Augusta Webster Faculty Funding
Augusta Webster faculty funding opportunities are open to Feinberg School of Medicine faculty as an opportunity for career development throught investigator-proposed, innovative research projects and support for educational program development in health professions education fields. The Augusta Webster faculty funding program offers two funding opportunities - a 1-year grant and a 2-year fellowship program.
Augusta Webster Grant
The Augusta Webster Accelerating Education Grant Program goals are to:
- Provide support to faculty developing or improving education programs. Learners of such programs should include (but are not limited to) Feinberg School of Medicine students, trainees, or faculty. Interprofessional projects are encouraged.
- Allow faculty to access further training to advance career goals.
Augusta Webster Fellowship Program
The Augusta Webster Faculty Fellowship in Educational Research & Innovation aims to:
- Provide mentorship, support, and career development to junior faculty establishing careers focused on scholarship and research in education.
- Promote innovation in health professions education research.
- Serve as pilot funds to lead to future educational research and grants.
Grant Application Process
The Augusta Webster Accelerating Education Grant is a one-year funding opportunity for faculty serving as primary investigators in a research project at the Feinberg School of Medicine. The goal of the program is to assist faculty requesting support to build programs in health professions education at Feinberg. Awarded grants of $10,000 will be funded over the course of one year.
For the FY2025 funding cycle, applications will be open from August 1-31.
Interested applications should apply using the online application form. Find more application details and fellowship eligibility requirements for the 2024 (FY 2025) application cycle here.
Application Requirements
Submitted materials should include:
- Name, title, department, division
- Educational roles (Ex: Clerkship Director, Program Director)
- Descriptive title of the proposed research
- List of members of the project team
- Two-pages description o proposed project (Submitted as a pdf)
- One-page description of costs in a line-item format (as a pdf) - please reach out with any questions
- CV of applicant in Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine format (as a pdf)
Fellowship Application Process
The Augusta Webster Faculty Fellowship in Educational Research & Innovation is a two-year funding opportunity for faculty with a rank of no higher than Assistant Professor at the time of the application deadline. The goal of the program is to assist faculty new to the domain of health professions education. Awarded fellows will receive $50,000 of funding over the course of two years. Find more application details and fellowship eligibility requirements for the 2024-2026 application cycle here.
Applications will open in November 2025 for funding beginning September 1, 2026.
Application Requirements
Applications must be submitted via the online application form. Submitted materials should include:
- Descriptive title of proposed research
- Name, title, department, address, email, and telephone number for principal investigator applicant
- 250 word research abstract
- Names of other key personnel
- Brief description (~1 page) of proposed research and methods with section headers for approach, feasibility, innovation and potential impact, and an optional section for those further into their career explaining why they should be considered (one paragraph)
- Number of years, estimated overall budget for each year and estimated percent effort for year.
- CV of primary investigator in the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine format.
Selection & Decisions
The selection committee reviews applications and approximately five to six applicants will be invited to move into an eight-week, in person mentored proposal development program. Individuals accepted into the proposal development program must commit to a total of six hours of in-person meetings. Meeting days and times will be determined after selection is complete.
Final proposals for the two-year grant awarded are to be submitted at the end of the eight-week period. The committee will release final award decisions within four weeks following proposal submission.
Funding for selected projects will begin starting in September, every other year. Ongoing mentorship and support will continue during the fellowship.
Contact Us
Mark D Adler, MD
Director of the Augusta Webster Fellowship Program
Professor of Pediatrics (Emergency Medicine) and Medical Education
About Augusta Webster, MD
Dr. Augusta Webster, a member of Northwestern's Class of 1934, was the first woman to be named a full professor at the medical school and in 1960 became the first woman in the country to head a department at a major teaching hospital - the Obstetrics & Gynecology Department at Cook County Hospital. It was at "the County" that she earned her fame as a teacher of medical students and obstetrical residents, and as a dedicated physician and friend to the medically underserved people of Chicago. After internship and residency at Passavant Memorial Hospital, she practiced at Cook County Hospital for over 40 years, including 15 years of non-salaried service.
At "the County," Dr. Webster introduced the first nurse midwife program in Illinois in 1970. She was a founder of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and of the Portes Cancer Prevention Center. Among her accolades, in 1948, she received the Alumni Medial of Northwestern University, and in 1954, she was named "Woman of the Year" by the American Medical Women's Association.
In 1991, a generous gift by Barbara Olin Taylor, PhD, created the Augusta Webster Faculty Fellowships in Medical Education in Dr. Webster's honor, with the intent of fostering the career development of innovative health professions educators.