Call for applications for the next Biofield Research Fellowship cohort will be announced in Fall 2023. Please sign up for email updates at the bottom of this page to be notified of when the application window will open.

Application Information

Applications are reviewed by an external committee of experienced biofield researchers. Proposals must demonstrate relevance to the Research Priorities of the Biofield Research Fellowship Program. Proposals will be assessed based on the following criteria: 

  • Significance and Impact: the project addresses an important issue related to efficacy, mechanisms, cultivation, or assessment of biofield therapies, and has potential  to advance biofield research;
  • Innovation: project offers something novel, risky, or challenges existing paradigms, either theoretically, methodologically, or both;
  • Methodological Approach/Design: design, methods, and analyses are strongly developed, rigorous, well-integrated, and appropriate to the study aims;
  • Investigator(s): principal investigator(s) is appropriately trained and capable of coordinating and managing the entire scope of the proposed research, with high likelihood of success and impactfully contributes to the field, and proposes an appropriate research team with complementary expertise;
  • Research Environment: sufficient access to the required resources to carry out the proposed research, and the project will be supported by the institutional research community.

Fellowship funds must be used for direct costs incurred in conducting the proposed work and must not be used for salaries for the fellow’s faculty sponsor or Co-PI salary, nor for indirect costs or institutional administrative fees. Indirect costs relate to overhead, allocations, accounting or other costs not directly incurred in conducting the proposed work.

To apply, please submit the following information through the online application portal. The portal includes forms to collect the information below—we recommend that you create your online login and application well before the application is due in case any issues arise with your materials or application.

Applications that are missing any of the proposal information may not be considered.

  1. Eligibility: Confirm that the applicant Principal Investigator (and Co-PI, if applicable) meets eligibility requirements.
  2. Applicant Information: Basic demographic and contact information for the Principal Investigator.
  3. Project Information, including:
    1. Lab/Facility and Advisor information (if applicable)
    2. Co-PI information (if applicable) Only one co-PI is permitted. The co-PI shares project development and management with the Principal Investigator and is named on the grant. Eligibility criteria are the same for PI and co-PI.
    3. Ethical approval status (e.g. from Institutional Review Board, or IRB), if applicable
    4. Title of Research Project
    5. Lay Abstract (summary of project in language understandable by a general audience; 250 words max)
    6. Project Timeline & Deliverables (key milestones of project, manuscript(s), presentation, etc.)
    7. Brief statements (200 words max each) on:
      1. Relevance to Institute’s research priorities
      2. Potential impact related to the field of biofield sciences research
      3. Innovation of the project
      4. Experience of the Principal Investigator and ability to carry out the proposed project
      5. Research Environment suitability
  4. Research Proposal (upload as a separate PDF): Proposals should be between 1,000 and 1,500 words, with 11-point font, 1.5 spacing, with 1-inch margins top, bottom, left, and right. References are not included in the word count. 
    1. Title
    2. Background and Significance: Please provide a thorough and relevant review of the background literature and/or previous research that led to the current research question and the proposed project. Include the gaps in the literature that require completion of the proposed project.
    3. Aims and Objectives: Please provide a clear statement of the project’s research goal(s).
    4. Hypothesis: If applicable, please provide a well-defined statement of hypotheses to be tested in reference to the aims and objectives of the study. Clearly describe how the hypotheses will be tested with the proposed methodology.
    5. Methods and Design: Describe the methodology to be employed, including: participants and recruitment; study design; procedures; outcomes; and data analysis.
    6. Figures and Tables (optional): Figures and tables are not required, but if they are included in the proposal, they must be limited to two figures and/or tables total.
    7. References (citation style either APA, MLA, or Vancouver).
  5. Research Team (optional)
  6. CVs/Biosketches (5 pages max per item): Include CVs or NIH-style biosketches for the applicant (PI) and all other key personnel. (NIH biosketch template can be found here here)
  7. Detailed Budget and Budget Justification: Provide a detailed list and account for the use of the requested funds. Grant funds may only be used for direct research costs, they may not be used for salaries, any indirect costs, registration or travel to conferences.
  8. Letters from two recommenders are required and are due by application deadline. If the applicant has an advisor (e.g., graduate student or postdoc) that is not already serving as a reference, a letter of support from them is advised. The references’ names and email addresses will be collected and so we may contact them if desired.

Grant Decisions 

A Grant Review Board composed of senior researchers in related fields will review grant applications and make recommendations for grant awards. All grant decisions will be finalized in March 2022.

For any questions about the program, please email contact us.

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