As the rate of discovery in the biomedical sciences increases, it
is critical that the Department of Defense maintain its involvement.
In fact, national security interests in the biomedical sciences reach
beyond the more commonly considered defense-related topics, such as
chemical and biological defense. Additional areas of interest include
nanotechnology, combat casualty care, environmental monitoring, food
safety, military operations, and diagnostics. This growing impact on
national security and defense necessitates new and innovative
programs to bridge the gap between defense agencies and historically
non-defense-related basic science research institutes.
The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) and the National Institutes
of Health (NIH), therefore, are pleased to announce the formation of
the IDA/NIH Fellowship Program. The program will bridge the gap
between the biological sciences and the national security
communities, illuminating the national security implications of
advances in the biological sciences and educating the biomedical
scientific community regarding defense issues.
Program Description: The IDA/NIH Fellowship Program
initially will be made up of one Senior Fellow and will evolve to
include a more junior Postdoctoral Fellow. The Senior Fellow,
selected from mid-career to senior NIH researchers (tenured senior
investigators), will spend two years continuing his or her research
at NIH while contributing to current IDA bioscience tasks. The Senior
Fellow typically will spend 20 percent of his or her time on
defense-related activities. The Postdoctoral Fellow (a junior
scientist within 2-5 years of their Ph.D. or M.D. degree) will be
selected for a 1- to 2-year internship, during which (s)he will work
in the Senior Fellow's laboratory at NIH on unclassified research,
and will spend approximately 50 percent of his or her time becoming
involved in IDA's national security research program. Opportunities
also exist for NIH scientists emeritus to function as consultants to
IDA (contact Dr. R. Roberts, 703-845-2500; rroberts@ida.org) for
further information).
Background: IDA runs a federally funded research and
development center to assist the Office of the Secretary of Defense,
the Joint Staff, the Unified Commands, and Defense Agencies in
addressing important national security issues, particularly those
requiring scientific and technical expertise. IDA also conducts
related research for other government agencies on national problems
for which the Institute's skills and experience are especially
suited. With core competencies in systems evaluations, technology
assessments, resource and support analyses, force and strategy
assessments, and high performance computing and communications, IDA
employs researchers with technical expertise in areas such as
electronic, magnetic, and structural materials; electrical, optical,
and mechanical systems; physics, chemistry, and mathematics;
biomedical engineering, biochemistry, and molecular biology; and
defense systems and policy.
NIH is one of the world's foremost medical research centers and is
the federal focal point for health research. Among the goals of the
agency is to foster fundamental creative discoveries, innovative
research strategies, and their applications as a basis to advance
significantly the nation's capacity to protect and improve health.
Recently, NIH has assumed a new role in the field of biodefense,
having received $1.7 billion in additional government funding to
conduct research in this area. Its commitment to its mission of
science in pursuit of fundamental knowledge about the nature and
behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to
extend healthy life and reduce the burdens of illness and disability,
coupled with its new role in homeland security, makes the agency an
ideal partner for this innovative fellowship program.
Overall Senior Fellow Responsibilities:
1. Supervise and/or conduct literature studies and analyses at the interface between biological sciences and the national security arena. The Fellow, in collaboration with IDA, will define the literature studies.2. Mentor young scientists at IDA and NIH working (or planning to work) in the biological sciences/national security arena.
3. Act as a resource for IDA staff members and IDA sponsors regarding biology/biotechnology issues, and act as an advisor to IDA regarding the impact of cutting edge biological science and technology on defense issues.
Year 1:
· Become acquainted with the national security environment and IDA mission by attending meetings and conferences.· Organize and host a series of biological sciences seminars at IDA (approximately one per month) to discuss cutting edge advances in the biological sciences that will impact national security.
· Submit a report at the conclusion of the first year, based on the studies described in #1 above, that discusses cutting edge advances in the biological sciences that will impact national security.
· Nominate a Postdoctoral Fellow by the end of year 1. The position would be a 1- to 2-year internship that would allow the Postdoctoral Fellow to learn about and contribute to IDA activities, while working in the Senior Fellow's laboratory at the NIH on unclassified research. The Postdoctoral Fellow would participate in IDA activities at about a 50 percent level. A Work Plan will be developed, based on the activities that the Senior Fellow is involved in, in collaboration with the Senior Fellow and IDA.
Year 2:
· Continue the biological sciences seminars and involvement in IDA's national security research program.· Mentor the Postdoctoral Fellow.
IDA is committed initially to support the Postdoctoral Fellow for
1 to 2 years. IDA will also provide the opportunities for involvement
in national security issues through their ongoing research program.
Funding for travel to meetings directly relevant to the Senior Fellow
and Postdoctoral Fellow's projects will be provided. The NIH will
provide qualified candidates at both the senior and junior level to
enhance IDA's capability in this ever-increasing area of
importance.
The Senior Fellow, Postdoctoral Fellow and Scientist Emeritus must be
American citizens and will need security clearance, to be obtained by
IDA.
Selection Process
1. Senior fellowship applicants should submit a one-two page description of what the impact of biomedical research on national security issues will be in the next 5-10 years. Applications should be submitted electronically to Dr. Joan Schwartz, schwartj@od.nih.gov2. A selection committee consisting of IDA and NIH staff members will make the final selection.
3. The same selection committee will review Postdoctoral Fellow nominations and Scientist Emeritus applications.
The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) is located in
Alexandria, VA. More information is available at its web site
http://www.ida.org or contact Dr. Robert Roberts, Vice-President for
Research, at 703-845-2500 or at rroberts@ida.org
For more information, or a copy of the IDA Annual Report, contact Dr.
Joan Schwartz, Office of Intramural Research, 301-496-1248 or at
schwartj@od.nih.gov