Pivot Fellowship
Forecasted
Pivot Fellowship supports established researchers through a year of mentored training in a new scientific discipline, helping them bring knowledge and approaches across fields to advance scientific understanding.
Funder: Simons Foundation
Due Dates (Anticipated): May 2027 (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: One year of academic-year salary support plus $10,000 for the fellow and $50,000 for mentors
Summary: Supports established researchers through a year of mentored training to transition into a new scientific discipline.
Key Information: Fellows must receive institutional approval for a full year of leave and cannot hold another salary-supporting fellowship during training.
Description
The Simons Foundation’s Pivot Fellowship supports researchers with a strong record of achievement in their current field who want to contribute to a new discipline. The program funds one training year embedded in a mentor’s lab, where fellows learn both the discipline and its scientific culture. It aims to advance scientific understanding by enabling researchers to bring knowledge, ideas and approaches from one field into another.
Mentorship is central to the program. Review considers the applicant’s qualifications and potential, the suitability of the mentor, and the environment for mentorship. Fellows must explain why their proposed transition represents a significant disciplinary change, including differences in scientific culture, publication practices, or approaches to experiment and theory.
