USA Scholarships
AGA Fellowship-to-Faculty Award 2027 - $130K
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The AGA-Torrey Coast Foundation Fellowship-to-Faculty Transition Award is a two-year research fellowship from the American Gastroenterological Association that pays $65,000 annually ($130,000 total) to protect time for clinical or translational work on gastro-esophageal cancer while you move from training into a faculty track. One award is made per cycle. Eligible applicants hold an MD, PhD, or equivalent degree and sit in a clinical or postdoctoral fellowship at a North American institution (United States, Canada, or Mexico). Clinical fellows apply in their final fellowship year or the year immediately after training; postdoctoral fellows need four to six years of postdoctoral research and a written plan to seek faculty positions before the award ends. AGA membership, an AGA-member mentor, and at least 50 percent effort on the proposed project are required. Purely basic science projects do not qualify. The most recent cycle opened 18 June 2026, closed 15 September 2026, and funds begin 1 July 2027, with decisions on or before 1 February 2027.
What is the AGA Fellowship-to-Faculty Transition Award?
The AGA-Torrey Coast Foundation Fellowship-to-Faculty Transition Award sits at the narrow bridge between fellowship training and a first faculty job in gastroenterology. The American Gastroenterological Association designed it for people who already know they want an academic research career but still need protected months to produce data, finish manuscripts, and look credible on the faculty market. One fellow receives $65,000 a year for two years, $130,000 in all, to focus on clinical or translational questions in gastro-esophageal cancer rather than on clinical service alone.
Torrey Coast Foundation funding keeps the award tied to upper-GI malignancy: epidemiology, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and patient outcomes all qualify if the work connects to gastro-esophageal cancer. That focus is why a purely basic bench project with no translational path usually fails the gate, even when the science is strong. Reviewers expect you to label the proposal Clinical or Translational and to show how the project prepares you for independence.
The applicant pool is small but specialized. Clinical GI fellows apply in their last training year or the year right after fellowship. Postdoctoral fellows need between four and six years of postdoctoral research and must explain, in writing, when they will apply for faculty posts and how they will separate their science from their mentor''s funded aims. Everyone needs AGA membership, an AGA-member mentor, a department sponsor, and at least half of their professional effort on the award. If you already signed a permanent faculty contract that starts before July 2027, this mechanism is not for you.
Cycle timing is predictable even when your own lab schedule is not. Applications for the July 2027 start opened 18 June 2026 and closed 15 September 2026. Notifications arrive on or before 1 February 2027. When the next cycle posts, read the live page on gastro.org before you reuse an old template from a colleague. For neighbouring funding paths, the NPGH Global Health Fellowship covers public-health trainees, the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship supports early graduate researchers, and the Harvard Radcliffe Fellowship funds a broad cohort of senior scholars and artists.
Eligibility
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✓MD, PhD, or equivalent with a fellowship appointmentYou must hold an MD, PhD, DO, MBBS, MBChB, or equivalent and be appointed as a clinical fellow or postdoctoral fellow at an institution in the United States, Canada, or Mexico. The award is built for people still in structured training, not for investigators who already hold a permanent faculty offer before the 1 July 2027 start date.
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✓Clinical fellow in final year or first post-fellowship yearIf you are a clinical fellow in gastroenterology or a related field, you must be in the last year of fellowship at the time of application or in the single year immediately following fellowship completion. Earlier-year fellows are not eligible for this mechanism.
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✓Postdoc with four to six years of research experiencePostdoctoral applicants need at least four years and fewer than six years of postdoctoral research when they apply. You must describe how you will establish scientific independence from your current mentor and include a timeline for faculty job applications before the award ends.
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✓Clinical or translational focus on gastro-esophageal cancerProjects must address epidemiology, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, or outcomes of gastro-esophageal cancer. Applicants doing exclusively basic laboratory research without a clinical or translational link are ineligible. You self-assign the proposal as Clinical or Translational in the application.
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✓AGA membership and AGA-member mentorActive AGA membership is required at submission and must continue for both funded years. Your mentor must also be an AGA member when you apply. Physician-scientists, women, and applicants from groups underrepresented in biomedical research are strongly encouraged to apply.
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✓Minimum 50 percent effort and no overlapping awardsYou must devote at least 50 percent professional effort to the proposed project. At submission you cannot hold another award from any source that directly funds the same research. You also cannot apply for an AGA Research Scholar Award in the same awards cycle.
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✓Sponsor, mentor, and career development planThe application requires a sponsor (often a division chief or department chair), a mentor who supervises research progress, biographical sketches for key personnel, a facilities form, current and pending support, and a career development plan with faculty-search timelines.
Benefits
- Total research support $130,000 over two years ($65,000/year)
- Protected research time Minimum 50% effort on proposed project
- Allowable costs PI salary/benefits, supplies, equipment, biostatistics
- Career transition support Funds preliminary data for faculty applications
- Number of awards One recipient per cycle
- Mentor salary Not covered
- Travel Not an allowable expense
- Indirect costs Not allowed
- Basic science only projects Ineligible
Document checklist
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✓Online AGA Grants Management System applicationComplete the full application through the AGA Grants Management System via the Apply Now button on the award page at gastro.org. Preview PDFs on the site are for reference only; nothing is accepted by email or post.
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✓Research plan with upper-GI cancer relevanceA detailed research proposal showing clinical or translational aims in gastro-esophageal cancer, including how your work differs from your mentor's funded grants if there is overlap with existing or pending mentor support.
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✓Career development planA written plan describing career goals, training activities during the award period, and a timeline for applying to faculty positions. Postdoctoral applicants must explain independence from the current mentor.
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✓Budget narrative and allowable expensesJustified budget covering PI salary and benefits, supplies, equipment, biostatistics support, and other direct costs. Mentor salary, travel, and indirect costs are not allowed.
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✓Biographical sketchesBiosketches for the applicant, mentor, sponsor, and other key personnel as required in the grants system.
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✓Current and pending other supportFull list of all active and pending funding for the applicant, used to check overlap rules before an award is made.
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✓Research facilities and resources formInstitutional description of the environment where the project will run, including commitment to protected research time.
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✓Human subjects documentation after awardIf selected, you must supply IRB approval or documentation that approval is not required before payments begin. Annual scientific and financial progress reports are required, with second-year funding tied to acceptable reporting.
How to apply
Deadline and timeline
FAQ
What is the AGA Fellowship-to-Faculty Transition Award?
It is a Torrey Coast Foundation-supported award administered by the AGA Research Foundation that pays $65,000 per year for two years ($130,000 total) to one clinical or postdoctoral fellow doing clinical or translational research on gastro-esophageal cancer. The goal is to protect research time so you can generate preliminary data and compete for faculty positions in gastroenterology.
How much is the AGA Fellowship-to-Faculty Transition Award worth?
The award provides $65,000 annually for two years, for $130,000 in total direct support. Allowable costs include the principal investigator's salary and benefits, supplies, equipment, biostatistics support, and other direct research expenses. Mentor salary, travel, and indirect costs are excluded.
Who is eligible for the AGA Fellowship-to-Faculty Transition Award?
Eligible applicants hold an MD, PhD, or equivalent, work at a North American institution, and sit in a clinical fellowship (final year or year after training) or a postdoctoral fellowship with four to six years of research experience. You need AGA membership, an AGA-member mentor, at least 50 percent effort on the project, and a clinical or translational upper-GI cancer focus. Pure basic science and applicants with permanent faculty offers before the start date are ineligible.
When is the AGA Fellowship-to-Faculty Transition Award deadline?
For funding that begins 1 July 2027, applications opened 18 June 2026 and closed 15 September 2026. AGA typically runs a similar June-to-September window each year. Status letters go out on or before 1 February 2027 for that cycle.
Can I hold other grants with this AGA award?
At submission you cannot hold another award that directly funds the same research. If you receive a comparable overlapping award before the first payment, you must choose one award. If a comparable award arrives after payments start, later AGA payments may be reduced by 50 percent.
Does the award cover inflammatory bowel disease research?
The current Torrey Coast Foundation cycle focuses on gastro-esophageal cancer. Older listings sometimes described inflammatory bowel disease, but the official gastro.org award page for this cycle specifies upper-GI and gastro-esophageal cancer relevance. Match your proposal to the active objective on the official page.
Is AGA membership required?
Yes. You must be an AGA member when you submit and remain a member throughout both funded years. Your mentor must also be an AGA member at application time.
How do I apply for the AGA Fellowship-to-Faculty Transition Award?
Apply only through the AGA Grants Management System linked from the award page on gastro.org. The package includes the research plan, career development plan, budget, biosketches, facilities form, and other support listing. Email submissions are not accepted. Questions go to [email protected].
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