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Title: Developing Research Capabilities in Energy Biosciences

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/924805· OSTI ID:924805

Scientists founded the Life Sciences Research Foundation (LSRF) in 1983 as a non-profit pass through foundation that awards post doctoral fellowships in all areas of the life sciences. LSRF scientists review hundreds of applications each year from PhDs seeking support. For example this year, our 26th, we received 800 applications and our peer review committee will choose about 50 finalists who are eligible for these awards. We have no endowment so we solicit sponsors each year. The fellowships are sponsored by research oriented companies, foundations, philanthropists, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and other organizations who believe in the value of awarding fellowships to the best and the brightest young scientists. Our web site has a complete listing of all details about LSRF (http://www.lsrf.org/). In the late 1980s the Division of Bioscience in the Office of Basic Energy Science, a granting agency of the Department of Energy, joined this partnership. Bioscience's mandate was to support non-medical microbiology and plant sciences. LSRF received a series of 5 year grants from DOE to award fellowships to our top applicants in these fields of research. We began to support DOE-Energy Bioscience post doctoral fellows in 1989. From 1989 through 2004 when DOE funding ended our partnership awarded 41 DOE-Energy Bioscience Fellows of the Life Sciences Research Foundation. Each of these was a three year fellowship. DOE-Energy Biosciences was well matched with LSRF. Our extensive peer review screened applicants in all areas of the life sciences. Most LSRF sponsors are interested in supporting fellows who work on diseases. At the time that we began our partnership with DOE we had no sponsors willing to support plant biology and non medical microbiology. For 15 years DOE played a major role in the training of the very best young scientists in these important fields of research simply through its support of LSRF post doctoral fellows. Young scientists interested in plant biology knew to apply to LSRF for a chance to receive a post doctoral award. We are enclosing a list of the 41 fellows who were supported through this partnership. The list includes some of the most distinguished plant biologists in the country, and our training partnership has had a profound impact on the field of plant biology.

Research Organization:
Life Sciences Research Foundation, Baltimore, MD (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
DOE Contract Number:
FG02-89ER14025
OSTI ID:
924805
Report Number(s):
DOE/ER/14025-1; LSRF Final Report
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English