A Fellowship to Support Emerging Women Researchers

Two decades ago, the family of Sallie Rosen Kaplan partnered with the FNIH to establish the Sallie Rosen Kaplan (SRK) Postdoctoral Fellowship for Women Scientists in Cancer Research. They did it in memory of their relative, who was deeply committed to the education of women.

Born in the early 1900s, Sallie Rosen Kaplan was accepted to attend the University of Michigan. But, as her family’s only daughter, she had to care for her parents while her older brothers pursued careers. Sallie never returned to higher education, but remained supportive of the education and careers of family members.

Dr. Jeffrey Rosen, Kaplan’s nephew, recalls how interested his aunt was in his cancer research studies when he visited her after attending NIH review committee meetings. After her passing, Dr. Rosen discovered he was the executor of her estate and had to determine what to do with her investment assets.

He and his wife decided that supporting promising female researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) would be the most fitting legacy for his aunt.

Now in its 10th year, the SRK Fellowship provides life coaching, career mentoring, networking, seminars and workshops to help prepare NCI’s female postdoctoral fellows to compete in a tough job market and create successful careers in science. Between 10 and 12 applicants from NCI are accepted each year and organized into cohorts to network and share experiences.

Each fellow is also matched with a “second mentor”—a senior female scientist from academia, government or industry— in addition to their principal investigator in the lab. Past fellows credit these experiences for helping them define their ideal career and obtain the skills, self-knowledge and support necessary to successfully navigate a new pathway.

Dr. Rosen hopes the SRK Fellowship continues to build a training infrastructure for the future: “I have always felt that giving money to trainees is the best investment. Our future in biomedical research will be dependent on supporting a pipeline of well-trained postdocs.”

To this day, the FNIH continues to steward the SRK fellowship in partnership with NCI and Dr. Rosen. This significant investment in emerging scientists honors Sallie Rose Kaplan’s legacy and her belief in supporting women’s education and achieving balance and success in their family and professional lives.