CAPNETZ CLINICIAN SCIENTIST PROGRAM
The overarching goal of the CAPNETZ STIFTUNG is to facilitate the advancement of research on Community-acquired Pneumonia (CAP), with the ultimate aim of translating this research into tangible benefits for patient care. The CAPNETZ network provides a comprehensive, centralized database of carefully collected and analyzed data, coupled with a robust biospecimen repository. This has proven ideal for high quality research with the potential to significantly improve the management of CAP in clinical practice.
CAPNETZ ACADEMY: Pneumonia is a frequent cause of outbreaks/epidemics/pandemics with high morbidity and mortality. In order to cope with emerging health crises and to maintain a sustainable research-oriented health ecosystem, it is essential to ensure the availability of highly qualified trainees in clinical medicine and biomedical research on pneumonia. While acknowledging the pivotal contributions of other academies of respiratory medicine in Germany (with which we maintain close collaboration), CAPNETZ STIFTUNG has newly established the CAPNETZ ACADEMY with a “Clinician Scientist Program” as its flagship initiative, with the objective of increasing the number of the next generation specialists with clinical and experimental research experience in the field of respiratory tract infections, in particular, CAP.
CAPNETZ Clinician Scientist Program: CAPNETZ STIFTUNG offers fellowships to physicians who wish to enhance their careers by gaining research experience in CAP and other respiratory infectious diseases. The fellowships are characterized by protected research time and multidisciplinary mentoring relationships within the CAPNETZ network. The fellows will have the great opportunity to engage with and work alongside people from a range of different fields such as pulmonology, radiology, bacteriology, virology, immunology, biochemistry, physiology, anatomy, pathology, system biology, computational biology, mathematical modelling and clinical epidemiology.
Key benefits
- Unique opportunity to complement the clinical training and to actively develop your long-term career prospects as a clinician and scientist.
- Funding can be used by early career clinicians, for example for protected research time (“own salary”, flexible, e.g., 50% research work, i.e., 2.5 days per week or every other month) and/or salaries or consumables.
- Multidisciplinary mentoring by CAPNETZ board members and other experts within the CAPNETZ network.
- Opportunity to collaborate with leading experts on a project focusing on CAP/respiratory infectious diseases
- Access to CAPNETZ clinical cohort data and clinical samples collected over the last two decades upon scientific evaluation.
- Offer chances to develop own research projects and publish research articles, which could in turn lead to opportunities for habilitation, extramural funding and long-term career prospects in research and clinical practice.
- Regular opportunity for developing soft skills, grant writing, as well as, engaging with other research academies/societies focusing on lung and infectious disease research in Germany and beyond.
- Program participants have the option, in consultation with the CAPNETZ management, to pause their fellowship for up to a maximum of 18 months due to maternity and parental leave.
Fellowship amount and duration
- The funding volume is designed for three candidates and amounts to a maximum of €50,000 to each.
- Fellowship contracts are offered for a continuous 12 months period. However, if clinical work needs to be interspersed, the Clinician Scientist Program period can be extended for 2 years. This may provide flexibility for clinician-scientists, but the proposal should clearly justify this arrangement.
- Fellows can receive an additional €5000 towards the cost of publishing in open access scientific journals.
- The working contracts for Clinician Scientist Fellows in the program are exclusively intended for academic research purposes. In a part-time capacity, these contracts can align with agreements from other institutions or organizations.
Eligibility
- The application must include a letter of support of a mentor/senior scientist experienced in the respiratory medicine and infectious disease field and who confirms the supervision throughout the funding period.
- The final university or state examination must not have been completed more than ten years before application (extension by two years per child in the case of applicants caring for one or more children under the age of 18).
- This program is only available for applicants from groups/clinics located in DACH (Deutschland, Austria, Switzerland) region.
- Returnees from abroad and/or external candidates who have a binding prospect of a position in a Medical Universities in DACH region at the time of application are also eligible to apply.
- Physicians with completed habilitation (or equivalent) usually cannot be considered.
- Project proposals in which commercial entities have a direct economic interest are excluded from funding.
- Excluded from funding are: application preparation costs, financial support for secretarial assistance, buildings and facilities and general administration, and general equipment procurement.
Application and selection procedure
Info Seminar
December 11, 2024 / 5PM
Virtual conference to introduce the Clinician Scientist Program and CAPNETZ
Step 1
January 31, 2025
Preliminary application submission
science@capnetz.de
March 10, 2025
Review by CAPNETZ Board/Committee and
notification of decision to applicants
Step 2
May 12, 2025
Full application submission
science@capnetz.de
July 12, 2025
Full application review by external experts and
final selection
Step 1: Preliminary application submission
- Applicant identify the mentor/supervisor and develop the project idea and objectives
- If necessary, the CAPNETZ STIFTUNG may be approached with questions regarding CAPNETZ data and bio sample repository
- Submission of project proposal in a specific format (provided herewith) with relevant supporting documents and certificates
- Applications which do not meet the published deadlines, are incomplete or do not fulfil the program eligibility will be returned to the applicant without further evaluation
- CAPNETZ board and selection committee will evaluate on the basis of the feasibility and novelty of the written proposal and its relevance to CAP, respiratory medicine and infectious diseases
- Applications should include following documents (see the Submission checklist below)
Final date of submission: January 31, 2025
Step 2: Full application submission
- Proposals selected in Step 1 of the election process will be requested to submit a detailed application (in the attached format)
- Evaluation of submitted application by a team of external experts
- External comments of each proposal will be discussed by the CAPNETZ board for the final decision on whether to support the project proposals
- A financial plan for funding will be approved by the Managing Director and the Board of CAPNETZ STIFTUNG.
- Applicants will be informed of the decision immediately.
Final date of submission: May 12, 2025
Submission checklist
- Project application (concise and clear presentation of hypothesis, project outline, financial plan)
- Curriculum vitae (without photo) with list of scientific publications
- a nomination of the supervisory committee (mandatory one supervisor, optional one independent mentor) and one-page outlining a future plan to obtain an independent academic research/teaching or similar position
- Approval of the application by the management of the home institution incl. confirmation of the applicant’s personal data and confirmation of employment for the funding period (12 – 24 months)
- If applicable (if changing institution within the Faculty of Medicine): Declaration from the host institution that the proposed project can be carried out and is supported accordingly
- If applicable: Declaration/confirmation of other financial sources applied or to be used in the project
- Confirmation of eligibility/specialist training
- Copy of employment contract
- Copy of medical degree certificate
- Copy of doctoral certificate (proof of dissertation is not sufficient)
Required for Step 2 application only:
- If applicable: Proof of necessary requirements for the project implementation (e.g. confirmation of submission or approval of the ethics and/or animal experimentation application, declaration of consent data protection, cooperation commitments, etc.)
- If applicable: Letter of authorization for other, ongoing third-party funded projects
- If applicable: Explanation for career break/delays
Please fill the application form, add necessary attachments and send it as one PDF document via e-mail to science@capnetz.de