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
Translational Research Clinical Scientist Awards in Translational Research Program Information Application Deadline: October 1, 2008 Accepting electronic applications only. Program Background Basic research into the mechanisms of disease has accelerated in recent years, but the knowledge gained has been slow to reach the clinic and patient care. Both the translation of basic research knowledge into improved patient care and the translation of clinical insights into hypotheses that can be validated in the laboratory are threatened by changes in medical research and health care financing. The rapid growth of managed care, for example, has limited the financial resources available to many academic medical centers, which historically have been at the forefront of both basic and clinical research. Consequently, many physician-scientists, who play a critical role in identifying clinical questions and implementing advances in the basic sciences, have fewer financial resources, less time, and smaller patient populations available for clinical studies. Recognizing this problem, the Clinical Scientist Awards in Translational Research program supports established independent physician-scientists who are dedicated to translational research—the two-way transfer between work at the laboratory bench and patient care. The program is intended to help protect award recipients’ time to pursue the vital link between basic and clinical research. Importantly, the program aims to identify and reward proven mentors and to increase their capacity to train the next generation of investigators skilled in translational research. In this way, BWF hopes to increase the ranks of experienced physician-scientists critically positioned to bridge the gap between bench and bedside. Program Clinical Scientist Awards in Translational Research provide $750,000 over a period of five years ($150,000 per year). BWF will make up to 10 awards for the 2009 award series. The program’s goal is to foster the development and productivity of established independent physician-scientists who will strengthen translational research through their own studies as well as by mentoring physician-scientist trainees. The awards are intended to give recipients the freedom and flexibility to explore fundamental scientific questions, to apply the resulting knowledge at the bedside, and to bring insights from the clinical setting back to the laboratory for further exploration. BWF hopes these efforts will lead to a better understanding of disease mechanisms and to new methods of diagnosing, treating, and preventing disease. BWF is interested particularly in supporting investigators who will bring novel ideas and new approaches to translational research. Proposed activities may draw on recent advances in the basic biomedical sciences—including such fields as biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, immunology, molecular biology, and pharmacology—that provide a wealth of opportunities for studying and alleviating human disease. For the purposes of BWF’s award, translational research may involve studies in these broad areas: • Etiology, pathogenesis, and mechanisms of disease (particularly studies with direct application to disease prevention and treatment). • Clinical knowledge, improved diagnosis (including development of new biomarkers, diagnostic methods, or devices), natural history of disease, and biomedical informatics. This includes the use of large clinical and genomic datasets for the purpose of generating and testing hypotheses. • Disease management (including therapeutics aimed at molecular targets), molecular epidemiology, and limited small-scale clinical studies involving ‘first-in-humans’ testing of novel approaches. Large-scale clinical trials, epidemiological or outcome studies, and health services research are not eligible for support. With appropriate justification, award recipients may use the award to support a sabbatical of up to one year at another institution or in a different department at their home institution in order to acquire new research skills (e.g., in molecular biology, genetics, biomedical informatics, or clinical experimental design) that are directly related to their research. The Burroughs Wellcome Fund must receive all application materials by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, October 1, 2008. BWF will interview selected finalists; candidates will be notified by early February 2009 about interviews and BWF will conduct the interviews in early March. The awards will be announced in May and will begin on July 1, 2009. Guidelines Candidate Eligibility Guidelines ● Candidates must have an M.D. or M.D.-Ph.D. degree and hold an appointment or joint appointment in a subspecialty of clinical medicine. ● Candidates must be academic investigators at the assistant professor or early associate professor level (preferably no more than two years after promotion), holding a tenure-track or equivalent position, at the time of application. Individuals holding the rank of professor are ineligible. ● Candidates must present evidence of having established an independent research career, as this is not a “new investigator” award. Successful candidates in the past have had NIH RO1 funding and a track record of independent publications.
● Candidates must be nominated by accredited degree-granting institutions in the U.S. or Canada. ● Candidates must present evidence of having established a track record and commitment to mentoring physician-scientist trainees. ● Candidates must be nominated by accredited degree-granting institutions in the U.S. or Canada. ● Candidates must hold a current license to practice medicine in the U.S. or Canada. ● Candidates must be citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. or Canada at the time of application. Persons who have applied for permanent resident status but have not received their government documentation by the time of application are not eligible. Certification of residency status by the nominating institution is required. Institutional Nomination Guidelines ● The institution—including its medical school, graduate schools, and all affiliated hospitals or research institutes—may nominate up to two candidates. Exceptions to this number follow: ● To encourage applications from women, institutions that nominate a female candidate will be allowed three nominations. ● To encourage applications from members of underrepresented minority groups, institutions may have a single additional nomination if they nominate an African-American, Hispanic, or Native American candidate. ● Candidate nominations may come from a wide range of departments, such as pharmacology, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, medicine, neurology, pathology, or psychiatry. BWF particularly encourages applications in the area of reproductive science. ● The institution must submit a statement of nomination for each candidate. In this statement, the institution must demonstrate that it can provide the environment necessary for successful two-way movement of research between the bench and the bedside. BWF expects that the institution will provide a tangible demonstration of its commitment to support each candidate it nominates, including the protection of 75 percent of the awardee’s time for research. Selection The advisory committee will review all applications, interview candidates, and make recommendations for awards to BWF’s Board of Directors. BWF does not provide critiques of unfunded proposals. Selection will be based on: ● Qualifications of the candidate and potential to conduct innovative translational research. ● Career stage of the candidate: the ideal candidate is an assistant professor with R01 funding and an independent publication record. ● Demonstration of track record and commitment to mentoring physician-scientist trainees. ● Quality and originality of the proposed research and its potential to advance clinical care. Proposals that contain novel ideas and new approaches for probing difficult problems will be considered more competitive. ● Clear and concise plans for translating results into the clinical setting. Research that is likely to require institutional review board approval during the five-year award period will be considered more competitive. ● Quality of proposed collaborations: Candidates are encouraged to name a coinvestigator. ● Detailed evidence from the nominating institution that its laboratory and patient facilities are adequate for the proposed research, and that the institution has made a tangible commitment to translational research and to fostering the career development of physician-scientists.
Shipping and mailing information: Via Federal Express, UPS, Airborne Express, or other courier services: Burroughs Wellcome Fund 21 T. W. Alexander Drive Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 Via U.S. Postal Service mail: Burroughs Wellcome Fund Post Office Box 13901 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3901 Telephone: (919) 991-5100 Fax: (919) 991-5160
Informatics > Research Starter GrantsPurposeThe purpose of the PhRMA Foundation Research Starter Grants is to offer financial support to individuals beginning their independent research careers at the faculty level.This program supports individuals beginning independent research careers in academia who do not have other substantial sources of research.The areas of interest within this program consists of research that supports career development of scientists engaged in computational and experimental research to integrate cutting edge-edge information technology with advanced biological, chemical, and pharmacological sciences in:Genetics Molecular Medical (human) Pharmaco PopulationGenomics Function Structural Toxico Pharmaco Comparative ProteomicsBiological pathwaysPreference will be given to those individuals whose research combines novel computational methods with experimental validation. Emphasis will be placed on the development of new informatics technologies that demonstrate the translation of genomic data into an elucidation and understanding of biological and disease processes.The program provides a research grant of $30,000 per year for up to two years.Research projects that extend or develop the proprietary value of specific drug products are not acceptable in this program. This exclusion does not preclude research in which specific drug products are used to test hypotheses that have a general applicability.The "starter" aspect of the program strives to assist those individuals who are establishing careers as independent investigators in the field of informatics. The program is not offered as a means to augment an ongoing research effort or is the grant intended to be used for any direct effort to obtain further extramural funding. The funds are to be used to conduct the proposed research.Funds are generally unrestricted, with flexibility of use - a characteristic of the program. In an effort to gain the maximum usefulness, some guidelines are in order. The funds may not be used for salary support of the grantee, but may be used to support technical assistance. No more than $500 a year may be used for travel to professional meetings by the grantee. Indirect costs are not provided to the institution, and grant funds may not be used for this purpose.Applications, however good, which do not meet the aims of the program will be disapproved.EligibilityThose holding the academic rank of instructor or assistant professor and investigators at the doctoral level with equivalent positions are eligible to apply for these research starter grants, providing their proposed research is neither directly nor indirectly subsidized to any significant degree by an extramural support mechanism. The program is not intended for those in postdoctoral training programs. However, individuals in postdoctoral training scheduled to conclude and who will hold an academic appointment by January 1, 2008 may apply. Applicants must be sponsored by the department or unit in which the proposed research is to be undertaken. The grant is made to the university on behalf of the applicant and with the understanding that the university will administer the funds.Applications must be submitted by an accredited U.S. school, and all applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.Applicants will be judged on the scientific worthiness of the proposed research, and on the degree of need. If support is obtained after the application has been submitted, the Foundation must be so informed.Before an individual is eligible to apply for a PhRMA Foundation award, the applicant must first have a firm commitment from a U.S. university.
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