The Keck School of Medicine of USC is seeking research proposals from junior faculty members to submit to the Donald E. & Delia B. Baxter Foundation. The Foundation has supported many worthy research projects at the Keck School for more than five decades.
This year, the Keck School can put forward four candidates for consideration as Baxter Foundation Faculty Fellows. Traditionally, the Trustees of the Foundation have selected two individuals as Fellows; each has received research support in the range of $50,000 to $100,000. Funding generally starts at the beginning of the USC academic year, which corresponds to July 2017 for the current offering.
Purpose
The purpose of the Donald E. & Delia Baxter Foundation Fellows Program is to provide seed funding to help prepare and support young investigators as they embark on their careers and start up their independent research programs. This early stage of career development is a critical period for a new researcher. During this time, the new scientist requires some form of monetary support to develop preliminary data and build his or her research program to effectively compete for extramural research funding. The Foundation is interested in supporting researchers at this early stage so that they can conduct innovative and impactful research that has strong future potential for translation to new therapies, diagnostic tools, and/or approaches to disease prevention. The Foundation is particularly interested in supporting basic laboratory and mechanism-based research programs.
Internal Submission Process
By Thursday, March 15, 2017, at 5 p.m., please send the PDF of the application by email to Dawn Muench, Office of Foundation Relations, at dawn.muench@med.usc.edu. (Telephone: 323-442-2356.) Please follow up if you do not receive a confirmation that your application was received.
Selection Process
The scientific review and selection process will be conducted under the auspices of the Office of Research Advancement of the Keck School. Four semi-finalists will be selected and notified by mid-April. They will work with the Vice Dean for Research of the Keck School to prepare oral presentations to the Baxter Foundation Board on the USC Health Sciences Campus in early May. Baxter Foundation Faculty Fellows will be notified of awards shortly thereafter.
Award Process
It is expected that two proposals will be approved and funded beginning July 2017. Research projects will be supported for a total of one year, but this support may be extended at no cost for a second year with submission of a progress report and approval from the Vice Dean for Research, Keck School.
Background
The Donald E. & Delia B. Baxter Foundation has supported USC since 1959. The foundation’s first gift was to the Keck School. The foundation awards grants for research at leading postgraduate institutions on the West Coast such as Stanford University, Caltech, the University of Washington and Scripps Institute. Their main focus is junior faculty research. The Baxter Foundation supports cutting-edge junior faculty research with a one-time gift to get their research programs started until they can qualify for federal support. The foundation also funds a medical student summer research mentorship program here at the Keck School. This program has been supported through the Baxter Fellowship Fund for more than 25 years.
History
Delia Baxter established the Donald E. & Delia B. Baxter Foundation in 1959 in honor of her husband, Donald Baxter, who died in 1935. Dr. Donald E. Baxter, a physician and engineer, pioneered the commercial preparation of intravenous solutions, paving the way for widespread use of intravenous therapy. A small family foundation has been formed with direct descendants of Donald and Delia Baxter. The directors include: Donald Haake, Marla Elliott, Martha B. Haake, Richard Haake, William Haake, Martha E. Haake, Jane H. Russell and Jim Russell.