Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER) NAM Fellowship

The next call for nominations will open in March 2026.

The Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER) has endowed a new National Academy of Medicine (NAM) fellowship to provide early-career anesthesiology scholars with the opportunity to experience and participate in committee, workshop, and roundtable activities of NAM and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies).

The overall purpose of the FAER NAM Fellowship is to provide talented, early-career anesthesiology scholars with the opportunity to experience and participate in evidence-based healthcare or public health studies that improve the care and access to care of patients in domestic and global health care systems. Candidates must be full-time anesthesiologist faculty members at an academic institution. The program especially welcomes nominations of historically underrepresented candidates.

The FAER NAM Fellowship is part of the NAM Fellowships for Health Science Scholars program. See all opportunities >>

Current Fellow

Julie K. Freed, MD, PhD

2024-2026 FAER NAM Fellow

Dr. Freed is the Executive Vice Chair, Director of Clinical/Translational Research, and Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). A strong advocate for the future generation of physician-scientists, Dr. Freed is also the Director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) T32 program at MCW; is a member of the Medical Scientist Training Program admissions committee; and has developed an institution-wide program to develop effective mentoring teams for junior clinician-investigators to support their career development.

As a cardiac anesthesiologist, Dr. Freed specializes in providing anesthesia for patients with advanced cardiac disease. She also manages her NIH-funded laboratory within the Cardiovascular Center at MCW, which focuses on understanding microvascular dysfunction, the precursor to coronary artery disease, to uncover mechanisms that regulate vascular reactivity in the human microcirculation during both health and disease. In addition to her role as a clinician-scientist, she holds numerous other leadership roles within and outside of MCW, including Chair of the Cardiovascular Center’s Human Tissue Bank; advisor for the Therapeutic Development and Preclinical Studies scientific review panel at the NIH; Chair of the Translational Physiology Interest group through the American Physiological Society; editorial leadership positions for Microcirculation and Journal of the American Heart Association; and Chair of the External Scientific Advisory Board for the International Anesthesia Research Society.

Dr. Freed, a Wisconsin native, earned her BA from the University of Minnesota before earning her MD and PhD and completing a research track (NIGMS T32) residency in anesthesiology and Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Fellowship at MCW.

Fellowship Description

The FAER NAM Fellowship is awarded for a two-year period. During this time, the fellow is expected to continue to work at their primary academic/research post, while being assigned to a health- and medicine-related board, working group or committee within the National Academies.

The fellowship requires a 10- to 20-percent commitment of time for two years, and includes attendance at a one-week orientation to health policy, the NAM Annual Meeting in October and the meetings of the assigned board. Domestic travel expenses are covered for participation in approved fellowship activities. Additionally, the fellow will participate actively in the work of an appropriate study committee or roundtable, including contributing to its reports or other products. Studies that would enable the potential for the fellow to contribute to the value of integrating medicine and public health will be identified.

This experience will introduce the FAER NAM Fellow to a variety of experts and perspectives, including legislators, government officials, industry leaders, executives of voluntary health organizations, scientists, and other health professionals. In addition, each fellow will be assigned to an NAM member who will serve as a senior mentor during the two years of the fellowship.

A flexible research grant of $25,000 will be awarded to each FAER NAM Fellow, which will be administered through the appropriate department in the fellow’s home institution to advance the fellow’s professional and academic career. This grant is not intended for use as a salary offset for the fellow, and no indirect costs are allowed.

Eligibility

Nominees for the FAER NAM Fellowship must:

Be nominated by a member of the NAM or a board member of FAER
Be full-time anesthesiologist faculty members at an academic institution
Hold an M.D., D.O. or equivalent
Be two-to-ten years out from completion of post-graduate work
Be actively engaged in and demonstrating interest in ongoing research in any of the following scientific categories, which will be equally considered: clinical, basic, translational, implementation, epidemiological and sociological
Be able to dedicate 10 to 20 percent of time to the fellowship for two years
Hold U.S. citizen or permanent resident status at the time of the nomination

Selection Criteria

Nominees will be evaluated by an NAM-appointed committee based on their professional qualifications, scholarship, and quality of professional accomplishments as evidenced through publications and research grants, and relevance of current field expertise to the work of the NAM.

Nomination Packet

A complete nomination packet must be submitted electronically through the online nomination system at https://namfellows.secure-platform.com/submission and will include the following documents:

A nomination letter from a member of the NAM or FAER Board of Directors
Three (3) letters of reference
A supporting letter from the candidate’s department chair, institute director, or equivalent
An up-to-date curriculum vitae
A brief one-page bio
A one-page personal statement that describes the candidate’s reasons for wanting to be a fellow for this particular program at this phase of their career

Timeline

Fellowships will be awarded in even years.

- March 2026 | Call for nominations opens
- June 2026 | Nomination packets are due at 3:00pm ET
- July 2026 | Awardee is notified
- September 2026 | Fellow orientation week at the NAM is held
- October 2026 | Fellow is introduced to the Membership at the NAM Annual Meeting

Program Administration

Inquiries about the FAER NAM Fellowship should be directed to:

Yumi Phillips
Senior Program Officer
Health Policy Fellowships and Leadership Programs
National Academy of Medicine
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: (202) 334-1506
Email: yphillips@nas.edu

The FAER NAM Fellowship was established in 2023 through an endowment from the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER).