The Simons Foundation Pivot Fellowship program supports researchers who demonstrate a strong record of achievement in their current field and show a keen interest in making contributions to a new discipline. The program encourages individuals to bring knowledge and insight from one field to another, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. This fellowship offers a one-year training period where the fellow will work closely with a mentor in a lab, immersing themselves in the new discipline and its practices.

Funding Organization: Simons Foundation

Scope: Natural sciences, engineering, mathematics, data science, or computer science

Eligibility

• Fellows and mentors must hold a Ph.D., M.D., or equivalent degree in natural sciences (astronomy, biology, chemistry, earth sciences, neuroscience and physics), engineering, mathematics, data science, or computer science, along with all sub-disciplines therein.
• Fellows must be faculty at an academic institution or hold an equivalent position.
• Fellows must demonstrate that the fellowship will take place in a new discipline distinct from their current field of study.
• Fellows must not hold any other fellowship providing salary support during the training year of the Pivot Fellowship.

Maximum Award

• The fellowship provides one year of salary support equivalent to the fellow’s academic-year salary.
• Fellows also receive a 10,000 USD research, travel, and professional development allowance during the fellowship training year.
• Mentors receive a 50,000 USD research fund during the fellowship year, which may be used for various research expenses.
• At the end of the fellowship year, fellows are eligible to apply for a research award in their new field for up to $1.5 million over five years.

Application Process: Applicants must apply through Simons Award Manager (SAM), https://sam.simonsfoundation.org/. Fellows and mentors will each submit a unique application in SAM independently of each other.

Application Deadline: 15 May 2025

Further Information: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/pivot-fellowship/