Innovation Grants

The 2008-09 Whitaker International Fellows and Scholars Program competition for biomedical engineers is now open.

The deadline for the 2009-10 competition is January 26, 2009.

Program Premise

Today, biomedical engineering (BME) is a global discipline. Biomedical engineers know that, as work in the field becomes more refined, the best place to study or conduct research is not always in the U.S. Although there are currently few opportunities to go abroad to leverage international expertise, the Whitaker International Fellows and Scholars Program makes available just such an opportunity.

Biomedical engineers can use the Whitaker International Fellows and Scholars Program to go overseas to help further their careers, and the field of BME. Potential overseas activities could include:

* Conducting research at an academic institution
* Interning at a policy institute
* Establishing ties between home and host institutions
* Pursuing post-doctoral research

The Program consists of two branches: Whitaker Fellows and Whitaker Scholars

Whitaker Fellows are biomedical engineers (or bioengineers, which is considered synonymous) ranging from graduating seniors to those conducting doctoral studies. Whitaker Scholars are biomedical engineers who have/will have a PhD by the beginning date of their awards. Applicants are eligible ONLY for one or the other (depending on their academic level).
Fellows

Fellows should have a BS or MS degree in biomedical engineering. Because some institutions do not offer biomedical engineering or its equivalent as a degree program, exceptions may be made based on a demonstrated commitment to the field of BME Through significant coursework, research, laboratory or work experience.

If not currently enrolled, the applicant’s latest degree may not have been obtained more than three years prior to the start of the grant.

The Whitaker International Fellow award will be approximately one academic year in length, and should be used to conduct work commensurate with the grantee’s experience in BME.

Scholars

Scholars should have a degree in biomedical engineering and a doctorate (which may not have been obtained more than three years prior to the start of the grant) OR will receive the PhD prior the start of the grant.

Scholar awards can be for as little as one academic semester or as long as two years, but are typically one academic year in length. The Whitaker International Scholar award will be used to conduct postdoctoral work.

Host Country

Grantees will come from diverse geographic areas of the United States and they will conduct their Whitaker Fellow or Scholar activity in diverse regions of the world. Candidates may apply to study or do research in any country outside of the U.S., except Canada, because it is contiguous with the United States, and the international experience is minimized.

Projects/Activities

A Whitaker International Fellow or Scholar experience will ideally advance an emerging biomedical engineering career, while also advancing the goal of increased international collaboration in BME.

Activities could include (but are not limited to):

* Graduating seniors: Pursuing an academic year of study or research that leads to graduate study in BME, with the possible ability to transfer credit toward an advanced degree.
* Graduate students: Conducting study or research at an overseas institution with established ties to your home institution in order to build on an existing collaboration or initiating a new relationship between your home institution and an overseas institution through collaboration in the lab or in the classroom.
* At all pre-doctoral levels: Performing in-depth work in industry or policy-making (related to BME) through an internship assignment.
* During/After the PhD: Engaging in a culminating experience by conducting research to foster career opportunities and/or to link the US and international BME communities.
* Post-Doctoral: Pursuing pre-professional post-doctoral work at a leading overseas institution.

These are simply some possibilities of relevant BME-related activities one could pursue. Applicants are free to design their own BME-relevant activity.

Host Institution Affiliation

Any international institution that offers an outstanding professional experience in biomedical engineering may serve as a host institution. It is the applicant’s responsibility to select the host institution.

Fellow candidates are strongly recommended to include in their applications a substantive letter of support (one that addresses the specific proposed project) from a host institution or advisor.

Scholar candidates are required to include with their applications a host institution letter of support attesting to the depth and nature of the affiliation.

Grant length and start dates

A Fellow’s grant length is expected to be approximately one academic year (as defined by the academic calendar of the host country, but typically 9-12 months).

A Scholar’s grant will typically be one academic year in length, but can be as short as one academic semester, and as long as two academic years (for use in post-doctoral research fellowships). Applications should justify the length of time, based on how it would benefit the applicant, the activity, and the field of BME.

Awards typically begin between July 1st and October 1st, but may begin as late as March 31st.

You are eligible to apply to be a Whitaker Fellow if you:

1. Have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in biomedical engineering (or bioengineering) by the start of the grant period. If you are at an institution that does not offer a formalized BME program, an applicant should have a demonstrated commitment to the field of BME. Significant coursework, research, laboratory/work experience are some of the ways to demonstrate such commitment.
2. Have NOT received a doctorate by the grant start date.
3. Have U.S. citizenship, or are a permanent legal resident of the U.S.
4. Have language ability to carry out the proposed project in the host country at the time of departure.
5. Are currently enrolled or have obtained your most recent degree within three years of your proposed start date.
6. Have received a nomination letter from the dean of a school or chair of the biomedical engineering department at the institution you are attending, or have most recently attended.

You are eligible to apply to be a Whitaker Scholar if you:

1. Have a degree in biomedical engineering by the grant application deadline and either hold a doctorate at the time of application (and obtained it within three years of the proposed start of the grant), or are currently an advanced PhD candidate who will receive the doctorate prior to departure.
2. Have U.S. citizenship, or are a permanent legal resident of the U.S.
3. Have language ability to carry out the proposed project in the host country at the time of departure.
4. Have received a nomination letter from the dean of a school or chair of the biomedical engineering department from which you obtained your doctoral degree.

Grant amounts are determined based on cost-of-living in the proposed host country, expected travel expenses, and tuition fees (up to a pre-determined limit).

 

Everyday Technologies for Alzheimer Care Grant

Everyday Technologies for Alzheimer Care (ETAC) is a cooperative research funding initiative sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association and Intel Corporation. ETAC seeks proposals on personalized diagnostics, preventive tools and interventions for adults coping with the spectrum of cognitive aging and neurodegenerative disease, particularly Alzheimer’s disease.

We are interested in new groundbreaking studies on emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs) as well as their clinical and social implications. Strongest consideration will be given to novel innovative ideas rather than more evolutionary incremental research. Originality of the study is more important than extensive evidence for why it is a logical next step in a research program.

ETAC is designed to support exploratory multidisciplinary research that would not typically be funded by national health and science granting foundations. Minor iterations in testing plans or populations will not be considered for funding. Collaboration between social science/medical/public health and computer science/engineering researchers is valued. Mobile computing, high bandwidth sensing, robotics, imaging, face recognition, natural language processing, statistical modeling and a host of other technology advances allow unprecedented opportunities to study disease progression and therapeutic strategies in the context of everyday life.

ETAC supports research that integrates such emerging technology capabilities with leading directions in behavioral science and biomedical research. Grants that merely create Internet-based versions of existing services or paper tools will not be considered. Submissions must be original ideas, not continuations of previously funded ETAC projects. Please see links provided below for examples of studies that have been funded by ETAC.

The following list of research topics is not exhaustive; we invite researcher-initiated proposals in any of these or other topic areas.

1. Behavioral assessment for early detection: What kinds of behavioral data can be captured through everyday devices for the early detection of Alzheimer’s? Are there key speech/conversational features that today’s or tomorrow’s cell phones could help to analyze for early detection? Are there gait and other movement patterns that home camera systems could capture to provide early warnings of potential cognitive conditions? How might different forms of dementia be differentiated by the analysis of such video and audio data? How can data from sensors, imaging and traditional clinical measures be triangulated to enhance assessment?

2. Prevention: How can technologies foster the cognitive resilience and reserve that may protect against dementia? How can innovative systems provide the cognitive, social and physical engagement (throughout the lifespan) that may prevent or delay Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders? How can such systems motivate lifestyle changes and help people manage health conditions to limit vulnerability to dementia?

3. Safety monitoring and support for caregivers: How can new technologies augment and improve upon existing safety monitoring systems? What acoustic and visual cues can be relied upon to help identify and triage patients’ needs? For example, how can advances in high bandwidth sensing and statistical inferencing help detect and prevent falls?

4. Supporting independent function in daily life: Early-stage products based on wireless sensor networks have been developed to support activities of daily living―how can additional processing capabilities improve upon these systems? What analytic tools could identify changes in individuals’ typical patterns and provide customized assistance?

5. Social support through face or audio recognition: How might speech, face and voice recognition technologies provide diagnosed individuals with real-time, just-in-time feedback, reminders and support for their social interactions? Can these technologies help someone with memory loss to keep track of past conversations, topics and social encounters in a way that does not require great effort or technological expertise? How can mobile technologies (for example, phones, hearing aids, and watches) serve as social assistants?

6. Detecting moments and patterns of lucidity: Given the sometimes weekly, daily or even hourly variability of function of many people with Alzheimer’s, how can we identify the optimal times for a patient to conduct complex household tasks like bill paying or self-medication? How can technologies help to find opportune moments for interacting with someone with Alzheimer’s?

7. Privacy and security concerns of Alzheimer’s families: What privacy and security concerns do families and patients with Alzheimer’s have regarding home monitoring? How do these concerns differ according to generational, regional, cultural, gender and other differences? How can technology help people negotiate the sharing of health-related information?

ETAC applicants are strongly encouraged to consider partnerships with chapters of the Alzheimer’s Association when it is advantageous to the goals of the project.

The Alzheimer's Association recognizes the need to increase the number of scientists from underrepresented groups in the research enterprise. Researchers from these groups are encouraged to apply.

Funding and award period: The Association anticipates funding 4 awards under this program. Each total award is limited to $200,000 (direct and indirect costs) for up to three years. Requests in any given year may not exceed $90,000 (direct and indirect costs). Indirect costs are capped at 10 percent (rent for laboratory/office space is expected to be covered by indirect costs paid to the institution).

Eligibility: Researchers with full-time staff or faculty appointments are encouraged to apply. ETAC applications from post-doctoral candidates will not be accepted.

Ineligibility: The Alzheimer's Association will not accept new research grant applications from currently funded Alzheimer's disease investigators who are delinquent in submitting interim/final scientific or interim/final financial reports on active grants. This policy will be strictly adhered to with no exceptions.

Deadlines and award dates: Letters of intent (LOIs) must be received by 5:00 p.m. EASTERN STANDARD TIME, December 1, 2008. Letters of intent will not be accepted after this date. No exceptions will be made.

Applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. EASTERN STANDARD TIME, January 8, 2009. Scientific and technical review will be conducted from February through May 2009.

The second-level review by the ETAC Review Board and Medical and Scientific Advisory Council will be conducted during June 2009. Funding will be awarded by July 2009.

Mechanism of award, reporting requirements and allowable costs: The mechanism of the award is the individual research grant. The maximum allowable duration is three years. Annual progress and financial reports are required. Continuation of the grant over the awarded duration is contingent upon the timely receipt of scientific and financial reports.

Budget: A “budget summary” for the proposed research project is required and must be submitted with the application and within the allowable page limits. However, if the application is to be awarded, a more detailed budget will be required and must be approved prior to the disbursement of funds. Your budget must not exceed the maximum amount of the award ($200,000 for ETAC).

Allowable costs under this award:

It is required that most of the funds awarded under this program be used for direct research support.
Other allowable costs include:

Small pieces of laboratory equipment and laboratory supplies
Salary for the principal investigator, scientific (including postdoctoral fellows) and technical staff (including laboratory technicians and administrative support related directly to the funded project)
Purchase and care of laboratory animals
Purchase of a computer
Support for travel to scientific and professional meetings, not to exceed $1,000 per year
Costs not allowed under this award include:

Tuition
Rent for laboratory/office space
Construction or renovation costs
Multiple and overlapping submissions: If separate proposals are submitted to different grant competitions, each proposal submitted must be distinctly different. Only one proposal will be funded if scores for multiple submissions fall within funding range of different grant categories.

Applicants cannot submit two proposals in the ETAC grant competition ― even if the proposals are distinctly different.
Active ETAC or Consortium Funding Recipients: Overlapping funding of more than one Alzheimer’s Association grant is not allowed. Investigators who have an active Alzheimer's Association or Intel grant may apply for another award that is clearly new work rather than an extension of their current grant. The new research proposal can be proposed in the last year of their grant if that last year concludes by the time the new funding year begins on July 1.

Current holders of awards for support of research related to the project described in the ETAC LOI (whether these awards arise from federal or private sources, but especially if awards arise from other Alzheimer's Association or Intel program resources) are obliged to provide sufficient detail (e.g., budgetary detail, specific aims) so that it is clear that the LOI represents novel research.

An LOI for work that might be viewed as an extension of an existing line of (funded) research should clearly but briefly distinguish goals and progress for the current funding period from goals proposed in the LOI for the next period. The responsibility lies with the applicant to include rationale to dispel any notion of "double dipping" or "re-dipping.” As with most grantmaking programs, ETAC recognizes that scientific overlap may occur across funded grants; as is also usually the case, budgetary overlap is not permitted. Coincidentally awarded grants must be negotiated in good faith according to this principle. ETAC program staff are available to assist PIs at the LOI stage to avoid the possibility of administrative disqualification at the full proposal review stage.

For additional information, contact grantsapp@alz.org or call 312.335.5747 or 312.335.5889.

RSNA/AUR/APDR/SCARD
Education Research Development Grant

Deadline Date: January 10, 2009

Purpose: Sponsored by the RAAS Leadership Collaborative, Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), Association of University Radiologists (AUR), Association of Program Directors in Radiology (APDR), and Society of Chairmen of Academic Radiology Departments (SCARD). To encourage innovation and improvement in health sciences education by providing research opportunities to individuals in pursuit of advancing the science of radiology education. In addition, this program will help build a critical mass of radiology education researchers and promote the careers of persons advancing the science of radiology education.

Nature of Projects: All areas of radiology education research are eligible for support including, but not limited to: Development of new educational programs or the improvement of existing programs; pilot studies with respect to methods of teaching, and the evaluation of educational techniques, materials, or programs; improving methods of student, teacher, course, or program evaluation; or expanding knowledge of how to provide effective education in the radiologic sciences.

Amount: Up to $10,000 for a 1-year project to help cover the costs of research materials, research assistant support, and limited primary investigator salary support (no more than half of grant award).

Eligibility:

* Grants are awarded to any person, at any level of career development, affiliated with a radiology department.
* Applicant must be a member of one or more of the sponsoring organizations.
* Applicant/co-principal investigators must not be agents of any for-profit, commercial company in the radiologic sciences.
* Applicant may not submit more than one research or education grant application to the RSNA R&E Foundation per year.
* Acceptance of an award from another source for the same project is prohibited unless one source provides only salary support and the other source provides only support for non-personnel research expenses.
* Recipients may not have concurrent RSNA grants.

Radiological Society of North America, Inc., 820 Jorie Blvd, Oak Brook, IL 60523-2251
Tel. 1-630-571-2670 || fax 1-630-571-7837

The ALA/Information Today, Inc. Library of the Future Award

An annual award consisting of $1,500 and a 24k gold-framed citation of achievement to honor an individual library, library consortium, group of librarians, or support organization for innovative planning for, applications of, or development of patron training programs about information technology in a library setting.

Criteria should include the benefit to clients served; benefit to the technology information community; impact on library operations; public relations value; and the impact on the perception of the library or librarian in the work setting and to the specialized and/or general public.

Donated by Information Today, Inc.

Please send six (6) copies of this application and supporting material to:

ALA Awards Program
Governance Office
50 East Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611

DEADLINE: POSTMARKED BY DECEMBER 1

Submit a Nomination

Nominations for the 2009 Tech Awards are now being accepted.

The Tech Awards accepts nominations year-round. Nominations received after March 27, 2009 will be considered for the 2010 Tech Awards.

The Tech Museum Awards program inspires global engagement in applying technology to humanity's most pressing problems by recognizing individuals, organizations, and companies that are utilizing innovative technology solutions to address the most urgent issues facing our planet.

The Tech Laureates are profoundly improving the human condition through the use of technology. It is the goal of The Tech Museum Awards to showcase their compelling stories and reward their brilliant accomplishments.

Nominations and applications are evaluated according to the following criteria:

* The technology application significantly improves the human condition in one of the five award areas: economic development, education, environment, equality, or health.
* A serious problem or challenge with global significance is addressed by this use of technology.
* The application of this technology, which may be either a new invention or an innovative use of an existing technology, makes a noteworthy contribution that surpasses previous or current solutions.
* The technology application has the potential to serve as an inspiration or model for further innovation.
* The technology application is in the field and has demonstrated a measurable benefit.

The Tech Museum Awards
The Tech Museum of Innovation 201 South Market Street San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 795-6338 techawards@thetech.org

American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology Daiichi Innovative Technology Grant

Open to MD, PhD, DMD, DO researchers to fund exploratory or hypothesis-generating projects that apply innovative technology for education or research in pediatric otolaryngology. Full patent and copyright control must be retained by the applicant and the applicant’s institution, but applicant may be required to return funds to the Society if patented innovations generate more than $5,000. One year, non-renewable, $5,000, one available. NOTE: It is recommended that the Research Plan for this grant only be 3-pages (max of 10) and the department chair and support letters are optional.

The Daiichi Innovative Technology Grant will fund exploratory or hypothesis-generating projects that are
not well-suited to a formal grant application (eg, based on statistical analysis and sample size
specification) such as:
1. development of new surgical or diagnostic instruments
2. survey or quality of life measures
3. new use of internet technology or computer software such as CDs or DVDs
4. educational brochures, materials, software for patients or physicians
5. other applications of innovative technology for education or research in pediatric otolaryngology
Full patent and copyright control must be retained by the applicant and the applicant’s institution. If
patented innovations funded by this award generate more than $5,000, the applicant may be required to
return funds to the Society.
ELIGIBILITY
Researchers (MD, PhD, DMD, DO) in disciplines who will conduct research directly relevant to innovative
technology in pediatric otolaryngology are eligible to apply. Applications submitted by otolaryngologists or
demonstrating collaborations with otolaryngologists are preferred. Participation of an ASPO member is
not required, but is preferred. ASPO will consider applications from both:
(1) Individuals:
a. Unaffiliated with an institution may submit a grant application from the individual
himself/herself. In the event of a grant award, an ASPO check would be drawn to the
individual investigator. This could be considered as income to that individual and
therefore subject to income tax.
b. Affiliated with institutions (i.e., universities) may apply individually if allowed by university
policy. In the event of a grant award, an ASPO check would be drawn to the individual
investigator (See Signatures and Approvals).
(2) Institutions: organization exempt from income taxation pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code (other than a private foundation). Submission of a W9 form documenting
501(c)(3) status to the ASPO Treasurer will be required (US institutions only) prior to release of
funds. Investigators affiliated with institutions (i.e., universities) who are not allowed by university
policy to apply individually, may ask the university to submit the grant application for the
investigator’s project. Investigators in this category are considered institutional applicants. In the
event of a grant award, an ASPO check would be drawn to the Institution (see Signatures and
Approvals).
CONDITIONS
If the principal investigator is a trainee (resident or student), the grant application must be accompanied
by letters of support from the principal scientific advisor or mentor indicating a general level of support of
the applicant, the fact that the Department will make time, space, and other resources accessible for
completion of the project, and that the applicant will have appropriate supervision/support throughout the
period of the grant.
TERMS
1. Amount: $5,000 total costs; no more than 10% indirect costs allowed.
2. Period: 12 months, non-renewable. One-year no-cost extensions may be requested from the Chair of
the ASPO Research Committee (see www.aspo.us for contact information). Any funds remaining two
years after the initial award must be returned to ASPO.

All applicants must submit a Letter of Intent online no later than midnight Eastern Standard Time
December 15. The letter of intent includes the title of the project, the principal investigator, and an
abstract of the work. This will facilitate planning review requirements.

W. J. Youden Award in Interlaboratory Testing
Purpose and History
The W. J. Youden Award in Interlaboratory Testing was established in 1985 to recognize publications that make outstanding contributions to the design and/or analysis of interlaboratory tests, or describe ingenious approaches to the planning and evaluation of data from such tests.

Selection Criteria
Interlaboratory tests, sometimes called collaborative studies or round robins, constitute a broad field of statistical activity in commercial, regulatory, and industrial practice. They are used in many disciplines for comparing results produced in different laboratories, for determining consensus values, and for assessing and developing test methods. Such studies are often interactive, with the goal to reduce discrepancies among results obtained in the participating laboratories. Determination of consensus values may include work on reconciling dissimilarities of several contributory data-generating processes by accommodating them, as in analyses of multi-center clinical trials.

Eligible publications in English for the award must have appeared, or have been accepted for publication, in professionally referred journals or monograph series during three years prior (1999-2001 for the 2001 award).

Form of Award
The award consists of a certificate and a $1,000 cash prize.

Important Dates
Final date for receipt of nominations is March 15. The award will be presented at the Joint Statistical Meetings in August.

Nominations
Nominations, along with 6 copies of the publication, should be sent to the Committee Chair. If you have the publication in electronic format, instead of sending a hard copy, you can email the electronic version to the Committee Chair along with the nomination.

American Statistical Association

732 North Washington Street · Alexandria, VA 22314-1943 · Phone: (703) 684-1221
Toll-free: (888) 231-3473 · Fax: (703) 684-2037 · Email: asainfo@amstat.org

Outstanding Statistical Application
Purpose and History
Established in 1986, the award recognizes a paper which is an outstanding application of statistics in any substantive field.

Selection Criteria
The award criteria are

The impact of the statistical application in the substantive field, and
The ingenuity/novelty of the statistical treatment of the problem.
Form of Award
The Award consists of a certificate and $1,000 cash prize.

Important Dates
Nominations should be received by April 1. The award will be presented at the Joint Statistical Meetings in August.

Nominations
Eligible nomination should be based on papers, monographs, reports or other substantive evidence appearing within two years prior (2005 and/or 2006 for the 2007 award). Nominated work must have been subject to external peer review and preferably, to formal refereeing. Any person may nominate eligible applications to the Selection Committee. Six copies of the nominated work, and with six copies of the nomination letter, carefully describing its significance, particularly its impact in the substantive field, should be sent to the Committee Chair.

American Statistical Association

732 North Washington Street · Alexandria, VA 22314-1943 · Phone: (703) 684-1221
Toll-free: (888) 231-3473 · Fax: (703) 684-2037 · Email: asainfo@amstat.org

Statistics in Chemistry Award
Sponsor
This award is sponsored by the Chemometrics Committee of the ASA Section on Physical and Engineering Sciences (SPES).

Purpose and History
The purpose of this award is to recognize outstanding collaborative endeavors between statisticians and chemists.

Selection Criteria
Nominations are judged on two criteria: the innovative use of statistics to solve a problem in chemistry and the impact of the solution on the problem. In odd-numbered years, only work published in refereed statistics, chemistry or chemometrics journals during the previous two years is considered. In even-numbered years, both published and unpublished work performed during the previous two years are considered. A statistician, to be eligible for the award, shall be an ASA member.

Form of Award
Each recipient receives a certificate and shares a $2,000 cash prize.

Important Dates
Nominations for the award should be submitted by April 1. The award will be presented at the Joint Statistical Meetings in August.

Nominations
Nominations should contain a cover letter explaining the significance of the work and six copies of the paper. (Unpublished work should be described in a format similar to a published paper.) Nominations should be sent to the current committee chair.

Committee Members
The award committee consists of three statisticians and four chemists (to be determined).

American Statistical Association

732 North Washington Street · Alexandria, VA 22314-1943 · Phone: (703) 684-1221
Toll-free: (888) 231-3473 · Fax: (703) 684-2037 · Email: asainfo@amstat.org

The 2009 Julie Martin Mid-Career Award in Aging Research
Sponsored by The Ellison Medical Foundation

Julie Martin (1929-2005) was trained in medical technology and art history at the University of Washington. Over a period of more than forty years, hundreds of visiting gerontologists from around the world were guests at her lovely Seattle home. She traveled widely with her husband, George M. Martin, Scientific Director of AFAR, helping him with field research in India, Syria, Turkey, Europe and Japan, work that eventually led to the identification of the helicase/exonuclease mutations responsible for the Werner syndrome, a striking segmental progeroid syndrome. Julie was devoted to family, friends and colleagues, and to her collection of folk art, which included some of her own creations.

The Program
The Ellison Medical Foundation and AFAR developed this program for outstanding mid-career scientists who propose novel directions of high importance to biological gerontology. Proposals in areas where NIH awards or other traditional sources are unlikely because the research is high risk, are particularly encouraged if they have the potential for leading to major new advances in our understanding of basic mechanisms of aging.

Projects investigating age-related diseases are also supported, but only if approached from the point of view of how basic aging processes may lead to these outcomes. Projects concerning mechanisms underlying common geriatric functional disorders are also encouraged, as long as these include connections to fundamental problems in the biology of aging. Projects that deal strictly with clinical problems such as the diagnosis and treatment of disease, health outcomes, or the social context of aging are not eligible.

Recipients of this award are expected to attend the AFAR Grantee Conference. The purpose of the meeting is to promote scientific and personal exchanges among recent AFAR grantees and experts in aging research.

Eligibility Criteria

The applicant must be an Associate Professor who achieved tenured status after December 1, 2005. Non-tenured Associate Professors at institutions with tenure (even if tenure is only offered at the Full Professor level) are not eligible. Applicants at institutions that do not offer tenure must demonstrate that their appointment is equivalent to that of an Associate Professor who received tenure status after December 1, 2005.
The proposed research must be conducted at any type of not-for-profit setting in the United States. Applicants who are employees in the NIH Intramural program are not eligible.
The following criteria are used to determine the merit of an application:

Qualifications of the applicant
Quality and promise of the proposed research
Excellence of the research environment
Questions about eligibility or suitability of the research project can be addressed to ">grants@afar.org
Application Procedures

The deadline of receipt of applications and all supporting materials is December 16, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. EST. Please refer to the Julie Martin Mid-Career Award instruction sheet and application for complete application procedures. Incomplete applications cannot be considered.

All candidates must submit applications endorsed by their institution. Applications are reviewed through a two-tier review system. The initial screening takes place in mid-April, after which candidates are advised of the status of their applications. A final decision about grant awards is made in early June. AFAR can provide critiques only for those applications that are reviewed at the second stage by their Review Committee. Funding will begin July 1, 2009.

Two four-year awards of $500,000 will be made in 2009, at the level of $125,000 per year. In addition, up to 10% ($50,000) may be requested for administrative/indirect costs.

American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) | 55 West 39th Street, 16th Floor | New York, NY 10018
Phone: (212) 703-9977 | Toll-free: (888) 582-2327 | Fax: (212) 997-0330
E-mail: grants@afar.org or info@afar.org