Eligibility: Successful applicants hold an MD, PhD, or equivalent degree, are a clinical or post-doctoral fellow at an academic institution, may be US or foreign based, and do not hold a higher level faculty appointment.

Applications are due by Friday, September 8, 2023. 

Please email Veronica with any questions.

Application Instructions

Applications which do not include the following materials and meet the specified page limitations will be returned unprocessed, or will be deferred until a subsequent granting cycle.

  • Please use size 11 font or larger with margins of at least 0.5 inches.
  • Please submit all documents as PDFs labeled with the section titles below.
  • Applications must be received by 11:59pm (US Pacific Time) on the specified due date.
  1. Grant Application, found here
    Fillable PDF form that must be signed by applicant and an institutional grants program official. Includes applicant and mentor information, a lay abstract, and scientific abstract. 

  2. Letters of Support – Two letters of support are required; one letter of support from your direct supervisor/mentor and one letter of support from another senior investigator/clinician familiar with your expertise, experience, and potential.

  3. CV/Biosketch – Not to exceed 3 pages each
    An example can be found here.

    Please submit one CV/Biosketch for the postdoctoral applicant and one CV/Biosketch from the direct supervisor/mentor.

  4. Budget- 1 page
    Please include a simple budget page indicating the amount of the award to be used towards postdoctoral salary and plans for any remaining funds (conference travel, support technology, etc).

  5. Hypothesis and Specific Aims – 1 page

    Please use a single page to lay out the hypothesis and rationale for the proposal including the specific aims to be accomplished.

  6. Research Plan – Not to exceed 5 pages
    This should include background, any preliminary data, experimental approach, methods, expected outcomes and discussion of potential pitfalls.

  7. Bibliography – no page limit
    Please provide citations in NIH format (listing all authors)

Review Process

Applicants will be informed of the status of their application by late November/ early December, following scientific review and final decisions by DSF’s Board of Directors. Awardees are then announced publicly at the annual DSF Research Roundtable that is held just prior to the American Epilepsy Society Meeting.