The Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Awards for Medical Scientists (CAMS) is a highly competitive career-development program providing $700,000 over five years to physician-scientists committed to academic research careers. The award is designed to bridge the transition from advanced postdoctoral or clinical fellowship training into the first years of independent faculty research.
CAMS supports basic biomedical, disease-oriented, and translational research, making the program relevant to physician-scientists working in oncology, cancer biology, immunology, precision medicine, and related biomedical fields. Health-services research and large-scale clinical trials are outside the program’s remit.
Eligibility Criteria:
- Applicants must hold an MD, DO, DDS, DVM, or VMD degree. A PhD alone or PharmD does not qualify.
- Clinical degrees earned outside the United States or Canada are accepted.
- Applicants must have at least one first-author publication in a peer-reviewed journal and should have a strong overall publication record. Shared first authorship is accepted.
- Applicants may hold certain junior non-tenure-track appointments, including Instructor, Clinical Lecturer, or non-tenure-track Assistant Professor positions, subject to the program’s eligibility check.
- Award recipients must devote at least 75% of their professional time to research-related activities.
- U.S. and Canadian citizens as well as eligible permanent and temporary residents legally qualified to work in either country may apply. Temporary residents must maintain an appropriate visa throughout the award period.
- Applicants actively practicing clinically must be appropriately licensed in the U.S. or Canada or have completed residency in one of those countries.
Funding Details:
- Total award: $700,000 over five years.
- During Postdoctoral Year 1, up to $80,000 for salary and $11,000 for fringe benefits may be supported.
- During Postdoctoral Year 2, up to $85,000 for salary and $11,000 for fringe benefits may be supported.
- During the faculty phase, up to $59,500 annually may generally be used toward the named investigator’s combined salary and fringe benefits.
- Up to $5,000 per year may be used for caregiver expenses.
- Prior BWF approval is required if equipment purchases exceed $50,000 in an award year or travel expenses exceed $15,000.
Deadline:
- Applicant eligibility check: BWF lists September 15, 2026 and recommends completing it by 3:00 PM EDT
- Full application deadline: September 30, 2026, at 3:00 PM EDT
- Application status notification: January 20, 2027
- Finalist virtual interviews: March 9–10, 2027
- Award notification: May 28, 2027
- Award start: September 1, 2027
- Award end: August 31, 2032.
Further Information:
- Official program information and application details: Visit the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Awards for Medical Scientists page for the current award overview, eligibility information, application resources, deadlines, and FAQs.
- Official 2026–2027 call: Review the CAMS Request for Proposals and Instructions for complete eligibility requirements, selection criteria, award terms, and application instructions.
- Application portal: Applications are submitted electronically through ProposalCentral; applicants must first complete the CAMS pre-application eligibility check.
- Eligibility and program questions: Applicants may contact the CAMS program team at cams@bwfund.org. BWF recommends resolving eligibility questions by the September 15 eligibility-check date.
- Technical application support: ProposalCentral technical assistance is available at pcsupport@altum.com or through the support contacts provided in the official RFP.