Health Equity Scholars for Action program – Nov 6

Posted by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on October 14, 2025

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation invites applications for Health Equity Scholars for Action program

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is committed to dismantling barriers to health equity by prioritizing community knowledge and deepening the relationships that build community power, evidence, and systems of change.

Launched in 2021, the Health Equity Scholars for Action (HES4A) program aims to support early-career researchers who are systemically underrepresented in health sciences and related fields. HES4A was designed to support research, mentorship, and connection with a community of support, to help participants thrive personally and professionally. In turn, scholars are better positioned to promote and expand health equity-related research and evidence aimed at dismantling systemic barriers to health and wellbeing, thus enhancing the lives of all Americans.

The goal of HES4A is to support the career development and academic progress of faculty conducting health equity research. Grants will be awarded to address the challenges that historically marginalized faculty typically experience and help them overcome obstacles to earning tenure. HES4A projects focus on transformative, action-oriented evidence addressing structural barriers and are aligned with RWJF’s mission to achieve equity. The program welcomes applications that apply an intersectional approach, with the aim of improving social, political, and economic conditions that support health and health equity.

Up to 15 awards will be funded, and each award will be up to $260,000. Award funds can cover up to 70 percent of the scholar’s salary for two years (capped at $75,000 per year), with the remainder of the award to be used for research and other related expenses.

Applicants must demonstrate challenges and/or barriers to full inclusion they have faced in their research disciplines because of their personal characteristics and/or experiences. To assess this factor, RWJF will evaluate each applicant’s experiences holistically to determine whether the applicant has demonstrated that they have faced challenges and/or barriers to full inclusion in the health equity field because of their personal characteristics and/or experiences, rather than the quality of their work.

To be eligible, applicants must have completed a terminal degree within the last five years; be a junior faculty member in an accredited school in the United States or its territories, with a full-time academic position that could lead to tenure, or a postdoctoral fellow poised to be in such a position by the start of the grant; and have a home institution that agrees to administer and receive the grant. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at the time of application.

Letters of intent are due November 6, 2025, at 3:00 p.m. ET. Upon review, selected applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal, due March 12, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. ET.

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation website.

Deadline: November 6, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. ET