The Health Equity Scholars for Action (HES4A) program aims to support early-career researchers who are systemically underrepresented in health sciences and related fields.
Donor Name: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)
State: All States
County: All Counties
Territories: American samoa, Commonwealth of northern, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S Virgin Island
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 11/06/2025
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The goal of HES4A is to support the career development and academic progress of faculty conducting health equity research. Grants will be awarded to address the challenges that historically marginalized faculty typically experience and help them overcome obstacles to earning tenure. HES4A projects focus on transformative, action-oriented evidence addressing structural barriers and are aligned with RWJF’s mission to achieve equity. The program welcomes applications that apply an intersectional approach, with the aim of improving social, political, and economic conditions that support health and health equity.
Funding Information
Each award will be up to $260,000.
Uses of Funds
Award funds can cover up to 70 percent of the scholar’s salary for two years (capped at $75,000 per year), with the remainder of the award to be used for research and other related expenses.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for HES4A, the individual applicant must:
- Demonstrate challenges and/or barriers to full inclusion they have faced in their research disciplines because of their personal characteristics and/or experiences. To assess this factor, RWJF will evaluate each applicant’s experiences holistically to determine whether the applicant has demonstrated that they have faced challenges and/or barriers to full inclusion in the health equity field because of their personal characteristics and/or experiences, rather than the quality of their work. RWJF recognizes that individuals who have any of the following experiences are statistically more likely to have faced barriers in the academic field:
- First-generation college graduates;
- People for whom English is not a native language;
- People from low-income communities;
- Individuals with disabilities;
- Older or second career professionals; and
- People from geographically isolated locations.
- However, these examples are intended to be illustrative only. As part of the application process, candidates will be asked to describe in what way they believe they are systemically marginalized and how they hope participation in the program will help them to overcome those barriers. Every applicant will have an opportunity to describe their own individual circumstances. RWJF will consider all forms of marginalization equally, including those that are self-described. RWJF will not select, exclude, or prioritize applicants based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or other protected characteristics.
- Have completed a terminal degree within the last five years. The degree can be in any field and is not limited to public health or health sciences.
- Be a junior faculty member in an accredited school in the U.S. or its territories (“home institution”), with a full-time academic position that could lead to tenure, or a postdoctoral fellow poised to be in such a position by the start of the grant.
- Have a home institution that agrees to administer and receive the grant. The home institution must be an accredited academic institution. Applicants from any universities classified among the R2-M3 by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education are encouraged to apply.
- Individuals who have received grants to support predoctoral training or have a predoctoral fellowship grant are eligible to apply.
- Individuals who have been principal or co-principal investigators on a grant greater than $10,000, since receiving their doctoral degree, regardless of the source (e.g., federal grants, foundation grants, corporate grants, institutional grant) or allocation of funds, are not eligible for HES4A. See frequently asked questions for further clarification.
- Individuals who have received support from other post-graduate research fellowships/traineeships (e.g., research career development award or equivalent) are not eligible for HES4A. Investigators are not discouraged or prevented from applying to other fellowships/traineeships while participating in the program.
- Be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at the time of application. As federal policy or laws change, they may need to consider adjustments in eligibility and grant terms.
- Not be related by blood or marriage to any Officer or Trustee of RWJF, or be a descendant of its founder, Robert Wood Johnson.
- Federal, state, tribal, and local government employees are eligible to apply unless they are considered government officials under Section 4946 of the Internal Revenue Code.
For more information, visit RWJF.
