About the Program

Affecting the health of America’s population requires new, evidence-based strategies that will improve the quality of health services. Physician-scientists historically have made substantial contributions to this national effort. For young physician-scientists, a critical period in their academic careers comes after they have completed their clinical fellowship training and taken their first faculty position. They are expected to teach, provide patient care and conduct independent research. This period is particularly challenging for junior faculty who are interested in health policy, epidemiology, health services or community-based research—fields in which few career development programs exist.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Physician Faculty Scholars program addresses this gap by providing junior faculty with mentoring, protected time, networking and the opportunity to gain valuable research experience. The program produces academic leaders who are creative and well-positioned to improve the nation’s health care.

This program is part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) Human Capital Portfolio, which seeks to attract, develop and retain a high-quality health and health care workforce, with an emphasis on diversity and leadership development.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Physician Faculty Scholars program will make up to 15 three-year awards of up to $300,000 each to help outstanding junior faculty in medical schools to develop their careers in academic medicine.  Physicians selected are called RWJF Physician Faculty Scholars (PFS). In addition, up to 5 physicians will be selected as Veterans Affairs (VA) Faculty Scholars in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Physician Faculty Scholars Program.  To be eligible for a VA Faculty Scholar  position, physicians must be first year VA Career Development awardees. 

Talented junior faculty, who are nominated by their medical schools or VA medical centers and selected by the program, will receive support to enhance their skills and productivity through institutional and national mentoring, specific research experience and protected time in which to acquire it. The program strongly prefers applicants interested in the fields of health policy research, epidemiology, health services research or community-based research. Physician-scientists who conduct basic biomedical research should not apply. 

Schools may have up to two physicians in the program at any one time, provided they are each in different disciplines. 

For Physician Faculty Scholars (PFS), RWJF will make grants to sponsoring institutions to help cover the scholars’ salary and research costs. VA Faculty Scholars will be funded as part of their VA HSR&D Career Development awards. Each sponsoring institution must agree to protect 50 percent of each scholar’s time from clinical and teaching responsibilities to spend on the scholarly activities outlined in the scholar’s proposal. Each institution must identify at least one mentor who will advise the scholar on his or her research project, provide career development guidance, and attend one annual national meeting with the scholar.

Scholars will also interact with the medical leaders who serve on the program’s national advisory committee (NAC). The program will assign to each scholar a NAC mentor, who will discuss project management and career development with him or her at the program’s annual meeting and throughout the year. NAC mentors may offer additional assistance, such as reviewing and critiquing manuscripts and grant proposals and writing letters of recommendation.

All scholars will also interact with the medical leaders who serve on the program’s national advisory committee (NAC). The program will assign to each scholar a NAC mentor, who will discuss project management and career development with him or her at the program’s annual meeting and throughout the year. NAC mentors may offer additional assistance, such as reviewing and critiquing manuscripts and grant proposals and writing letters of recommendation.

All scholars are expected to attend each annual meeting, where they will present their ongoing research and take part in a broad array of discussions relevant to the program’s focus. They must also attend one additional scientific meeting of their choosing annually.

Consistent with all RWJF programs, this program embraces racial, ethnic, gender and disciplinary diversity and encourages candidates with diverse backgrounds to apply.