The Leaders Program helps awardees to establish their future careers based on a combination of clinical and scientific excellence, with a focus on basic and translational research. Awards are granted annually to the highest ranked Rambam resident applicants in support of their research projects. After selecting a project and a host laboratory at a research institution, applicants are paired with a mentor from the relevant laboratory. Applications are then subject to a merit review and a competitive selection process by the Leaders Scientific Committee.
An essential component of the program is to provide the awardees with sufficient financial support to enable them to dedicate once a week to basic research, carried out at their host laboratory. The award funds therefore contribute to the expenses of the mentor’s laboratory to support experimental work, to the awardee’s department to compensate for time spent in research rather than clinical work, and to the awardee’s research-related expenses (professional conferences, equipment, etc.). Each awardee is expected to complete his or her research project within two years.
The Atidim grant offers two distinct paths for funding opportunities: The first path appears to be geared towards individuals who have already completed advanced training in both clinical medicine and basic science research, they have a MD and also PhD degree. and who are likely pursuing an academic career. The second path, on the other hand, seems to be intended for early-career physicians who have to submit a basic science thesis to complete their medical training.
The call for proposals is once a year around June.