FAQs about eligibility
- Do Fellowship applicants need to have appointments in schools of public health?
- No, you do not need to have an appointment at a school of public health. We recognize that Fellows may work in a variety of institutions and school settings. What is important is that you have research/teaching/practice interest in MCH and that your institution is committed to building the MCH capacity of the students and faculty where you work.
- Is there is a focus/priority on institutions that don’t currently have MCHB training grants?
- The National Workforce Development Center (Center) and HRSA/MCHB are focused on building relationships with as many MSIs as possible. We recognize that some MSI have partnered with the Center or have an existing funding relationship with HRSA/MCHB. We welcome applicants from all MSIs and encourage applicants whose institutions do not have an existing relationship with the Center or HRSA/MCHB to apply.
- Do applicants have to have a strong publication record or MCH research experience?
- No. This Fellowship is intended for faculty focused on building their MCH capacity and the MCH capacity of their current institution. Faculty can do this in a variety of ways, including teaching and building MCH-focused partnerships. As long as you are an early or mid-career, full-time faculty member doing or desiring to do MCH curriculum building, research, or practice (i.e., focused on building academic-practice partnerships) you are eligible for this funding opportunity.
- Can post-docs apply?
- This opportunity is designed for faculty members. If you are a current post-doc, but you believe that you will be employed with an MSI by the beginning of the fellowship we encourage you to apply.
FAQs about the fellowship project
- Can you speak a little more about the academic-practice partnership requirements that you want to see being formed or leveraged during the fellowship project requirement?
- For this funding opportunity, academic-practice partnerships are relationships that faculty at academic institutions build with MCH agencies and organizations. These can include state Title V agencies, local health departments, and/or community-based organizations. Often faculty are interested in working with MCH-focused agencies and organizations, but for various reasons may not have had the opportunity to build meaningful relationships with those partners. Fellows who want to build academic-practice partnerships can use the funding and protected time for the Faculty Fellowship to build those key partnerships. Accepted Fellows will have the ability to further discuss and develop their Learning Plan and relationship between academia and practice with their Coach/Mentor.
- Does the Fellowship Project have to be focused on an MCH issue/topic that our current institution is invested in?
- That is at the discretion of each applicant/Fellow. It may make sense if the project leverages the current interests and momentum at your home institution, but it could also be beneficial if the project builds out another MCH focus/topic area. Work with your mentor and department/division chair to think about what would be most beneficial to build the MCH capacity of your institution.
- Can the project be niche within MCH?
- Yes! The field of MCH is very broad and includes a variety of topics. The project you choose can be focused on a narrow or more specific topic within MCH or an issue that affects a subpopulation of the MCH population.
FAQs about mentors
- In the application fellows have the option to list a mentor they’d like to be paired with. Does the mentor have to be someone currently working for HRSA/MCHB funded training program (e.g., Center of Excellence, Catalyst program, etc.)
- No, the mentor does have to be connected to a current HRSA/MCHB training program. Instead, think broadly about your mentorship needs and the people whose work you admire in MCH. There is no guarantee that we will be able to match you with the individuals you indicate in the application, but listing those names will give us ideas of topic areas and interests that are important to the Fellows.
- Is it essential for the mentor to be local to the Fellow, to better facilitate partnerships, or could they be geographically distal?
- No, it is not necessary for the mentor to be local. It is likely most interactions between Fellows and their mentors will be online/virtual.