The “FightSMA and Gwendolyn Strong Foundation Emerging Investigator Awards” program (EIA Program) announced this week a second year of grant submissions and selection. The awards are funded by a grant provided by the two organizations created to attract a new generation of investigators into the spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) research field.
In 2013, the inaugural year of the EIA Program, the organizations awarded $250,000 in research grants: Five $25,000 grants were awarded to five initial Award Grantees, and two Finalist Grantees were selected and awarded with $62,500 follow-on grants.
“The organizations are tremendously excited to be continuing the EIA Program in 2014,” said FightSMA Board Chair Mike Calise.
“The Emerging Investigator Awards are producing the results we sought,” said Bill Strong of the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation. “We are identifying and supporting a new generation of extraordinary SMA researchers.”
In April 2014, a grant selection committee will award five $27,500 grants to the five most promising proposals. After six months of validation, the five recipients will compete for two additional $62,500 grants covering one-year research projects. The $62,500 awards will be announced in December 2014.
Program Eligibility
- Emerging investigators ranging from recent PhD graduates engaged in post-doctoral fellowships up to assistant professors within the first two years of their appointment are eligible.
- Past EIA applicants and grantees are eligible, provided a new proposal is submitted.
Program Grants
$262,500 in total research awards will be granted through the 2014 EIA Program in two tranches:
- Five $27,500 grants (direct + 10% indirect costs) will be awarded to the five most promising proposals.
- Two additional $62,500 grants (direct + 10% indirect costs) will be awarded to two of the five initial grantees.
Program Calendar
- February 21, 2014 | Online applications are due for the initial $27,500 grants.
- April 10, 2014 | The five successful $27,500 grants will be announced at the FightSMA Annual Conference in Washington, DC.
- November 14, 2014 | Proposal summary resubmissions are due for the five $27,500 grantees.
- December 12, 2014 | The two successful $62,500 awards will be announced.
FightSMA is a 23-year-old nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a treatment for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the leading genetic cause of infant death. The group has awarded research grants at more than 40 universities and research institutions in five countries.
The Gwendolyn Strong Foundation is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing global awareness of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), accelerating research, and supporting families impacted by SMA and other life-altering conditions. The GSF motto: “NEVER GIVE UP.”