How to Apply

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs is accepting applications for the Postdoctoral Award for Research Excellence (PARE award). The awards, open to postdocs in all disciplines, are designed to recognize the important contributions that postdoctoral scholars make to UNC’s research enterprise. PARE awards are for postdoctoral scholars who are showing exceptional promise, which may include excellence in scholarly or academic research, leadership, advocacy, service, mentoring, and/or teaching, during their postdoc assignment. The cash award of $1200 is given to five recipients.

Information Session

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs will host a virtual information session on Tuesday May 7^th from 12:00-12:45 PM. To attend, please register here.

Eligibility

The following terms apply to the awards:

1. Applicants must be full-time and fall into one of two Human Resources designations: Postdoctoral Fellow/Trainee or Postdoctoral Research Associate.
2. Applicants must remain in their postdoc appointment at least until December 31, 2024, at the time of application.
3. PARE awards recipients will be announced in August 2024.
4. The application deadline is 5:00PM on Thursday, May 30, 2024 (no exceptions).

Categories

PARE Awards will be awarded in the following categories:

• Humanities & Fine Arts/Social Science and Professional Schools
• STEM, Medical, and Clinical Sciences

Application Instructions

Applications should consist of:

1. Brief cover letter (1 page)

• • Address to Dr. Essie Torres, Interim Director of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
  • Cover letter should include:
    • Name
    • Email
    • School
    • Department
    • PI/Supervisor
    • UNC Start Date
    • Research Narrative (3 sentences; use lay language understandable by a general audience)
    • Key Words (3-5 words)
    • 12 pt Times New Roman font, single spaced

2. Current curriculum vitae

3. Research statement

• • 2-page limit (references should be limited to 1-page)
  • Broadly discuss the significance of your current work, and your research accomplishments/contributions as a postdoc at UNC. Briefly discuss short- and long-term research goals.
  • Applications should be written for a non-expert audience and will be assessed by a multidisciplinary review panel.
  • Evaluation of each candidate will be primarily based on accomplishments within the context of time spent as a postdoctoral scholar at UNC.

4. A signed letter of endorsement from the applicant’s mentor on departmental letterhead. This letter should be emailed to opa@unc.edu directly from the mentor.

• • Please review the selection criteria. The letter should describe the nominee’s postdoctoral research at UNC, specific contributions to research and research productivity, and the significance or impact of the work.
  • Mentoring or other activities that are relevant to the postdoc scholar’s contributions may also be described.
  • The letter should present a clear case, based on the supporting evidence in the nomination, for why the postdoctoral scholar merits the distinction this award represents.
  • The nominator should also include the following information in the letter:
    • the nominee’s total time as a postdoctoral scholar at UNC and elsewhere;
    • how many postdoctoral scholars the nominator has supervised, and how the nominee ranks among them;
    • an email address for further contact regarding the nomination;

All materials should be submitted to opa@unc.edu no later than 5:00PM on May 30, 2024. Materials received after this time will not be considered.

Selection Criteria

• Innovation and creativity of the research as a UNC postdoctoral scholar;
• Research productivity during UNC postdoctoral appointment, as evidenced by both traditional and non-traditional research outputs;
• Scholarly distinction, such as awards or other recognition for the postdoctoral research, or other evidence of the impact of the work;
• Significance of the nominee’s work to their research field or its impact on society;
• Leadership by the postdoctoral scholar as a member of a research team, collaborative effort(s), PDA leadership positions, advocacy, service, mentoring, and/or teaching;
• Effective communication of research significance and impact for multidisciplinary audience.

Selection Process

The award selection committee will be composed of multidisciplinary faculty and staff and will be co-led by OPA’s Faculty Advisors. PARE awards recipients will be announced in August 2024. Award recipients will be honored at the annual UNC PARE Awards Ceremony held during UNC’s Research Week (October 2024). After a short presentation, plaques will be presented to each awardee by Dr. Penny Gordon-Larsen, Vice Chancellor for Research.