Application & Selection

The announcement for the program takes place annually. The scientific focus of the program is on the connections between diseases of the central nervous system and systemic factors. The prerequisite for submitting an application is therefore a thematic reference to the research area.

"The role of systemic, external, and environmental influences on neurological and psychiatric disorders and their use in the prediction, diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of these conditions"

The research project must be carried out in close cooperation with at least one local research institute or another clinic. The cooperation must be demonstrated by a letter of support from the director of the institute/clinic. Affiliation to an existing collaborative project is desirable but not a prerequisite.

Eligible to apply are resident physicians:

in specialization (idealy in your two or three)
with successfully completed doctorate (at least magna cum laude)
With at least 1 original publication as first author (alone or shared) or at least 2 original publications as second author

The specialization training must be evidenced by an employment contract at UKB for the entire funding period plus 1 additional year or at least until the end of the specialization. Publications must have appeared in journals listed in Pubmed and including a peer review process.
The Executive Board would like to explicitly motivate female physicians to apply. The aim is to award at least 50% of the fundings to female applicants.

Application Process

The application process has two stages, with an initial draft phase and a subsequent call for a full proposal. The draft must be submitted electronically via the Bonfor eApplication system (see below). The application must be formulated in English. The following documents must be enclosed with the application:

Cover letter (1 page)
Project summary including classification in the thematic focus of the program (1 page - see template)
Draft proposal (objectives, work program, innovation, approach, budget, collaborations, risk analysis und contingency plan; max. 3 pages excl. references - see template)
Letter of recommendation by the clinic director
Declaration of obligation regarding release for the research project by the clinic director (see template)
Declaration of commitment to be accepted at the scientific institute / collaborating clinic (in the case of a clinical research project) for the duration of the project and the commitment to provide consumables and scientific infrastructure by the institute / clinic directorate (see template)
Additional letter of support from all other cooperating institutes and clinics
Curriculum vitae
Doctoral certificate
Certificate of license to pratice medicine
List of publications with a short summary of the most important publications (the contributed part is to be indicated)

Notes for external applicants

Note on requestable funds:

In addition to the own position, consumable funds of up to €12,000 can be requested for the first funding year and a further €3,000 each for years two and three. Furthermore, the host research institution is obliged to provide a total of €6,000 in project and core facility funds for the entire funding period.

Templates

Please use the templates in the download area to prepare the draft proposal and the commitment letters. Here you will also find a checklist for the application.

With the submission of the application for the Neuro-aCSis, the director of the clinic at which the applicant works must assure that the applicant will be released from clinical work to the required extent. At the same time, the director of the institute where the research project is to be carried out must assure that it will host the applicant for the entire funding period. Both the clinic and the scientific institute must be part of the UKB or the Medical Faculty.

Download-Area

Template Summary and Draft Proposal

Commitment of Clinic Management

Commitment of Institute Management

Checklist

Access to the eApplication system

Applications can only be submitted via the Bonfor eApplication system. To access this system, please send a short email to the Coordination Office for Internal Funding (Int.Foerderung@ukbonn.de). Please include your full name, the name of the clinic where you will be working during the funding period and a current email address. The clinic must be part of the UKB or the medical faculty. An account will then be set up for you and an application procedure for the Neuro-aCSis programme will be created. As soon as your account has been activated, you will receive an email notification.

To the eApplication Portal

Selection Process

Once the draft proposals have been submitted, the Executive Board checks whether the criteria for funding have been met. It then decides who should be invited to submit a full proposal ( presumably mid of October). A period of approximately two months is again allowed for the submission of full proposals (deadline presumably end of January). The submitted full proposals will then be sorted into thematic groups and forwarded for review. Each application is reviewed by one internal (from the Medical Faculty Bonn) and one external person. Based on the reviews, the Neuro-aCSis Selection Committee then makes the funding decision.

The Selection Committee is composed of the Executive Board, members of the BONFOR Commission, and the Dean of the Medical Faculty.