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PROSPER Award

The PRomotion of FellOwS‘ PEdiatric Research (PROSPER) Award supports fellows from underrepresented in medicine (URiM) backgrounds who are pursuing child health research. Aligned with the Society’s mission to cultivate a diverse network of child health researchers through collaboration, community, mentorship, and advocacy, this competitive award provides material support and mentorship for a one-year research project that strengthens an academic, research-focused career trajectory.

This award provides $5,000 in funding, matched by the recipient’s organization. Funds may come from mentor, chair, diversity office, and/or other sources. The source of matching funds must be defined in the letter of support from Division Head or Department Chair.

Submission Timeline:  August 15 – September 30

Award

  • Up to two awardees selected annually
  • $5,000 in funding, matched by the recipient’s organization
  • Formal recognition at the PAS Meeting
Two individuals standing in front of a backdrop with “Society for Pediatric Research” logos, each holding a recognition plaque and certificate, while another person takes a photo of them.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Hold an MD, DO and/or PhD
  • Preference given to those who are Emerging to Established (E2E) members of the Society for Pediatric Research; those who are not yet E2E members are encouraged to apply as membership is open to all fellows
  • Accepted to and/or enrolled in a fellowship
  • Conducting or planning to conduct child or adolescent health research (basic, preclinical, clinical, or implementation and health services research)
  • Self-identification as under-represented in medicine background(s); individuals from groups identified by NIH as under-represented in biomedical, clinical, behavioral and social sciences including Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and women as well as individuals with disabilities or other life experiences that contribute to diversity are encouraged to apply
  • Intends to pursue an academic career with a major focus on pediatric research
  • Able to complete a one-year research project which can occur at any time during fellowship (i.e. flexibility exists as to what year of fellowship the project starts)
  • Submit an abstract of their work for a future PAS Meeting

Application Requirements

Applicant’s Personal Information

Short Bio

Blinded and Unblinded Descriptions of:

  • Area of Expertise: 2-3 sentences
  • Research Accomplishments: 150 words max.
  • Career Goals and Objectives: 150 words max.
  • Specific Aim of Current Research: 450 words max.
  • Why is external mentoring important and in what areas: 150 words max.


Blinded and Unblinded Applicant’s NIH Biosketch

List of Past and Current Mentors

  • Include name and title
  • Include institution and project title/description


List of Mentors who you think would be appropriate mentors (at any institution):

  • Include name and title
  • Include institution and rationale of why this mentor would be a good mentor for applicant


Letter of Support from Division Head or Department Chair addressing how external mentoring provided by this program would be beneficial.

Selection Criteria

  • Commitment of candidate to pediatric research-oriented career
  • Potential for candidate to succeed as an academic investigator
  • Availability of adequate mentoring at candidate’s institution
  • Benefit provided to candidate by mentoring and support by award 
SubMit a Nomination

Current Recipients

Brooke Quertermous, MD received her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Freed-Hardeman University (2017) and her Doctor of Medicine from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University (2022). She then completed her pediatrics residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (2025) where she has remained, currently as a first-year fellow in Pediatric Hospital Medicine. Her overarching career objective is to establish an independent clinical and translational research program centered on short- and long-term outcomes of severe viral acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in children, including biomarker development, host-pathogen interactions, and the development of chronic pulmonary sequelae. To date, she has published 5 first author manuscripts, including 3 original science contributions (2 of which are directly related to the topic of this proposal).

Brooke Quetermous

Brooke Quertermous, MD

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Dr. Melissa Zhou is a third-year Pediatric Nephrology fellow and second-year student in the Master’s of Epidemiology and Clinical Research program at Stanford. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with dual majors in Biochemistry and Biology, then earned her medical degree from the Yale School of Medicine, where she also completed an additional year of research. She went on to complete her general pediatrics residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Melissa’s enduring interest in the brain’s remarkable capacity for recovery after injury began as an undergraduate, when she investigated the molecular mechanisms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal lobar degeneration. During medical school, she further explored subclinical neuroimaging findings in pediatric multiple sclerosis and studied therapies aimed at improving social cognition and reducing restrictive and repetitive behaviors in autism spectrum disorder. A late medical school elective ultimately inspired her to focus her clinical and research interests on pediatric nephrology.

Melissa aspires to become a pediatric nephrologist and physician-scientist, with a focus on understanding the intersection of neonatal kidney disease and neurodevelopment. Neonatal acute kidney injury (AKI) is common and associated with significant morbidity and mortality, yet its impact on the developing brain remains poorly understood. With the support of a multidisciplinary team, Melissa is evaluating signatures of brain injury, perfusion, and altered development associated with neonatal AKI in preterm infants using near-infrared spectroscopy and advanced magnetic resonance imaging techniques. Initial results from her study have demonstrated significant differences in cerebral autoregulation in those preterm infants with and without acute kidney injury by gestational age in the first week of life, suggesting greater vulnerability to brain injury in those more premature during AKI. Melissa hopes to use this research to identify opportunities to design targeted interventions to improve the neurodevelopmental and functional outcomes for high-risk infants.

Melissa Zhou

Melissa Zhou, MD

Stanford University School of Medicine

  • 2025 | Shannon Adams-Hartung, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
  • 2025 | Evan Rajadhyaksha, Indiana University School of Medicine
  • 2024 | Paula Dias Maia, University of Colorado
  • 2024 | Srishti Jayakumar, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
  • 2023 | Kaitlin Hall, University of California, Los Angeles
  • 2023 | Kim Vuong, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital
  • 2022 | Kasee Houston, University of California, Los Angeles
  • 2022 | Danitza Nebor, Baylor College of Medicine
  • 2021 | Kayla Karvonen, University of California San Francisco
  • 2021 | Esther Kibakaya, Children’s Hospital at Montefiore of Albert Einstein College of Medicine