Philip R. Lee Health Policy Fellowship

The Philip R. Lee (PRL) Health Policy Fellowship provides post-doctoral training for highly-qualified individuals with a PhD in the social and behavioral sciences, public health, public policy, and related fields, or clinician-researchers with masters or doctoral research training in those fields.

Based at the UCSF Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies (IHPS), the PRL Fellowship aims to prepare the next generation to accomplish high-impact health services/policy research.

Listen to current Philip R. Lee Fellow, Sophie Morse describe what she hopes to achieve with the fellowship.

Listen to current Philip R. Lee Fellow, Juliana Friend describe what she hopes to achieve with the fellowship.

We emphasize tangible research goals.

UCSF is a health sciences campus with a mission of advancing health worldwide through its schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, and pharmacy. IHPS emphasizes team-based, interdisciplinary research that impacts policy and practice. Fellows receive mentorship and feedback from health policy faculty at IHPS and participate in joint training activities with UCSF clinical fellows developing clinician-investigator careers. Fellows advance and develop their own research agendas within this dynamic environment of didactics and practice.

We are committed to excellence in teaching and mentoring.

Studies show that the strongest predictor of success during fellowship is a dedicated research mentor. Mentorship is available from IHPS faculty and throughout UCSF. IHPS faculty are affiliated with all 4 professional schools within UCSF and have a wide variety of areas of expertise – including cohort and quality improvement studies, survey research, analyses of administrative data such as Medicare/Medicaid, qualitative studies, studies using electronic health records, and implementation science.

We believe that the single most important aspect of a health policy fellowship is the experience of designing and conducting research projects under the guidance of a dedicated and outstanding mentor. We begin the process of identifying suitable research mentors for each candidate during the application and interview process and make every effort to connect each candidate with a variety of faculty members with similar interests and expertise. We place great emphasis on finding a good match between the fellow and the mentor that includes a common research interest as well as a complementary style that will foster the most productive working relationship.

Works in Progress and Seminars

Our works-in-progress (WIP) seminars provides an opportunity for fellows to present their research and progress to their peers and an interdisciplinary group of faculty in a supportive environment. These sessions allow fellows to both learn from and teach their peers, and the environment is relaxed and open; all types and levels of questions are encouraged. Fellows may join weekly WIPS hosted by the UCSF National Clinical Scholars Program and twice-monthly WIPs hosted by IHPS faculty.

PRL fellows also join seminar series focused on career development,  How to Influence Policy, and IHPS Health Policy Grand Rounds.

Compensation

The PRL Fellowship is supported by a National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Training Grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Fellow stipends conform with UCSF's guidelines for post-doctoral scholar compensation. The fellowship also provides support for program-related travel and career development activities.

Application Requirements and Process

We anticipate appointing one new fellow to start in July, 2024. Applicants must have a doctorate (e.g. PhD); professional doctorates (MD, JD, PharmD, etc) must have an additional research-based master’s degree (MPH, MS, etc). All terminal research degrees must be awarded and visible on transcripts by May, 2024. The individual to be trained must be a citizen or a noncitizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time of appointment. Additional details on citizenship, training period, and aggregate duration of support are available in the HHS Grants Policy Statement. "A non-citizen national is a person who, although not a citizen of the United States, owes permanent allegiance to the United States. They generally are individuals born in U.S. outlying possessions (American Samoa and Swains Island)"

To apply, applicants should send the following materials to Juliana Fung (juliana.fung@ucsf.edu).

  • Current CV
  • A 1.5-2 page statement of interest that describes your past work in health policy and health services research, your career goals, and how and why you feel the PRL Health Policy Fellowship will advance your career, including potential mentors.
    • Applicants interested in a joint appointment with the National Clinician Scholars Program should include in this statement an explanation of their joint interest and identification of potential mentors among IHPS faculty.
  • National Clinician Scholars Program applicants must submit a copy of their NCSP application by the NCSP deadline.
  • Writing samples and letters from, or contact information for, references will be requested from finalist candidates.

Selected candidates will be invited for interviews (via Zoom). Prospective candidates will meet with the fellowship director, potential IHPS faculty mentor(s), current fellow(s), and other members of the Fellowship search committee. The directors and current fellows will be more than happy to discuss questions before or after the interview day.

Please direct any questions to IHPS Director Joanne Spetz.

Deadline

Applications received before October 31, 2023, will receive full consideration, as first-round interviews will conducted in November and December. No applications will be accepted after December 31, 2023.

 

Listen to Philip R. Lee Fellow alumni, Alissa Bernstein Sideman talk about the impact of the fellowship on her career.

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Alissa Bernstein Sideman