SPIE-Franz Hillenkamp Fellowship

To be eligible as a Hosting Lab, the following requirements must be met: 

1. An established contributor in the field of biomedical optics (capability and infrastructure).
2. An institution of higher learning (university and medical school affiliations are needed). Government labs or nonprofit-incorporated labs are eligible if other criteria are met.
3. Capable of high-level mentorship in both fundamental research and translation of technologies into medicine (number of publications, patents, collaborations with industry and spin-off creation over the last 10 years, faculty teaching in translational research education and training programs).
4. Committed to giving access to the lab, research and translational sciences mentorship, commercialization expertise and immersion courses in translational research.
5. Able to demonstrate capability to perform original and translational research in the field, leading to new diagnostics and/or therapeutics in medicine and biology, (ex: contributed to at least one discovery translated into clinical practice).
6. The hosting lab must cover indirect costs according to the lab’s institution policy such as space, electricity, heating, telephone expenses, administrative salaries, etc.
7. The $75,000 SPIE-Franz Hillenkamp Fellowship is to be awarded in full to the fellow and to be administered by the hosting lab. For the one-year duration of the fellowship, the funding is intended to cover the fellow’s salary and benefits (health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, education assistance, retirement plan contributions, etc.). If remaining funding is available, it may be used for project-related expenses. The salary and benefits of the fellow must adhere to the lab’s institution policy.
8. Must provide, to the Fellowship Committee, the project final report including summary of project expenses no later than two months after the end of the fellowship.
9. A whitepaper is required for new and Participating Labs describing how the lab would fulfill the Hillenkamp Fellowship. Whitepaper must be a minimum of one page and must not exceed three pages.

Options for new Hosting Lab: 

Sustaining Lab — a contribution of at least $20,000 must be made to support the Fellowship Fund. Sustaining Lab will be recognized from the time the contribution is processed (by SPIE) on spie.org and promotional materials as appropriate. 

Participating Lab — no initial contribution is required and the lab will support a Fellow as the hosting lab in accordance with the above criteria. Participating Lab will be recognized on spie.org and promotional materials as appropriate for the year the lab is supporting an awarded Fellow.  

Download Hosting Lab Requirements (PDF)

The project must meet the following criteria:

1. Relevance to the field of biomedical optics and analytics.
2. Sufficient background to evaluate the scope and nature of the problem as well as the current standard of care, evidence of the need and multi stakeholder perspective.
3. Potential patient and healthcare impact.
4. Innovative aspects of the approach.
5. Likelihood that achievement of experimental endpoints will lead to a potential collaboration with a commercial partner.
6. Team expertise and motivation.
7. Potential for the fellow to learn the importance of translating new discoveries to clinical practice, the language required to make the process effective and what it really takes (expertise, partnerships, time, money).

Research Component

Must include a detailed research plan developed jointly by the candidate and the research faculty mentor in science/engineering and/or medicine/biology. Research plan must be a minimum of three (3) pages and must not exceed five (5) pages.

Translational Sciences Component

Must include one (1) page training plan developed with the translational sciences mentor. The plan should NOT describe the project business plan, but how the fellow will be involved and learn about specific steps to be taken in order to translate new discoveries emerging from the project into new diagnostics or treatments for patients in need. May include actions such as: participating in courses and/or attending seminars and series focusing on translational research, working with clinicians, interacting with academic and/or commercial partners, participating in the writing and approval of animal experiments and/or human studies, applying for/or participating in translational research grants, and publishing a paper reporting on the work performed during the one-year SPIE-Franz Hillenkamp Fellowship, highlighting both the research and translational sciences components.

Download Project Requirements (PDF)

Eligibility

1. Candidates must have a PhD, MD, or equivalent degree at the beginning of the Fellowship.
2. Further advanced scientists and engineers interested in transitioning to biomedical research will also be considered.
3. If awarded the Hillenkamp Postdoctoral Fellowship, the awardee must be a Member or become a Member of SPIE.

Application Requirements

Candidates must include the following:

1. CV
2. One (1)-page personal statement addressing how proposed research project and training as the SPIE-Franz Hillenkamp fellowship is important to career goals.
3. One (1) external letter of recommendation not affiliated with the hosting lab.
4. One (1) letter of support stating specific commitment to the project from the research and translational sciences faculty and collaborating mentors in the hosting lab.

Download Candidate Requirements (PDF)