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Trailblazing Trainee Award Program

Supplementing existing opportunities for trainees in our department to pursue their personal research, scholarly, and professional development interests while reinforcing the department’s commitment to our five missions.

2024 Request for Applications

We welcome applications to our 2024 Trailblazing Trainee (TT) Award Program. This competitive award is designed to supplement existing opportunities for trainees in the Department to pursue individual research, scholarly, and professional development interests while reinforcing the Department’s commitment to our five missions. Selected applicants will receive funding between $500 and $5,000 depending on the nature of the project. All projects should be completed within 18 months of award or prior to completion of trainee affiliation with Stanford. Payment will be made as a one-time lump sum award to the individual.

Department trainees are eligible to apply, including psychiatric residents, fellows, postdoctoral scholars, and students in the PAU Psy.D. consortium. Awardees will be notified on or before February 29, 2024.

Proposals will be evaluated according to the clarity and feasibility of goals, alignment with departmental mission commitments and priority areas, quality of the project proposed, and representation from different trainee areas within the Department. For 2024 Trailblazing Trainee (TT) Award, in addition to encompassing a wide array of topics in psychiatry, neuroscience, and mental health, special attention will be given to fostering innovation and advancements in these fields. This includes but is not limited to clinical interventions, education, and addressing the social and structural determinants impacting mental health and overall well-being.

Requirements

Recipients should provide a brief (1 page) final report on the outcomes of their project at completion.

Application Guidelines

By 6:00PM, Friday, February 2nd, 2024, please submit one PDF file containing the following in the order listed below via the online application:

File name: “LASTNAME_2024 Trainee.pdf”

All proposal applications should use at least 11-point font size, 1-inch margins, with standard word and single line spacing. Pages should be numbered consecutively at the bottom right. The page header should contain the name of the applicant.

  1. Title Page (1-page limit):
    1. 2024 Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences Trailblazing Trainee (TT) Award
    2. Project title
    3. Name, title, and email of trainee applicant
    4. One sentence summary of the proposal
    5. Amount of funding requested
       
  2. Project Proposal (1-page limit):
    One page including any/all figures, excluding references. Preliminary data is not required, but may be included. No appendices are allowed. Include the following:
    1.  Problem statement
    2. Specific Aims
    3. Project plan, including timeline
    4. Description of potential impact, including reference to designated priority areas if applicable
    5. Up to 5 references
       

Proposals that do not conform to the above guidelines will be returned without review. We will be unable to provide candidates with critiques of their applications or their rankings in the review process.

Please direct all inquiries to:

Kyle Lane-McKinley
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
kylemck@stanford.edu | (650) 721-1883

Funded Projects by Year

In the summer of 2020, we invited applications for the inaugural Trainee Innovator Award Program. Proposals were evaluated according to the clarity and feasibility of goals, alignment with departmental mission commitments and priority areas, quality of the project proposed, and representation from different trainee areas within the Department.

  • Stephen Sai Folmsbee, MD, PhD (PGY5 Neuropsychiatry fellow)
    Investigating the association between psychiatric medications and clinical outcomes in neuroimmunologic diseases
  • William Booker (Doctoral Candidate in Clinical Psychology (PGSP-Stanford Psy.D. Consortium))
    Multi-Generational and Cross-Cultural Conversations in LGBTQ+/Queer Communities
  • Haijing Hallenbeck, PhD (Postdoctoral Scholar)
    Exploring the Digital Phenotyping of PTSD, Depression, and Psychosocial Functioning among Trauma Survivors in Daily Life
  • Jonathan Updike, MD, MPH (PGY5 Child and adolescent psychiatry fellow)
    Leadership, Equity, and Advocacy in Policy (LEAP) Scholars Program
  • Sam Vesuna, MD, PhD (PGY1 Psychiatry resident)
    A pilot study: Objective measures of verbal communication in the psychiatric interview
  • Cassondra Eng, PhD (Postdoctoral scholar)
    Improving Physical and Cognitive Wellbeing through Exercise-based Immersive Virtual Reality Interventions with Neurodiverse Students
  • Rochelle Coulson, PhD (Postdoctoral Scholar)
    Examining the role of m6A mRNA modification in local synaptic translation in Fragile X syndrome
  • Elisabeth Andreeff (Doctoral Candidate in Clinical Psychology (PGSP-Stanford Psy.D. Consortium))
    Pilot Study of CBT + Improv Group Therapy for OCD

For general inquiries about this program,
please contact Kyle McKinley, Program Manager, at kylemck@stanford.edu