Leadership Education and Advancement Program (LEAP) FOR EARLY CAREER SCHOLARS

About LEAP

The Leadership Education and Advancement Program for Early Career Scholars is a comprehensive mentoring and leadership development initiative aimed at supporting early career social and behavioral scientists pursuing research on health disparities.

LEAP for Early Career Scholars provides fellows with access to senior scholars and mentors who offer guidance in navigating career milestones and leadership roles across various academic settings. The program fosters a powerful network of accomplished researchers, mentors, and peers, creating opportunities for ongoing support, collaboration, and lasting professional relationships.

By participating, fellows can enhance their research capabilities and pursue unique opportunities that will distinguish them as leaders in their respective disciplines. The program ultimately aims to prepare fellows to submit competitive grant applications and excel in their chosen career paths.

AT A Glance

Format/Location: Virtual, with two in-person workshops

Duration: 24 months

Term: April 1 - March 31

Who Can Apply

Early career social and behavioral scientists who show promise in research focused on health disparities, but who have not yet received R01 funding and have not ascended to a leadership position in their respective disciplines or professional associations. See eligibility requirements for full details.

How to Apply

Applications for the next cohort will be open in early 2026.

Through LEAP I have been connected with a mentor that conducts significant research in my specialty of diabetes psychology. This mentorship has resulted in me possibly being a consultant on a recently approved NIH grant. I have also gained support as I transitioned to my faculty/assistant professor role. I have been able to network with other scholars and gain support as I navigate academic medicine institutions/research endeavors.

LEAP Participant

Program components

One-on-one mentoring

The focus of the one-on-one mentoring consists of:

creating a career development plan
building the strengths of the fellows to conduct independent research
the conceptualization, draft, and submission of a research application to a federal or private funding agency (e.g., NIH).

Grant writing discussions

Fellows will view a series of online career development seminars that address various research, methodological, administrative and ethics topics relevant to research careers. Small group sessions are held every other month to help fellows apply the concepts and skills to their research proposals.

Networking Events

Every other month, LEAP hosts virtual networking events exclusively for current and past LEAP fellows. These gatherings are designed to foster meaningful connections, peer mentoring, and interdisciplinary collaboration among early-career scholars committed to advancing health equity. Each session features opportunities to share research interests and challenges. By participating, fellows gain access to a vibrant community of researchers, build lasting professional relationships, and explore collaborative pathways to address health disparities through innovative, community-engaged scholarship.

ELigibility Requirements

To participate in LEAP for Early Career Scholars, applicants must:

Be a postdoctoral fellow or early career faculty
Have a strong commitment to a career in research that is focused on health disparities
Be an early-stage investigator. NIH’s definition of an early-stage investigator is someone who has “completed their terminal research degree or end of post-graduate clinical training, whichever date is later, within the past 10 years and who has not previously competed successfully as PD/PI for a substantial NIH independent research award.”
Hold a doctoral degree in a behavioral science discipline (e.g., psychology, anthropology, public health, sociology, economics, neuroscience, epidemiology, biotechnology), medical degree, or other discipline
Have support from their institution to submit grant applications as a principal investigator
Have not received R01 funding
If selected for this program, submit a grant application, attend in-person/hybrid sessions and webinars, and be willing to complete evaluations of the program at multiple time-points