This two-year program will train early and mid-career researchers who work within a health care delivery system and are interested in applying implementation science (IS) theory and methods to their health system-based research programs. Each fellow will be paired with an IS mentor. The program is designed for highly qualified applied clinical researchers who have familiarity with, or an introductory background in, IS, health services research (HSR), or related fields. The fellowship will provide a solid scientific and real-world experiential foundation for IS that can be applied across a variety of clinical health topics.

Program Details

  • Four (4) fellows will be selected to complete a two-year fellowship, during which each fellow will be required to complete an individual IS-oriented research project focused on bone health (i.e., osteoporosis), severe uncontrolled asthma with or without associated COPD, thyroid eye disease, or IgG4-related conditions.
    • Research projects must be based in the United States
    • Fellows will be responsible for obtaining IRB review (if needed)
  • Fellows will be provided a $150,000/year stipend to support fellow salary and select programmatic (e.g., conference travel and registration) and research project costs (e.g., research participant incentives, IRB review costs).  
  • Each fellow will be required to attend:
    • Virtual biweekly IS mentor coaching calls (1:1)
    • Virtual quarterly check-ins with program staff (AcademyHealth and Amgen)
    • Virtual monthly Learning Sessions
    • Two (2) webinars over the course of the fellowship program
    • AcademyHealth’s Health Policy Orientation (Year 1 only, cost covered by program)
    • AcademyHealth’s Communicating for Impact course (Year 2 only, cost covered by program)
    • AcademyHealth’s Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation and Annual Research Meeting (travel and registration costs to be covered by fellow using stipend funding) in both fellowship years
  • Fellows will also benefit from access to an array of dissemination, visibility, and networking opportunities, to include:  
    • AcademyHealth Individual Membership  
    • Special panel and networking sessions at the Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation and Annual Research Meeting (ARM)
    • Dissemination coaching and communications support, including opportunities to author blogs featured in the widely disseminated and read AcademyHealth Blog

Program Eligibility & Selection: Early- to mid-career professionals with an M.D. and/or advanced degree in a relevant health or HSR related field are encouraged to apply. Successful applicants should meet the following eligibility criteria and submit a completed Fellowship Application Form along with supporting documentation.  

Applicant Eligibility Criteria

  • Must have an advanced degree in a relevant health (e.g., M.D., D.O., PharmD, Nursing Ph.D.) or health services research (e.g., Ph.D., Sc.D., DrPH) related field.
  • Must be currently employed by a health care delivery system (hospitals and clinics/practices) or similar setting that can commit to protecting the applicant’s time, if selected, to meet all program requirements during the fellowship period.  
  • Must be employed in a permanent position within their organization. Individuals holding time-limited roles (e.g., postdoctoral training positions) are not currently eligible to apply.  
  • Must have experience or interest in the following therapeutic areas:
    • Bone health (i.e., osteoporosis)
    • Severe uncontrolled asthma with or without associated COPD
    • Thyroid eye disease
    • IgG4-related conditions
  • Must be based and legally authorized to work in the United States for the duration of the fellowship program. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

The following must be submitted for consideration:

  • A completed Fellowship Application Form:
    • Applicant background information
    • Full Name
    • Current Job Title (as you would like it to appear in publications)
    • Education Credentials
    • Email
    • Phone Number
    • Referee Information: names, affiliations, relationship to applicant, and contact information
  • Brief proposal (maximum of six pages, not including references) describing an applied IS research project that the applicant can conduct in their delivery system. Proposed projects should broadly study the use of strategies to adopt and integrate evidence-driven interventions and change practice patterns within the applicant’s current site of employment. Applicants should identify research topics in implementation science relevant to their local setting (and potentially beyond) and focused on one of four therapeutic areas: bone health (i.e., osteoporosis), severe uncontrolled asthma with or without associated COPD, thyroid eye disease, or IgG4-related conditions. Proposals should include information about the following:
    1. Project aims
    2. The implementation science-related gap that the health system is experiencing.
    3. A specific IS theory or framework to guide the proposed work (optional).
    4. A description of the intervention(s) to be adopted or uptake enhanced
    5. The specific strategies being considered to scale up the intervention. These strategies will be studied as part of the IS project.
    6. Data sources for the IS project that may be used to evaluate and monitor efforts to scale up the planned intervention(s). This may include  existing record data or proposed new forms of data collection.
  • A statement of interest/essay (no longer than 1,000 words) addressing the applicant’s:
    • Interest in conducting applied implementation science research in healthcare delivery system settings
    • Preparation and qualifications for the fellowship
    • Personal learning objectives and the value of the fellowship to the applicant’s career plans and goals
  • High-level budget and accompanying budget justification, including personnel justification
    • Narrative Justification: Please provide a high-level narrative explaining personnel and other costs to be covered with the stipend funding. Justification of personnel should include the name, role, and number of person-months devoted to this project for every person on the project. A fellow must be able to commit sufficient effort to be able to fully participate in the training program and complete the proposed project. Such effort is likely to equal or exceed approximately one day a week for the duration of the fellowship. A fellow’s proposed effort can be a combination of salary support paid from the fellowship program stipend and in-kind effort from other sources.
    • Note: Indirect costs are limited to a maximum of 10% of the total award amount. The combination of direct and indirect costs may not exceed the $150,000/year total. Indirect costs should be reflected in applicants’ budgets.
  • Supporting documentation:
    • Current NIH Biosketch
    • One analytic writing sample (sole or lead authorship and no more than 10 pages, including references)
    • Two professional letters of recommendation (to be submitted by referees). At least one letter needs to be submitted by applicant’s current supervisor or other leadership position within applicant’s current institution (such as Division Chief or Department Chair). This individual must be able to commit to protecting the applicant’s time and providing access to any needed resources during the applicant’s tenure as a fellow. At least one letter should speak to the applicant’s disease-state expertise and implementation science experience or interest.

Key dates

  • Application Period: December 8, 2025 – February 13, 2026 (5:00 PM ET)
  • Interviews: March 2026 – April 2026
  • Offers Sent to Final Candidates: June 2026
  • Fellowship Start: July 2026
  • Fellowship End: June 2028

Questions? Email [email protected]