Fellowships

Program Description

The Orland Bethel Family Musculoskeletal Research Center (BMRC) was created in 2024 by the Orland Bethel Family Foundation’s gift, matched by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The BMRC enables the University of Pittsburgh to elevate its study of musculoskeletal disorders, including bone and muscular diseases, degenerative arthritis, fragility fractures, spinal pathology, cartilage and tendon pathology by attracting and retaining top scientists to advance leading-edge research. The BMRC prioritizes support of early career scientists, both within and outside of the University of Pittsburgh, to produce breakthrough treatments for musculoskeletal ailments.

The goal of the BMRC Fellowship program is to support the generation of critical preliminary data for larger grant applications, leading to breakthrough treatments for musculoskeletal disease. Two levels of BMRC Fellowship support are currently available — $20,000 awards for postdoctoral scholars or medical residents and $30,000 awards for junior faculty members — to support translational basic science and clinical musculoskeletal research.

The BMRC will award between 4-6 BMRC/ORS Fellowships in 2025. All recipients must be active ORS members.  

Eligibility

• Postdoctoral scholars/residents must have completed a PhD, MD or DO degree within 5 years of the application date (approved institutional leaves of absence excluded).
• Junior faculty (research assistant professor, assistant professor or equivalent) must be within 5 years of starting their first faculty position (approved institutional leaves of absence excluded).
• All applicants should also have not received grants totaling more than $75,000/year in direct research support.
• Applicants must verify that they have legal work status in the United States and that all research will be performed in laboratories located in the United States.
• BMRC is dedicated to improving diversity, equity, inclusion in musculoskeletal research. Investigators who are underrepresented in medicine or STEM fields are encouraged to apply.

Program Details

The BMRC Postdoctoral/Resident Fellowship award is for one year and in the amount of $20,000. The BMRC Junior Faculty Fellowship award is for one year and in the amount of $30,000. All recipients must be active members of the Orthopaedic Research Society. Funding is to support generation of preliminary data for subsequent larger grant applications. Allowable expenses include salary (up to 20% total of award), research supplies, animals, equipment, professional travel or publication fees. No indirect costs are permitted.

All 2025 BMRC fellows will be required to attend and present their work at the BMRC Research Symposium in Pittsburgh, PA in September 2026. Travel to the BMRC Research Symposium is not included with this award and should be included in the proposal budget if necessary.

Application Details

April 1, 2025, 11:59 p.m. EST:  Letter of Intent (LOI) due 

May 20, 2025: Notification of selection for full application

July 15, 2025: Full grant application is due

September 3, 2025: Award announcement

October 1, 2025: Start date for the award

September 30, 2026: End date of award

Letter of Intent Details

The LOI will be submitted on the ORS website and will require the following combined into one PDF document:

• Cover page:
  • Title of application
  • Principal investigator name, academic position, institution
  • Co-investigator(s) name, role, institution
• Description of research project (1 page limit) Arial font size 11pt, ½” margin
  • Significance, innovation, specific aims, and hypothesis
• Impact statement (300 word limit)
  • Describe how this project reflects the mission of the BMRC.
  • Describe how this award will impact your career and lead to preliminary data for larger future funding/research studies.
• Biosketch –NIH formatted biosketch of the principal investigator only. Do not exceed 5 pages.

Apply here on the ORS website

Full Grant Application Details

Materials required will include the following combined into one PDF document:

• Cover page
  • Title of application
  • Principal investigator name, academic position, institution
  • Co-investigator(s) name, role, institution
• Letter of support from department chair stating that necessary support (resources, salary, protected time) will be provided.
• Abstract of research project (1 page limit) –Include significance and innovation, specific aims, approach. Describe how this project reflects the mission of the BMRC.
• Proposal – Maximum of 4 pages (excluding references), Arial font size 11pt, ½” margin
  • Specific aims (1 page)
  • Significance, innovation, (preliminary studies, if any), approach, a timeline (3 pages)
  • References (not included in 4 page limit)
  • Budget & budget justification – Allowable expenses include salary (up to 20% total of award), research supplies, animals, equipment, professional travel or publication fees. No indirect costs are permitted. Cost sharing is permitted with other funding, but please indicate other support in budget.
• Biosketches –NIH formatted biosketch of the candidate and key collaborators/ personnel. Limit to 5 pages per person.
• Studies involving human subjects or vertebrate animals must include protection plan as appropriate.