In tribute to Vicki's role as a guiding light in the early careers of many distinguished scientists, the Victoria S. Levin Award has been established. Its aim is to foster early career success in achieving funding for research that is informed by developmental science to address concerns affecting the early foundations of children's mental health. The Award will add measurably to Vicki's dream of a society in which all children are protected from disabling mental health problems by getting the healthiest start in life. Vicki believed strongly in the NIH's critical role in creating a scientific basis for achieving this goal and in the need to attract the best and brightest new scientists. Therefore, the Victoria S. Levin Award is designed to increase the likelihood that promising early career scientists succeed in securing NIH funding. The Victoria S. Levin Award is a non-renewable award of up to $25,000 for promising pre-tenured, early-mid-career investigators.
- Supporting release time from duties during which time the awardee writes and submits an application in the area of early childhood mental health to the NIH. This support compensates the awardee's unit/department for the work from which the awardee is released. Having adequate time to develop and submit a grant application is essential for early career success. [Applicants must provide institutional and department assurance signifying acceptance of this guideline.]
- Providing travel funds for a trip to NIH to meet program staff. This support helps the awardee develop meaningful contacts with NIH program staff who can guide the application preparation and revision (funding usually requires two application submissions).
- Providing a pre-review of the application. The opportunity to hire a distinguished scientist to review the application in advance of submission to NIH heightens the chances of early success. In addition to providing a critique, the reviewer can also advise the new scientist, which NIH review panels cannot do.
Deadline: Nov. 8, 2024
The applicant must:
- Be a current member in good standing of the Society for Research in Child Development
- Be employed at a nonprofit institution, either in the United States or abroad. In most instances, these organizations will have 501(c)(3) tax exempt status, set up to receive and process grants and awards. However, in rare cases, colleges or universities (such as Arizona State University) will not have 501(c)(3) tax exemption. If your institution fits into this category, we can instead accept an IRS determination letter which states that it is classified as a school under sections 509a1 and 170b1Aii of the IRS Code;
- Be committed to submitting a major NIH application (e.g., R or K mechanism);
- Show evidence of experience conducting research that addresses issues of compelling relevance for early childhood mental health theory, policies or practices. In keeping with Vicki's passionate interest in the sensitive and formative nature of early childhood for the development of mental health, and the need for scientific research that informs early intervention both preventive and therapeutic, applications should clearly articulate their relevance to the development of mental health in early childhood. All applications and especially those involving research with individuals beyond the elementary school years must explain the pertinence of the planned research to the first years of life. Longitudinal research is of high interest to the Foundation, as is experimental work with typically developing or atrisk children. In all cases, the proposed research must have clear application to the promotion of mental health or the prevention of mental disorders in young children;
- Have received a doctoral degree (or equivalent) within ten years of submitting the application. In many scholarly disciplines this translates to a maximum of ten years following the Award of the doctoral degree and includes time spent as a post-doctoral fellow. In medicine, the ten-year maximum is dated from the completion of the first residency;
- Have a mentor who is an established investigator in NIH-funded early childhood mental health research. Applicants are advised to select as a mentor an individual other than their dissertation supervisor. The mentor will often not be at the same institution but may be. There must be clear evidence of the mentor's role and commitment to supporting the awardee's application