Grants for Research into Motor Neurone Disease in 2010
Closing date: Friday, 28 August 2009
Researchers working in Australia in fields that are relevant to motor neurone disease are invited to apply for funding to support research in the calendar year 2010.
Proposals must reach the Executive Officer by Friday, 28 August 2009 in order to be considered in the funding allocation for 2010.
Late applications will not be considered. In general, the proposal should be consistent with the standards of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
Funding decisions will be made by the Institute’s Research Committee at a Grants Allocation Meeting to be held in November 2009.
Research grants allocated by the MND Research Institute of Australia are mostly grants-in-aid and postdoctoral fellowships. A PhD Scholarship commencing 2010 will also be offered in partnership with NHMRC.
The MND Research Institute of Australia regards its role as one of providing seed-funding for research that is innovative and having a clear relationship to the causes, treatments and cures of MND or the support of people living with MND. Accordingly, the majority of funds available through the Institute are for grants-in-aid of MND research in Australia.
Some of the grants-in-aid are awarded as named grants with funding provided by sponsors. Some of these grants have special conditions:
Charles & Shirley Graham MND Research Grant ($25,000) for scientific research relevant to the cause, treatment or cure of motor neurone disease.
Mick Rodger Benalla MND Research Grant ($35,000) for research into cause, treatment or cure of MND in basic or applied science. Part of the funding must be used to attend the International Symposium on ALS/MND in Orlando, Florida USA, 11-13 December 2010.
Mick Rodger MND Research Grant ($35,000) for research into cause, treatment or cure of MND in basic or applied science. Part of the funding must be used to attend the International Symposium on ALS/MND in Orlando, Florida USA, 11-13 December 2010.
MND Victoria Research Grant ($35,000) for applied research into MND, including social research. Part of the funding must be used to attend the International Symposium on ALS/MND in Orlando, Florida USA, 11-13 December 2010.
Peter Stearne Grant for Familial MND Research for a project investigating the genes responsible for familial MND.
Zo-eč MND Research Grant ($35,000) for research into cause, treatment or cure of MND in basic or applied science. Part of the funding must be used to attend the International Symposium on ALS/MND in Orlando, Florida USA, 11-13 December 2010.
Eight grants-in-aid were awarded for 2009. In recent years, grants-in-aid have had an average value of about $27,500.
The Fellowships of the MND Research Institute of Australia aim to encourage young researchers to focus their interest on MND.
The Bill Gole MND Postdoctoral Fellowship is directed towards postdoctoral scientists with a track record in areas of neuroscience related to motor neurone disease. Salary for a full-time research fellow will be funded at $72,500 p.a. for a period of up to three years.
Applications for this prestigious research Fellowship for motor neurone disease research in Australia should include:
a detailed research plan for a three-year project (which will be relevant to the cause, treatment or cure of MND),
a full curriculum vitae, including the names of three academic referees who must provide reports before the deadline
a covering letter from a sponsoring institution confirming that laboratory space and consumables will be provided for the project.
For more details click here.
One postgraduate PhD scholarship (3 years) will be offered commencing in January 2010.
The NHMRC / MNDRIA PhD Scholarship for biomedical or public health research in motor neurone disease is offered through the NHMRC and will be funded jointly by the MND Research Institute of Australia and NHMRC.
Application must be made through NHMRC . Applications open on 4 May 2009 with closing date 31 July 2009.
Proposals should be written so that:
- the aims of the research are clear to the Research Committee
- the aims are relevant to the development of an understanding of the causes, treatments or cures of MND. Causes, treatments and cures will be interpreted broadly and may include proposals studying palliative care and the epidemiology of the disease
- the hypotheses on which the research is based are explained in terms of the current theories about the causes, treatments or cures of MND
- the people who will be doing the research are identified
- by their role in the research, and
- by a brief (no longer than one A4 page) but adequate CV for each person (including the principal investigator). Publication lists should be limited to the past five years.
- the proposal is brief (maximum 4 pages) and to the point
- adequate justification is provided for the requested funding
- other proposed sources of funding to support the project are disclosed.
Applicants will provide a brief statement, understandable by lay people, about how the research might improve our understanding of the disease.
Interested applicants are asked to complete the following details as a cover sheet and attach to their grant application;
1 Name of grant e.g. General grant-in-aid, named grant-in-aid, Bill Gole Fellowship etc 2
Project title
3
Principal investigator
4 Email address and phone number of (3) 5
Other researchers
6
Institution
7
Department (if applicable)
8
Person to whom mail should be addressed
9 Email address of (8) if not the same as (3) 10
Person who will issue tax invoices (if different)
11
Postal address
12
Payee for cheques
13
Total amount requested
Proposals are to be forwarded before Friday 28 August 2009
to the Executive Officer by email to info@mndresearch.asn.au
Please ensure the application is forwarded via Word or pdf format.
Successful applicants will be expected to publish their findings in an appropriate professional journal and to provide two brief progress reports during the year for inclusion in the Research Institute’s Web site and newsletter to members, people with MND, carers, the MND Associations and others who provide the funds.