The FRED (Faculty Research and Education Development) Program is a structured mentorship program designed to promote grant funding success for junior faculty or senior postdocs at minority-serving institutions (MSIs) and other institutions with a strong commitment to recruiting students from backgrounds underrepresented in STEM to the field of cell biology and related fields.

Each early-career scientist will receive individualized structured help for one year, using extensive feedback from a senior faculty research mentor with a strong track record of grant funding, with the goal of preparing a highly competitive research or educational grant proposal for submission to the NSF, NIH, or comparable funding agency. The program is structured to facilitate regular communication between the mentors and mentees, as well as several opportunities for more intensive collaboration on proposal development.

Highlights of the year-long program include

• Funding for attendance at a three-day summer workshop to
  • learn about funding opportunities
  • work one-on-one extensively with their mentor
  • get feedback on your proposal ideas from several mentors
• Funding to attend the ASCB-EMBO Annual Meeting for a mock grant review panel for lots of feedback on the junior faculty’s proposal draft
• Funding for exchange visits between the mentor’s and mentee’s institutions.

Junior faculty applicants will need an appropriate program mentor before applying, but if you want to apply and need help finding a mentor, we can help! Both junior faculty and mentors must apply individually, and both must be ASCB members if accepted into the program. 

For More information on the FRED program, visit the program website here.

The FRED Program is funded by the NSF and sponsored by ASCB’s Minorities Affairs Committee.

If you have any questions or need help applying or finding a mentor, email Dr. Sydella Blatch (sblatch@ascb.org).