Fellows Award for Research Excellence (FARE)

FARE is sponsored by the NIH Fellows Committee (FelCom), the Scientific Directors, and the NIH Office of Intramural Training & Education, and is funded by the Scientific Directors. Fellows submit an abstract of their research, which is peer reviewed in a blind study section competition. Authors of abstracts with the top 25% of scores are recognized as FARE winners. FARE winners receive a $1500 stipend to attend a scientific meeting and have the opportunity to be selected for a talk or presentation. FARE winners also serve as judges for the next year’s competition.

To be eligible, you must belong to one of the following groups:

• Intramural postdoctoral fellows (e.g. IRTA, CRTA, Clinical, Research, and Visiting Fellows) with less than six years total postdoctoral experience in the NIH intramural research program as of March 14, 2024.
• Postdoctoral-level Special Volunteers (e.g. NRC, NRSA, or Jane Coffin Childs fellowships etc.).
• Pre-doctoral IRTAs currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program and conducting their doctoral dissertation research at an NIH lab.
• Graduate students currently registered in the GPP (Graduate Partnerships Program) with the NIH.

Question: I won a FARE travel award already. Can I compete again this year?

Answer: Yes! All previous FARE winners are encouraged to apply again this year. However, your abstract must be significantly different from your previous winning abstract. This means it must be at least 50% different in both content and wording (i.e. it should reflect current data and not simply rehash last year's data).

Question: Can I submit an abstract to FARE if I am leaving NIH before the new fiscal year?

Answer: Yes. However, if you win FARE award and leave NIH before the fiscal year you will not be able to use the $1500 travel award.

Abstract submissions open on February 14, 2024.
Abstracts are due by noon (12 PM ET) on March 14, 2024.
It is your responsibility to ensure that deadlines are met. No extensions will be granted.

Winners will be announced by June 5, 2024.

The award can be used for travel to a scientific meeting during fiscal year (FY) 2025 (October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025.)

To help you with writing a FARE abstract, the FARE co-chairs will lead a webinar for NIH fellows.

Topics covered will be:

• What is the FARE competition procedure?
• Am I eligible for FARE?
• How are FARE abstracts different from typical abstracts?
• How are FARE abstracts judged?
• What makes a FARE abstract standout to the judges?
• Can you create a FARE abstract from an abstract you've already written?
• What do FARE winners receive?

The 'Tips for Successful Abstracts' session is offered in the spring. Check the OITE events page for details.

Keep in mind that:

• The abstract you submit to FARE should reflect your own current, first-author data, collected while you have been at the NIH. The data must be recent – either unpublished, submitted, accepted, in press, or published after January 1st, 2024.
• There can be only one author listed per FARE abstract. While you may describe data from a larger research project (i.e. one in which multiple scientists participate on specific parts), you should emphasize the contribution you have made, and place your contributions in context to the larger global project.
• FARE abstracts may need to contain more background than would be usual in an abstract for a scientific meeting. Judges come from all scientific disciplines.
• As the entries will be judged anonymously, your abstract should not contain identifying information (e.g. names, bibliographic references etc.). The presence of any potentially identifying information will disqualify the abstract from the competition.

Abstracts will be deemed not eligible and therefore disqualified from winning a FARE award if found to have any of the following:

• Inclusion of references (including DOI numbers, OMIM numbers or hyperlinks/hyperlinks to websites/datasets/coding tools).
• Inclusion of potential identifiable information (e.g. author name, affiliation, referencing a paper in which the author or their lab members are key authors, patents, clinical trial IDs).
• The author’s data was published before January 1st of this year.
• Data is not significantly different from previous winning abstracts (if you are a previous FARE winner).

If your abstract meets conditions for disqualification, you will receive a courtesy notification email. Note that you will not have an opportunity to re-submit your abstract or have it reconsidered for FARE award once your abstract is deemed disqualified. Therefore, prepare your abstract carefully to avoid grounds for disqualification.

Judges are comprised of FelCom members, faculty, and staff scientists/staff clinicians. Previous FARE winners are also being asked to serve as judges. Since judges are not allowed to evaluate their own abstracts, we ask that previous winners who also are applying to FARE apply to judge a different study section from the one they submitted their abstract to.

All attempts are made to place each abstract in the author's first-choice of study section. However, at times the number of abstracts submitted to a study section exceeds a reasonable number, and abstracts must be moved to their second- or third-choice study section. In this situation, abstracts are placed in the first-choice study section in the order by which they are submitted. Therefore, the earlier you submit, the more likely your abstract will be placed in your first-choice study section.

The FARE application requires you to choose three study sections. Study sections are filled in the order that abstracts are submitted. Therefore, if you feel there is only one study section appropriate for your abstract, we encourage you to apply early.

Approved abstracts are stripped of identifying information, divided into study sections, and judged by a panel of three trainees and two tenure-track/tenured scientists or staff scientists/clinicians. Winners will be notified by mid-August.

Abstracts are evaluated on four criteria: Scientific Merit, Originality, Experimental Design, and Overall Quality/Presentation.

Question: I applied to FARE but did not win, even though the same work has been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal. How can this be?

Answer: Your abstract may not have been written appropriately for the FARE competition. Remember, FARE abstracts may need to have more background than would be usual in an abstract for a scientific meeting or a journal article. It is also important to remember that your abstract is judged on the basis of other submissions as impartially as possible. Not winning the FARE competition has no bearing on, and has no reflection on, the ability to publish your data.

Winners of FARE awards will each receive a $1500 stipend to attend a scientific meeting at which they will present their abstract, either as a poster or an oral presentation. FARE winners serve as judges for the following year's FARE competition.

All winners have the potential to be selected for a talk at the NIH research festival or invited to present at a Special Interest Group (SIG) seminar series, provided their research matches the scientific interests of the session or group. If you would prefer not to be considered for a talk, there is an option to opt-out during the abstract submission process.

Activate your award

The activation process differs between ICs. Winners should contact their Branch Secretary, their Administrative Officer, or the office of their Scientific Director to learn how to activate their FARE award.

Use your award

Your FARE award should be used to cover costs related to attending a scientific meeting within the United States during the upcoming fiscal year. In order for you to use your award, we ask that you present your abstract, either as a poster or a seminar, at the meeting you choose. FARE awards may be used for international scientific meetings only with the approval of your Scientific Director.

Abstract winner are posted each October. In addition, winners will have the option to withhold publication of their abstract.

Question: Can I transfer my FARE award to someone from the same lab/institute/co-author/Principal Investigator/Staff scientist/Staff Clinicians?

Answer: No, you cannot transfer your FARE award. It is specific to the individual FARE winner.

• Rachel Cosby (co-chair, NICHD/NIGMS)
• Danielle Buglak (co-chair, NHLBI)
• Harrison Daly (NCATS)
• Sharmina Deloer (NIAID)
• Kevin Casin (NHLBI)
• Tammi Van Neel (NCATS)
• Abhinav Sur (NICHD)
• JJ O’Malley (NIGMS)
• Vishal Nehru (NICHD)
• Abhishek Basu (NIAAA)
• Ashira Lubkin (NIGMS)

Reach out to us at FARE@NIH.gov, or to your IC scientific director.