Introduction

The Alzheimer's Association Clinician Scientist Fellowship (AACSF) program aims to support clinician-scientists training in Alzheimer's and all other dementias. The program is open to U.S. and international researchers within 15 years of receiving their M.D., D.O. or Ph.D. (or equivalent) and have licensure for clinical practice. The program provides funding for research projects that focus on developing treatments or enhancing the diagnosis of neurological disease.

Scope of Work

The AACSF program supports research projects that focus on developing treatments or enhancing the diagnosis of neurological disease. This includes translational research such as epidemiologic or behavioural studies, clinical trials, studies of disease mechanisms, mapping disease features or spread, the development of new technologies and health services, and outcomes research. Disease-related basic science studies not directly involving humans or human tissue are also encouraged if the primary goal is the development of therapies, diagnostic tests, or other tools to prevent or mitigate neurological diseases.

Eligibility

Applicants must be clinicians (clinical fellows, postdoctoral fellows through assistant professors, or equivalent positions) interested in an academic career who have:

• Full-time positions

• Less than 15 years of research experience after receipt of their terminal degree (PhD, M.D./D.O. or Residency), and

• Licensure for clinical practice and evaluate patients

The Alzheimer's Association will make exceptions to the terminal degree requirement when the individual applicant has a full-time faculty position of Assistant Professor (or equivalent) or Associate Professor and is expert in the area of public health, social work, neuropsychology, legal, bioethics or a related area of psychosocial research.

Budget and Duration

Each AACSF award is limited to $250,000. The award includes:

• A total of $230,000 (including direct and indirect costs) will be awarded for costs related to the proposed research for up to three years (Award should be a minimum 2 years. For a 2-year award the total is limited to $200,000 with direct and indirect costs).

• Support for travel to scientific and professional meetings and additional support for travel expenses necessary to carry out planned research may include site visits. A total of $12,500 over three years may be requested for travel purposes and is not to exceed $7,000 in any given year.

• Two $10,000 research stipends ($10,000 to the applicant and $10,000 to the primary mentor), which are not guaranteed and are awarded only upon successful completion of the award.

Additional Information

The Principal Investigator (PI) must commit up to an average of two protected days per week (40%) of effort toward their research efforts during each funding year. Due to the nature of this grant being awarded to the Fellow, in large part due to their uniquely tailored mentoring plan towards achieving specific professional goals, it is expected that the Fellowship will transfer with the Fellow to their future institution. This will be strictly adhered to, and an exception will only be considered in extreme circumstances.

Key Dates

Letter of Intent (LOI) deadline: September 5, 2024, 5 p.m. EST.

Letter of Intent notifications: Week of October 7, 2024.

Application deadline: November 12, 2024, 5 p.m. EST.

Award notifications: Before February 28, 2025.

Application Process

Applicants must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) by September 5, 2024. If invited to submit a full application, applicants must submit their application by November 12, 2024. Applications must be submitted through the ProposalCentral website. Registration is required.

ProposalCentral Website

Selection Process

Each Fellowship LOI is evaluated with attention to:

• Demonstrable innovation/novelty of the proposed project (especially in the context of the PIs recently funded work)

• Alignment with the research priorities of the Alzheimer’s Association

• Impact of project on Alzheimer’s and all related dementia research

• Evidence of methodological rigor that address the research question(s) being proposed

If invited to submit a full application, each Fellowship application is evaluated on:

• Applicant’s ability and promise as a clinician scientist based on prior record of achievement and career plan, letters of support, and CV (30%)

• Quality and emphasis of applicant and originality of the research plan (40%)

• Significance of the question being studied, quality of the work plan and the impact-risk of the proposal, impact on advancement of diverse science (30%)

Contact Information

For any inquires or additional information, please contact a member of the Alzheimer’s Association Research Grants Team at grantsapp@alz.org.

Reporting Requirements

This award requires:

• Annual scientific progress reports

• Annual Mentor evaluations (including tracking progress towards Fellowship benchmarks)

• Annual financial reports

• Annual reports on recruitment & retention efforts (if applicable)

For More funding Opportunities, Visit Global Funding Opportunities.