The VCU BIRCWH Program is seeking applicants for up to 3 faculty scholars for this prestigious program to begin in 2025. To apply, please submit a Letter of Intent by September 3rd at noon. Eligible applicants will then be invited to submit full applications by October 11th at noon. Interviews for final candidates will be conducted in November and final decisions made in December.

Please note that for the Fall 2024 cycle we are aligning with the Wright Center's K12 Mentored Career Development Award program. Applicants will be able to apply for either the BIRCWH, the Wright Center K12, or both programs simultaneously via the form below. The salary and research support, as well as the duration of the award, are comparable between the two programs. Applicants are encouraged to research both programs via their websites and the following contacts. For BIRCWH questions, please contact Dr. Molly Hyer at molly.hyer@vcuhealth.org. For questions regarding the Wright Center K12 program, please contact Brad Williams at williamsb12@vcu.edu.

Letter of Intent Submission Form

BIRCWH General Application Requirements (for example only, may differ from application form)

  • Personal Statement (2 pages): A statement of your background and professional development goals that addresses the following: 
    • Why are you well-suited for the BIRCWH Award? Include relevant factors such as 1) summary of your career path to-date including your training (clinical or other research), 2) your previous research experience/accomplishments, 3) your current work and research interests, and 4) your funding potential.  
    • Describe your overall career goals as they pertain to women’s health and/or sex/gender differences research, both short and long term, and articulate how the BIRCWH award fits into your research career development plans. 
    • Discuss what training you seek and how the training provided by the program will help you achieve your goals. 
  • Research Statement: A research statement describing a proposed area of research related to women's health or sex/gender differences. 
    • Specific aims (1 page)
    • Background, significance, and research strategy (2 pages)
    • How the research contributes to your field and articulate the future direction of your research (½ page)
    • Must incorporate a statement on inclusion of NIH rigor and reproducibility guidelines (½ page)
    • A timeline for your work assuming that the funding period is 2 years (table or figure). 
  • Letter from proposed primary mentor - must include a statement of agreement from mentor that they will support your career development in women’s health or sex/gender differences research. 
  • Letter from department chair - must include a statement agreeing to provide 75% protected time. 
  • Letter of reference from past mentor
  • NIH Biosketch
  • CV
  • Mentor’s Biosketch