Preamble:

Seed Grants are now being offered by ASPN for young investigators.  The grants are meant to support either basic or clinical research related to peripheral nerve disorders.  The purpose is to provide start up funding ($2500/grant) for early - phase projects which are not yet competitive for national funding such as NIH or CIHR. The submissions will undergo peer-review by a research/grant committee, chosen by the ASPN council.  Depending on the amount of money available, one or several grants will be offered per year.

 

Eligibility Criteria:

1. Applicant must be a member of ASPN.
2. The proposed research must pertain to peripheral nerve disorders, but can be either basic or clinical.
3. The applicant should be within the first 5 years of their initial or academic appointment to an institution.  Residents or fellows who are starting their appointment in the granting year are also eligible, in which case the application must be accompanied by a letter from the division/department head verifying appointment.
4. Applicants who hold major grant funding from national organizations (such as NIH and CIHR) are excluded from applying.

 

How To Apply?:

1. The annual deadline for applications to be received is November 1.  Grant recipients will be announced at the annual ASPN meeting in January.
2. Applications are to be submitted electronically to the ASPN central office, (C/O Alice Romano) via email address: aliceromano@isms.org.  Applications received after November 1 will not be accepted.
3. The application should be 2 pages in length, single spaced, size 12 font, with 1 inch margins.  It must include the title, research question and hypothesis, a brief background and a more detailed section describing the study design and methods.  A third page can be appended showing pertinent figures and tables.  A reference list or bibliography of up to 2 pages should also be included.
4. With the application, a one page budget should be provided.  If the budget exceeds $2500, there should be indication as to how the remainder of the money will be secured by the investigator.  The budget can not be used to support the salary of the principle investigator. Given the size of the grant, no overhead or institutional support may be included.  All budget items must be direct costs.
5. A brief (up to 2 page) CV should be included with the application.
6. A 1 page letter of recommendation from the division or department head of the individual is required and should also explicitly state that IF there are any indirect costs to administer the grant, that these will be borne by the department.