Fellowship and Research Awards

The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS) is now using one application for both of the following fellowship awards for the 2024 cycle:

Established through the generosity of Stanley and Susan Plotkin and Sanofi Pasteur, the Stanley and Susan Plotkin and Sanofi Pasteur Fellowship Award supports outstanding basic, translational, or clinical research in Pediatric Infectious Diseases. The two-year grants ($50,000 per year) are available for Pediatric Infectious Diseases fellows-in-training enrolled in certified US and Canadian programs. One award will be available for 2024.

Funded by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and jointly sponsored by PIDS and St. Jude, the goal of the St. Jude-PIDS Fellowship Award in Basic and Translational Science is to develop an enhanced cadre of physician-scientists who are trained to conduct rigorous, high-quality, basic or translational research studies in the field of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. This award provides support for 3 years to maximize research time.

Applicants are encouraged to consider mentors outside their Division of Infectious Diseases. A one-month rotation on the Infectious Diseases service at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is offered to provide an intensive experience in care of patients with compromised immunity. Collaboration with St. Jude investigators is encouraged but not mandatory. Award recipients will present their research each year at the St. Jude/PIDS Pediatric Infectious Diseases Research Conference.

Additional information, including eligibility, available here.

Established in 2016 through the generosity of the Pichichero Family Foundation, the Vaccines for Children Initiative research award program in Pediatric Infectious Diseases seek to encourage increased innovative research to improve or develop new vaccines and immunotherapeutics for children.

PIDS Foundation Announces the Revamped RFA for the Pichichero Family Foundation Research Award in Pediatric Infectious Diseases

Have you recently submitted an NIH or CDC award that just missed the payline? If so, the Pichichero Family Foundation Research Award in Pediatric Infectious Diseases may be a great way to build the additional data you need to launch a new area of investigation.

“Having been a grant-funded investigator for many years and serving on multiple study sections, I know firsthand how challenging the grant process is,” said Dr. Michael Pichichero, Director, Research Institute, Rochester General Hospital.  The Pichichero Family Foundation seeks to stand in the gap that often exists between NIH paylines and good science that narrowly misses the mark by providing research grants to well deserving proposals. The PIDS Foundation will review repurposed NIH and CDC grants, with study section comments, on a rolling basis. Proposals that were reviewed favorably, but fell below the payline, will be eligible for funding.

“It is our hope that through the generous contributions of the Pichichero Family Foundation, we can help launch both young investigators’ careers and more seasoned investigators’ new areas of research,” said Dr. Buddy Creech, Chair of the PIDS Foundation.

The goal of this training award is to support the development of future researchers in pediatric antimicrobial stewardship by providing mentorship to complete a scholarly research project in a timely manner during clinical or research training. Applicants may propose a research study that focuses on any aspect of antimicrobial stewardship. The proposed project should be able to be completed by May 2026.

The award will provide travel funds for awardees to present their work at the annual Pediatric Antimicrobial Stewardship Conference in St. Louis in May of 2026. Applicants wishing to discuss a project proposal pre-submission may email pids@idsociety.org. Application is open to trainees in any discipline, provided the trainee joins PIDS prior to application. Applications should be submitted via the link below.

Additional information, including application requirements, available here.

The PIDS Summer Research Scholars Award (SUMMERS), established in 2021 through the support of Sanofi Pasteur, promotes careers in pediatric infectious diseases by funding summer research projects of students at various levels of training. The award is intended to support scholarship in pediatric infectious diseases broadly, including basic science, translational, clinical, epidemiology, and quality improvement research. Given the brevity of the summer research experience, focused studies or well-defined contributions to larger research projects will be most successful.

The International Medical Graduate (IMG) Early Career Development Award was established in 2023 through the support of the PIDS Foundation. This award is designed to provide financial support to IMGs as they transition from fellow to faculty. Award funds may be used for research expenses, such as supplies, technical support, purchase of small equipment, core fees, statistical support, tuition or workshop fees, or publication fees.

The PIDS Fellowship Award in CMV Medical Education is an effort to improve maternal and infant health through medical education, such as education modules, research, and the application of adult learning theory to CMV diagnosis, treatment, and prevention in children and young adults. These funds may be used at the discretion of the applicant for needs such as salary support, purchase of small equipment, technical support, research supplies, statistical support, tuition or workshop fees, and publication fees.

The PIDS Fellowship Awards and PIDS-St. Jude Fellowship Awards greatly impact the fellowship experience and early faculty careers of recipients. Previous awardees report high success rates in securing future funding, a critical part of career advancement.