Rainin Visionary Scientist Award FAQs

The award provides $300,000 over two years. The grant period is October 1, 2026-September 30, 2028.

Allowable expenses include:

• Postdoctoral salary support
• Supplies
• Other necessary direct research expenses
• Travel to relevant scientific meetings

Indirect costs are not permitted.

If a grantee secures a faculty or independent research position during the grant period, the award will be transferred with the recipient to the new institution, subject to approval by the Rainin Foundation.

The new institution must agree to administer the grant under the same funding terms.

Yes. Grantees will be expected to attend the Rainin Foundation Innovations Symposium during the award period and may be asked to present their work.

This award is open to US-based postdoctoral researchers working across a broad range of disciplines, including but not limited to mucosal immunology, microbiome science, epithelial biology, genetics and genomics, neuroimmunology, therapeutic approaches to IBD, systems and computational biology, and translational research.

Investigators from diverse backgrounds and those who have previously applied for but have not yet secured a faculty position are encouraged to apply.

Applicants must:

• Hold a PhD, MD, MD/PhD, or equivalent doctoral degree
• Be currently appointed as a postdoctoral fellow at a US-based academic or research institution
• Have at least three years of postdoctoral research experience at the time of application (excluding documented career interruptions)
• Be a postdoctoral researcher actively preparing to transition to an independent faculty position in the United States.
• Have an identified primary mentor who will provide scientific supervision and career development support.
• Include research manuscript(s) in their application materials:
  • PhDs and MD/PhDs (2): One first-author manuscript from graduate work; one publication (in press or in BioRxiv) from postdoctoral work
  • MDs: One publication from postdoctoral work (in press or in BioRxiv)

Please note: Only one application may be submitted per department. Applicants should confirm eligibility with their department chair prior to submission.

No. Scientists from a variety of biomedical fields are eligible to apply. However, proposals should clearly explain how the research will advance the understanding of IBD.

The Foundation supports basic, translational and computational biomedical research that may contribute to the understanding or treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Relevant research areas may include:

• Mucosal immunology
• Microbiome science
• Epithelial biology
• Genetics and genomics
• Neuroimmunology
• Therapeutic approaches to IBD
• Systems and computational biology
• Translational research

Learn more about our areas of interest and the researchers we support.

Preliminary data are not required, though applicants may include relevant data if available.

Applicants are responsible for providing each recommender with the following instructions and the link to the letter submission form. Letters must be submitted directly by recommenders through this form. Applicants may not upload letters on behalf of the person writing their recommendation.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to request letters well in advance of the deadline and to allow sufficient time for referees to prepare and submit their letters. Please follow up with your recommenders as needed to ensure timely submission. Late letters will not be accepted and the application will be considered incomplete. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

Letters should include:

1. Relationship to Applicant
   • How long you have known the applicant and in what capacity
   • Your ability to evaluate their work and potential
2. Scientific Contributions and Strengths
   • Quality, rigor and originality of the applicant’s research
   • Key accomplishments and contributions to the field
3. Independence
   • Evidence of the applicant’s ability to develop independent ideas and research directions
   • Distinction between the applicant’s work and that of their mentor
   • Readiness to lead an independent research program
4. Future Potential
   • Likelihood of success in obtaining a faculty position
   • Potential to become a leader in biomedical research
5. Relevance to IBD (if applicable)
   • The applicant’s contributions or potential contributions to Inflammatory Bowel Disease research
6. Overall Assessment
   • Your overall recommendation (e.g., outstanding, excellent, very good)
   • How the applicant compares to peers at a similar career stage

Applications are reviewed by the Rainin Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board and other external experts. They are evaluated based on:

• Scientific merit and innovation
• Relevance to Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Applicant accomplishments and future potential
• Evidence of emerging research independence
• Strength of mentorship and research environment

The Kenneth Rainin Foundation and the Health Program have committed to equity as a core value that drives our mission. We request applicants provide us with their demographic information because it is critical in advancing equity in our work as funders. Applicants have the option to “decline to state.”

We collect demographic data to:

• Understand who our grants serve
• Uncover bias and access barriers in our programs, processes and strategies
• Assess how our programs and processes impact outcomes, particularly for specific communities
• Ensure the equitable distribution of Foundation resources

We request demographic information from the applicant about how they publicly self-identify in the following categories:

• Gender
• Race

Applicants have the option to “decline to state.”

We will not use demographic data to determine eligibility for funding and will not exclude any applicant from consideration based on their responses, including declining to state.

This information will help us in our work to equitably allocate the Foundation’s resources.

We will explore the data in aggregate to:

• Examine trends
• Identify results that indicate bias
• Identify gaps in outreach, support and accessibility
• Make improvements to our programmatic processes and strategies