ANMS will be offering one award – Deadline: October 13, 2023
We are accepting applications for a new ANMS Transition Award Program. We will provide support to a full-time faculty position (at any level; e.g., instructor, assistant, associate or full professor) with a primary appointment at an academic institution and who are pursuing research careers in the area of neurogastroenterology and GI motility.
One award of $50,000 will be awarded in 2024 for qualified applicants who have not yet received independent R-level funding and who are pursuing projects spanning basic science, translational investigation, and clinical research pertaining to neurogastroenterology and GI motility.
Applicants must be in their 2nd year of continuous ANMS membership at the time of application to be eligible. Information on becoming a member of the ANMS can be found at www.motilitysociety.org. It is anticipated that successful candidates will maintain their membership with the ANMS. The application deadline is October 13, 2023. Funds will be available in March 2024.
Objective: To assist faculty investigators in maintaining momentum in their research programs and securing independent, R-level research funding for projects within neurogastroenterology and motility. The ANMS welcomes applications related to a broad range of topics and research methodologies that are relevant to this field. These grants are intended to support investigators in generating robust preliminary data used to obtain extramurally-funded research grants in the area of neurogastroenterology and motility.
Description: The ANMS Transition Award will provide bridge support for faculty who are dedicated to a research career in the area of neurogastroenterology and GI motility. One award of $50,000 will be awarded in 2023 for qualified applicants. Faculty must be pursuing projects of a variety of methods including basic science, translational investigation, and clinical research but that must pertain to neurogastroenterology and GI motility. Grant applications should clearly describe how investigators intend to use the funds to continue their work, and how the data generated will enhance applications for extramural research funding.
Eligibility: Applicants must hold a full-time faculty position (at any level; e.g., instructor, or assistant, associated or full professor)) with a primary appointment at an academic institution. Applicants must be in their 2nd year of continuous ANMS membership at the time of application to be eligible. Information on becoming a member of the ANMS can be found at www.motilitysociety.org. It is anticipated that successful candidates will maintain their membership with the ANMS.
The award is intended for individuals dedicated to a research career in neurogastroenterology and motility that have not yet achieved independent R01-level funding. Successful candidates must exhibit evidence of a career trajectory leading towards the development of an independent research program. Although prior grant funding is not absolutely required, the ideal candidate would have received a career development award (NIH K award or equivalent) and either have strong plans for submitting an R01 NIH award, or have recently submitted and received a score on an R01 award that did not receive funding.
Investigators are expected to devote at least 20% of their effort to this grant proposal, and a letter of support from the candidate’s Division Head or Department Chairperson must verify that the applicant will have at least 20% protected time for research and resources to accomplish the aims of the proposal.
A goal of these grants is to help faculty investigators collect sufficient, robust preliminary data in order to become competitive for an R-level award or the equivalent and bridge the funding gap between transitions from K- to R-level NIH funding. Faculty Investigators who have previously acquired independent R-level or equivalent funding as a PI are not eligible for the award. Co-I status on one or more R-level awards is acceptable. Please note that if at any point during the submission or review process, it is revealed that an application is not eligible, the application will be withdrawn from consideration
Awards and Requirements: Awards will consist of up to a total of $50,000 to support the proposed research. The funds can be used in either one or two years. If the applicant chooses to spread the $50,000 award over 2 years, a progress report must be submitted at the end of the first year. The report must document adequate progress in order to justify continuation of the award for the second year. Funds may be used for study costs, supplies, equipment, and/or towards salary for support personnel. Salary support for the Principal Investigator is not allowed. Overhead costs and/or indirect costs are not allowed.
Receipt of overlapping grant support or any changes to the profile of the awardee, such as a change in institution, or acquisition of a disqualifying level of extramural grant support (i.e., PI status on an R-level NIH award), must be communicated immediately to the ANMS. Awardees are required to provide a written progress report within 2 months of the end of the award period. This progress report should summarize the research project and explain how the award grant helped their career and advance efforts to obtain independent funding. It is also required that any publications resulting from this funding, or any publications (even though not specifically related to the subject of the award) during the period of award, should acknowledge the ANMS supported research grant award. Any unspent funds at the end of the award period need to be returned to ANMS.
Institutional and Sectional Commitment: There must be a commitment from the applicant’s Division Head or Department Chairperson to provide the applicant at least 20% protected time for research and adequate access to needed resources. Details of current financial commitments to the candidate (such as start-up funds or other institutional support) and/or plans to provide matching funds should the candidate receive ANMS funding would further strengthen the application. These commitments must be clearly outlined in the letter from the applicant’s Division Head or Department Chairperson.
Selection Criteria: The ANMS Research Committee will review the applications. Two general categories of criteria will be used to assess the merits of the proposals: 1) originality, importance, and feasibility of the proposed research and 2) applicant qualifications, career trajectory, and tangible plans for development of an independent research program.
One of the goals of the ANMS Transition Awards is to help awardees develop robust preliminary data for subsequent applications to Federal Bodies and Foundations; therefore, applicants should be aware that hypothesis-based or mechanistic research is advantageous. Preliminary data for these proposals is not strictly required, but including relevant preliminary data would strengthen the application. Furthermore, applicants who have previously submitted R-level applications that were scored but did not receive funding are encouraged to include their Summary Statement in the Appendix.
Questions about the grants program and potential application topics should be directed to the Chairs of the ANMS Research Committee (Shanthi Srinivasan, ssrini2@emory.edu or David Levinthal, levinthald@upmc.edu).
All research must be conducted under institutional and federal regulations including appropriate IRB approval for all clinical research studies and IACUC approval for animal studies. The necessary approvals should be applied for well in advance of the starting date of the award. Awards will not be made until successful regulatory approval is obtained.
Application Instructions:
Applications must be submitted electronically via the ANMS website. The application should be assembled in the order listed below. Use Arial 11 point font, single space. The award application will comprise of the following eight sections.
1. Title Page: Fill out the application form provided on-line below.
2. Abstract: Limit to 350 words and to one page. Use the abstract to summarize the proposed research plan, career development trajectory, and the anticipated benefits of the award to the candidate’s plans for obtaining independent, R-level grant funding.
3. Research Plan: This section should follow the NIH guidelines and be divided into the following sections: a) Specific Aims; b) Background/significance; c) Preliminary data; d) Research Project; e) References. The proposed research should be clearly outlined. Clearly state the research hypotheses to be addressed, the immediate objectives of the research, and the ultimate goals. Give details of the research plan, including the methods to be used, the kinds of data that are to be collected, and how the data will be analyzed. For clinical studies involving patients, provide inclusion/exclusion criteria and power/sample size estimates. Anticipated experimental problems and alternative approaches should be discussed. There is a 5 page limit to sections a, b, c, d using Arial font 11 point single space. There is a 2 page limit to the references, section e.
4. Budget: Begin on a separate page, indicate how the funds of this award will be allocated and justify each budget item. Funds can be used for study costs, supplies, equipment, and/or salary support for other personnel needed for the research. Salary support for the Principal Investigator is not allowed. Overhead costs and/or indirect costs are not allowed. The maximum total that can be requested is $50,000 for one or two years of research support.
5. Curriculum Vitae: Provide a CV of the applicant using the NIH Biosketch format and adhering to the NIH five page limit. This document should include current and past research support; listing the title of project, objective of the project, funding agency and duration of award.
6. Cover letter and Candidate’s Statement: This should describe the anticipated benefits of this Transition Award to the candidate’s research career. The review committee will be particularly interested in discussion of the applicant’s faculty position, research progress and career goals, and which extramural grants the applicant is currently applying for (or has recently applied for). Applicants should also discuss what benchmarks need to be achieved to enhance the likelihood of obtaining independent funding. Limit to 2 pages.
7. Letter from Applicant’s Division Head or Department Chairperson: This letter should indicate strong commitment from the Division Head or Department Chairperson to support the candidate by providing time for the proposed research and adequate research facilities. The letter must certify that at least 20% protected time will be provided to the award recipient. The letter should summarize the applicant’s attributes and assess the impact of this award on the applicant’s career development. Limit to 2 pages.
8. Appendix: This section, if used, may include up to 3 items of additional material to help supplement the review of the grant. This may include manuscripts and abstracts or questionnaires or data instruments to use if the proposal is for clinical studies. Critical material for understanding and reviewing the grant must be included in the 5 page research proposal. We specifically encourage applicants who have previously submitted R-level applications that were scored but did not receive funding to include a copy of their Summary Statement in this section.Any table or figure pertinent to the grant application must fit within the grant itself, rather than being included in the appendix.