beyond) will not be supported. Postdoctoral fellows who have completed five years of training and transitioned into a second postdoctoral position at the same or a different institution are not eligible for the award. Trainees funded under the fellowship program may not be supported concomitantly by other fellowships that provide salary compensation.

AAI encourages applications from and for women and underrepresented minority scientists.

Award consideration is based on the merit of the PI’s proposed project, potential of the trainee, the quality of the training environment, and financial need.

Fellowship decisions will be announced by the end of June, and funding for successful applicants will commence in September, 2021. Successful applicants will receive salary support for one trainee commensurate with the National Institutes of Health National Research Service Award (NRSA) standards in practice at the time of the award (see table below). Changes to NRSA standards after the fellowship award date will not result in additional or reduced compensation from AAI. Salary compensation levels for trainees in programs at non-US institutions will be determined according to the national salary guidelines of the country in which their institution is located but will not exceed the NRSA standard for the respective level of the trainee. No indirect costs will be made to the institution.

NIH NRSA Postdoctoral stipends

NIH NRSA Predoctoral stipends

Salary support will be discontinued if the Fellow terminates or suspends employment for any reason (e.g. graduates, leaves lab, leave of absence, etc.) or if the PI or Fellow fails to renew AAI membership during the award period.

PIs are required to submit a short report and accounting of the use of funds just prior to the conclusion of the funding year. Any publications or works created by the Fellow must acknowledge support by this AAI program as follows: Author X was supported by The American Association of Immunologists through a Careers in Immunology Fellowship.

It is the responsibility of the PI and the Fellow, in conjunction with their institution, to ensure that all academic and research activities carried out in or outside the US comply with the laws or regulations of the US and/or of the foreign country in which the academic and/or research activities are conducted.

Applicants are required to provide the following in the application package:

1. Applicant Information Page
2. Research Plan
3. PI Statement
4. Justification Statement
5. Other Lab Members
6. Trainee Statement
7. Mentoring Plan
8. Funding Confirmation Form (signed by the department chair or dean)
9. PI’s NIH Biosketch
10. Trainee CV or Biosketch
11. Ph.D. Candidacy Exam Document (required for predoctoral trainees only)

Please see the Application Instructions for more information

AAI Regular members may submit the award application by logging into their AAI member accounts at https://account.aai.org/login.htm and choosing “Apply for Fellowship” in the “Member Benefits” menu. All documents should be uploaded as a single combined PDF file with a file name of less than 25 characters. Please be aware that the single, combined PDF must be no larger than 20MB. Packages that are not complete will not be considered. Final award decisions are at the discretion of AAI.

If the application deadline falls on a weekend day or a federal holiday, applications will be due on the next regular business day.