HBCS Postdoctoral Program Training Admission Requirements

Hearing, Balance, and Chemical Senses Training Grant

The Hearing, Balance and Chemical Senses (HBCS) Training Grant aims to prepare postgraduate students (Ph.D. or M.D.) for careers in the fields of hearing, balance chemosensory biomedical and behavioral sciences. Postdoctoral fellows from a variety of disciplines are accepted, provided that their previous training has been adequate for the pursuit of advanced research in hearing, balance and/or chemical senses. Primary criteria are an excellent academic background and commitment to research in the area of hearing, balance and chemical senses.

Eligibility

  • NIH training grants will only support U.S. citizens or permanent residents holding a green card.
  • Postdoctoral trainees must have received, as of the beginning date of the NRSA appointment, a Ph.D., M.D., DDS, or comparable doctoral degree from an accredited domestic or foreign institution. Documentation by an authorized official of the degree-granting institution certifying all degree requirements have been met prior to the beginning date of training is required.
  • Trainees may receive no more than three years of total NRSA support at the postdoctoral level, including any combination of support from institutional training grants and individual fellowship awards. 

Duration

  • Postdoctoral traineeships are awarded for a one-year period, with the option of renewal for a second year. Appointment for the second year, however, is dependent on demonstration of progress during the first year and a clear plan for continued work in the area of hearing, balance and chemical senses.
  • Postdoctoral trainees are also expected to apply for F32 individual fellowship training support. NIH studies indicate that individuals receiving less than two years of postdoctoral training have a much lower probability of continuing in a successful research career.
  • The two years of fellowship training should be contiguous and focus on one research area. 
  • The University of Michigan Medical School policy limits the duration of postdoctoral appointments, including previous postdoctoral experience, to five (5) years. 

Payback Agreement

  • A two-year research obligation begins at the onset of appointment to the HBCS training grant. Completion of a second year of research training funded by the HBCS fellowship, or by a T32 individual fellowship, fulfills the NIH payback agreement.
  • Postdoctoral trainees who end their research careers before two years of postdoctoral training are completed, and who do not fulfill this obligation, are required to pay back the portion of their stipend received up to the time they leave the program. For additional details, see the NIH Grants Policy Statement (December 2003). 

Important Dates

Applications for predoctoral positions are considered twice per year. Applications are due on April 15 and September 15. Applicants are evaluated and given a priority score by the HBCS Admissions Committee. Final decisions will be made by the HBCS Executive Committee approximately 4-6 weeks following the application deadlines. Traineeships can begin at any time within the 12 months following the final approval by the Executive Committee.

New Applicants

Postgraduate students applying for first-year training grant support should complete this form and submit, together with additional requested materials, as a single PDF file to Nicole Rolland ([email protected]). Page limits will be strictly enforced (no appendices permitted). Support letters should be sent directly from mentor(s), also in PDF form.

Application Guidelines

  1. Background Information
    • Contact Information: Include mailing address, phone number and e-mail address where you can be reached reliably while the application is being evaluated.
    • Citizenship: If you are not a U.S. Citizen, please include a copy of your Green Card that certifies ‘permanent resident’ status.
    • Mentor: Include you proposed mentor for the HBCS postdoctoral traineeship and contact information.
    • Start Date: Include your desired start date for the HBCS postdoctoral traineeship.
    • Previous Postdoctoral Training: Number of months of previous postdoctoral  training (up to the time of the proposed HBCS start date)
    • Grant Support: Total number of months of previous federal training support up to the time of the proposed HBCS start date. Note that fellows are eligible for a maximum of three years of federal postdoctoral training support.
  2. C.V.: Submit curriculum vitae, including publications list
  3. Interest Statement: Include a one-page statement outlining your research interests and long-term academic goals. This statement must explicitly indicate how your research interests relate to the field of hearing, balance and chemical senses. This statement should also briefly summarize previous research done in graduate school and previous postdoctoral positions.
  4. Research Training Plan: Concisely describe your the planned research project, including the following items (4-page limit, excluding reference list):
    •  Specific Aims: an explicit list of the intended goals of the project, including the hypotheses to be tested.
    •  Background and Significance: a brief description of the current knowledge base in the relevant area and the unresolved questions that are addressed by the Specific Aims; also include a brief statement summarizing the scientific and clinical significance of the plan and its relevance for research training in the fields of hearing, balance or chemical senses
    •  Preliminary Studies: if applicable (Take care in distinguishing your own contributions from those of others.)
    •  Research Design and Methods: a brief summary of the experimental approaches to be used
  5. Career Mentoring/Training Plan: Include an explicit plan (1-page limit) that the mentor and applicant have developed to augment HBCS activities and that promotes the success of the applicant in achieving the overall goal of the HBCS program. Include in the plan specific items, for example, academic classes, seminars and workshops to be attended by the applicant at U-M and elsewhere, and opportunities for interaction of the applicant with other scientists, such as attendance at national and international meetings. When relevant, also include specific collaborators or proposed co-mentors and their direct involvement in the training and mentorship of the applicant.
  6. Publications/Presentations: Include one copy each of relevant publications, including those in press. If there are more than three previous publications, the best representative three should be selected.
  7. Transcripts: Graduate or medical school transcripts indicating receipt of a Ph.D. or M.D. degree. If applicant's graduate degree was obtained in another country, applicant must provide proof of equivalency to a Ph.D. or M.D. degree in the United States. 
  8. Letter of Support: Include a letter of support from the mentor(s) that outlines the qualifications of the applicant for a research career in hearing, balance and chemical senses. The mentor should also specify the source of funds for support of the research training (supplies, equipment, etc.), a specific rationale for the request of training grant support and a brief plan for support of the remainder of the applicant’s training.
  9. Two Additional Letters of Recommendation

Review Criteria

  • Quality of the candidate’s academic and research accomplishments
  • Potential for successful training in the fields of hearing, balance or chemical senses
  • Quality of the training environment and career training plan
  • Quality of the research training plan

Renewing Applicants

Postdoctoral fellows applying for renewal of training grant support should fill out this form and submit, together with additional requested materials, as a single PDF file to Nicole Rolland ([email protected]). Page limits are strictly enforced (no appendices permitted). Support letters should be sent directly from mentor(s), also in PDF form.

Prior to review of these applications by the HBCS program, trainees are required to submit a separate application for an individual NRSA fellowship to the NIH (Due dates for individual NRSA applications are April 8, Aug. 8 and Dec. 8.). The U-M Proposal Application Form (PAF) associated with the individual NRSA submission and the NIH reviews, if available, should be provided in the HBCS application materials.

Application Guidelines

  1. Background Information:
    • Contact Information:  Include mailing address, phone number and e-mail address where you can be reached reliably while the application is being evaluated.
    • Mentor: Include you proposed mentor for the HBCS postdoctoral traineeship and contact information.
    • Renewal Date: Include your desired renewal date for the HBCS postdoctoral traineeship.
    • HBCS Grant Support: Number of months of previous HBCS postdoctoral training support (up to the time of the proposed HBCS renewal start date).
    • Grant Support: Total number of months of previous federal training support (e.g., HBCS Training Grant, Individual NRSA fellowship) up to the time of the proposed HBCS renewal start date. Note that graduate students are eligible for a maximum of three years of federal postdoctoral training support.
  2. An Updated CV
  3. Progress Report: A summary of progress during the preceding period of support in your career training plan and research training plan reflecting the specific aims of the original application, along with a brief summary of the career and research plans for the renewal year of support (3-page limit, excluding reference list). Also include a statement that explicitly indicates the relevance of the plans for research training in the fields of hearing, balance, or chemical senses.
  4. Participation Description: Include a description of your participation in required HBCS training programs, including Hearing, Balance and Chemical Senses seminars, lunch meetings with invited speakers and training in research responsibility.
  5. Publications/Presentations: Include a list of publications and/or presentations on which you are a co-author and that are associated with training during the preceding period of support (include copies of publications).
  6. For trainees applying for a third year (or beyond) of support from the training grant: U-M Proposal Application Form (PAF) associated with submission of an individual NRSA fellowship application to NIH, and the reviews for this submission, if available.
  7. Letter of Support: A letter from the mentor describing the applicant's progress during the preceding period of support with respect to the proposed career mentoring and research training plans

Review Criteria

  • Progress in the research training plan, based upon the applicant’s and mentor’s descriptions and the publications/presentations resulting from the preceding year’s training
  • Progress in the career training plan
  • Participation in HBCS training programs

Contact Us

You may direct inquiries not addressed here via e-mail to the program director, Michael Roberts, Ph.D. ([email protected]) or the program administrator, Nicole Rolland ([email protected]). Additional information regarding training fellowships is available in an NIH Grants Policy Statement (Dec. 2003) available on the NIH website. 

Dr. Michael Roberts

Michael T. Roberts, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Faculty Member, Neuroscience Graduate Program
Principal Investigator, HBCS Training Grant

Nicole Rolland

Administrative Specialist for Human Resources and Facilities
734-763-5087