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 Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center
Disease-Focused Research Grants Program
2015
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS SUMMARY
Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center (HNDC) is pleased to announce this request for
proposals for our grants program to support translational neuroscience.
By “translational”, we mean disease-focused research. This includes, but is not limited to,
research aimed at elucidating disease mechanisms, identifying drug targets or biomarkers,
establishing genetic and other risk factors, establishing or characterizing animal or cellular
models of disease-relevant pathways, performing imaging or other research studies in
human subjects, etc.
The program covers all areas of CNS disease, including degenerative, developmental,
psychiatric, neuropathic pain, etc.
Grants of $60,000/year for two years will be awarded. We anticipate awarding up to six
such grants through this competition.
AIMS of the Program
• To provide funding support to junior investigators (as defined below) to facilitate
innovative disease-focused neuroscience research.
• To strengthen our community’s engagement in this important area of neuroscience.
• Where appropriate, to leverage HNDC core facilities and other shared resources.
IMPORTANT DATES
RFP released:
March 5, 2015
Applications due:
April 17, 2015
Recipients announced:
June 2015
Awards start:
July 1, 2015
1 SELECTION CRITERIA
• Eligibility: These awards are intended for instructor level investigators in the
process of transitioning to independent careers and recently appointed assistant
professors who, at the time of submission, are within two years of their
appointment. All applicants must have their primary appointment at Harvard
Medical School or a Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospital or institute.
• Significance: Does the proposal address an important issue or challenge relevant
to advancing our understanding or treatment of disorders of the nervous system?
• Novelty: Does the proposal describe a new and innovative investigation?
• Path Forward: If the aims of the proposal are achieved, is it likely to lead to a
successful external grant application and the further development of the project?
• Capacity: Is the applicant qualified to complete the proposed work and does s/he
have the appropriate training and access to necessary resources to complete the
proposed work?
• Infrastructure: Where appropriate, does the project leverage HNDC core facilities
or otherwise take advantage of shared resources? Please visit the HNDC website
for a list of available resources.
RULES AND REQUIREMENTS
1. All applicants should have a doctoral degree (MD, PhD, ScD, DVM, PharmD, DO,
etc.), have undertaken some formal research training, and, if the study involves
human subjects, have documentation of training in the protection of human
research participants.
2. Applicants may be U.S. citizens or foreign nationals with appropriate work
authorization.
3. It is the responsibility of the applicant to obtain all relevant research approvals. At
the time of application, any necessary IRB and IACUC applications must at least
have been forwarded to the relevant review committees. Approvals must be
completed before awards are made.
4. Whereas funding is intended to be flexible and used in a manner most useful to the
applicant’s project, there are some important funding restrictions:
a. Funds may be used for other salary support in the investigator’s unit, such
as post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, technicians, etc.
b. Funds may be used for supplies, reagents, services, etc.
c. Funds may be used for minor research equipment up to $10,000.
d. Funds may not be used for tuition, travel, subscriptions, membership fees,
etc.
e. As a condition of our sponsor, funds may not be used to cover institutional
indirect costs.
2 5. This program does not seek to support fellows or others in need of bridging salary
support or as a means of supplementary funds for ongoing projects. Instead it aims
to support novel research projects as described under “selection criteria”.
6. Applicants may submit only one application each year (either as applicant or coapplicant), and successful applicants may not apply in subsequent years.
7. Applications will be treated as confidential documents.
8. Applications must be submitted electronically to neurodiscovery@hms.harvard.edu.
You will receive confirmation of receipt. In order to preserve line spacing, figure
location and the overall appearance of your project description, you must submit
your proposal package (see below) as a single PDF document. Word files will not
be accepted.
9. Format restrictions:
a. Application text must be in Arial or Times New Roman font and can be no
smaller than 12-point type. Figures, charts, tables, figure legends and
footnotes must be readily legible.
b. Single-spacing is allowed.
c. Margins, in all directions, must be at least 0.5 inches.
10. Decisions of the review committee will be final.
11. Awardees must acknowledge the HNDC in all relevant publications, posters and
other presentations.
PROPOSAL PACKAGE
Proposals (submitted as a single PDF) will consist of five parts:
1. Cover sheet. Download the cover sheet from:
http://www.neurodiscovery.harvard.edu/research/disease_grants.html
2. A 5-page (maximum) scientific project description consisting of:
a. Summary (max 250 words)
b. Background (max 250 words)
c. Specific Aims (0.5 page)
d. Experimental Plan (2 pages)
e. Preliminary data if available (1 page) (can be combined with Experimental
Plan)
f. Budget and budget justification (1 page)
3. NIH-style biosketches for key scientific personnel.
4. Bibliography.
5. Letters of support from core managers and/or collaborators confirming the
availability of the necessary resources for the proposal should be included in the
application (if applicable).
3 REVIEW PROCESS AND FUNDING
• Each submission will be screened for adherence to the above rules.
• Adherent submissions will then be reviewed and scored by two or three members
of a selection committee made up of senior members of the HNDC community.
• The resulting scores will be used to identify the leading proposals that will then be
discussed in detail by the entire committee.
• Up to six awards will be made.
• Each successful proposal will receive $60,000/year for two years, with a
satisfactory 12-month progress report required to obtain the final year of funding.
ENQUIRIES
For questions on the application process and rules, please contact Nancy Maher at
nancy_maher@hms.harvard.edu.
For questions on relevant research and the scientific scope of the program, please
contact Adrian Ivinson at AIvinson@partners.org.
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