Muscular Dystrophy Association
Clinical Research Training Grant (CRTG) Summary: The CRTG is designed to provide promising young clinicians the research training opportunities needed to become productive clinical investigators in neuromuscular disease research. This training opportunity is designed to be compatible with the requirements of a traditional clinical fellowship in neuromuscular disease and any forthcoming requirements for certification in neuromuscular disease. Trainees will be expected to design their own educational plans and to participate, under the supervision of a mentor, in the development and/or coordination of a clinical research project. At minimum, trainees should gain experience in the basic epidemiological methods of clinical research, ethical and legal issues, and the principles involved in monitoring patient-oriented research, including regulatory requirements and quality assurance. Recipients are also encouraged to acquire knowledge of and exposure to research technologies, large dataset management, bioinformatics and other research tools, as well as to develop the communication and collaboration skills necessary for successful investigator development. Clinical Research Training Grants will be awarded annually to no more than two qualified recipients for the amount of $90,000 per year for two years. Deadlines* *Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to contact MDA staff before submitting a letter of intent for this grant. 2009: Letter of Intent: August 1, 2008 Grant Application: September 1, 2008 Start Date: July 1, 2009 FOR ONLINE SUBMISSION OF THE "REQUEST FOR GRANT APPLICATiON" go to: https://proposalcentral.altum.com Frequently Asked Questions What is the funding level and percent commitment for this grant? This Fellowship is funded at up to $90,000 per year, with a cap of $85,000 to be applied to salary and benefits, and a cap of $10,000 to be applied to coursework, travel and a laptop computer. Applicants are expected to commit 100% of their time to this Fellowship. Who can apply? To apply for the CRTG, you must hold a Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathy degree and be licensed to practice medicine in the state or province in which the grant will be given; be board eligible or board certified in neurology, child neurology or physical medicine and rehabilitation at the time of the award. Clinicians who have been in a practice focused on neuromuscular diseases for not more than 5 years are also eligible to submit an application. See the CRTG Policy Manual for further requirements. Do you need to be a U.S. citizen to apply? U.S. or Canadian citizens, resident aliens, or nonresident aliens with a valid employment authorization are eligible for this training opportunity. Strong preference will be given to applicants who intend to remain in the U.S. or Canada after completing training. How are applications reviewed? Applications are reviewed by members of MDA’s Medical Advisory Committee (MAC) at its October meeting. Review criteria include: quality of applicant; quality of mentor and training environment; and quality of educational plan. See the CRTG Policy Manual for more detail.
How many grants are awarded each year? No more than two grants will be awarded annually. How should the “classwork” requirement be met? Applicants are asked to design an “educational program” including formal classwork in clinical research. The classwork requirement can be satisfied through many different mechanisms including classes in relevant areas offered at the applicant’s own institution or classes offered by government or private organizations, or some combination of both. Both certificate and credit hour classes may be counted toward the educational requirement. Examples of appropriate topics for classwork include, but are not limited to epidemiology, ethics/responsible conduct of research, study design/clinical trials design, use of human subjects, scientific writing/grantsmanship, and good clinical practice. Your application will be reviewed, in part, on the breadth and depth of the educational plan that you develop. What is meant by "development or coordination of a clinical research project"? Your second-year project should allow you to apply information that you gained from the first-year coursework in a clinical research setting. Planning for this project should begin in year one. Appropriate projects might include, for example, participating in a clinical trial, conducting a restrospective chart review study, or designing and implementing a small epidemiological study. Your role in the design, execution, and/or data anaylsis for the research project should be clearly delineated. The project should not be a laboratory research project. It is expected that a publication or presentation at a scientific meeting will result from the research project. Is this program compatible with certification in neuromuscular disease? Certification requirements for neuromuscular training are currently under development. This fellowship is meant to be compatible with requirements for such certification. If you plan to seek certification in neuromuscular training, please indicate this in your applicant statement and educational plan, and include the requirements for certification in your educational plan. How will progress be judged? Progress reports will be required at six months, twelve months and eighteen months. Applicants who are not judged to be making satisfactory progress will be subject to cancellation. Contact: Elizabeth Habeeb-Louks MDA Research Department (520) 529-2000, ext. 6021 crtg@mdausa.org
The Humanitarian Award was inaugurated in 2000 by the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations to recognise non-scientific contribution to the fight against Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Motor Neurone Disease.
The Award is to recognise and encourage individuals and/or groups from a non-scientific background whose work makes, or has made, a contribution of international significance for people affected by ALS/MND. Nominations for the Award are considered annually.
http://www.alsmndalliance.org/awards.html
The ALS Association - Investigator Initiated Autumn 2008 Call for Abstracts
The ALS Association invites innovative research abstracts of high scientific merit and of ALS relevance: Multi-year projects for up to 3 years research at a maximum of US$80,000 per year. Starter projects for one-year projects to investigators new to ALS research or one-year pilot studies submitted by established investigators and will not exceed $40,000. The Primary Investigator(s) cannot request salary support and cannot be a post-doctoral fellow. No-indirect costs will be given to any of the grant awards. Abstracts will only be accepted online at https://alsa.remedymd.com
If you have any questions please e-mail researchgrants@alsa-national.org or call the office of the science director on 727 942 8949. Grant Schedule Call for Abstracts 3rd June 2008 Abstracts due 16th July 2008 Applications invited 25th July 2008 Applications due 1st September 2008 Awardees notified November 2008 Funding commences 1st February 2009 The ALS Association (818) 880-9007 | 27001 Agoura Road - Suite 150 - Calabasas Hills, CA 91301
2008 Clinician-Scientist Development Award The Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association and the American Academy of Neurology Foundation are pleased to announce a three-year Clinician-Scientist Development Award to support research into drug discovery and development of therapies that will effectively treat ALS. This award was developed as part of The ALS Association's research program TREAT ALS (Translational Research Advancing Therapy for ALS). ALS Association/AAN Foundation Clinician-Scientist Development Award The award aims to recognize the importance of good clinical research and encourage young investigators in clinical studies. The three-year award will consist of an annual salary of $75,000, plus a $5,000 institutional award. Applications for this award are due October 1, 2008.
Mailing Address Mail application materials to:
ALS Association/AAN Foundation Clinician-Scientist Development Award
AAN Foundation Attn: Terry Heinz Grants Administrator 1080 Montreal Avenue St. Paul, MN 55116
The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Foundation is pleased to announce five two-year fellowships to support clinical research training in the neurosciences. The fellowships are supported by the AAN, the AAN Foundation, and the AAN Foundation Corporate Roundtable.
Mailing Address Mail application materials to: AAN Foundation Attn: Terry Heinz Grants Administrator 1080 Montreal Avenue St. Paul, MN 55116
One approach the organization uses to find a cause and cure for ALS is a peer-reviewed Research Grant Program, in which the investigator selects the area and method of research. The application/review process is modeled after the grant system used by NIH. The organization solicits investigator-initiated research proposals, which are peer-reviewed by the organization's Scientific Review Committee (SRC) and competitively evaluated for their scientific merit and ALS relevance. Grants are reviewed and funded twice yearly. Criteria for funding include:
The SRC grant process generally involves the review of 200-300 abstracts per year with 20 to 25 grants receiving funding. This NIH-style, peer-reviewed grant process provides The ALS Assocation with a credible and equitable approach for finding and supporting the best possible research into discovering the cause and cure for ALS. The ALS Assocation currently has commitments of more than $7 million to active research grants with new commitments in the range of $2-2.5 million added each fiscal year.
1
