Grants for Research into Motor Neurone Disease in 2013
Closing date for grant applications: Friday 31 August 2012
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 2012.
Proposals must reach the Executive Officer by Friday 31 August 2012 in order to be considered in the funding allocation for 2012.
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 2012.
Research grants allocated by the MND Research Institute of Australia are mostly grants-in-aid and postdoctoral fellowships.
A PhD Scholarship commencing 2013 is offered in partnership with NHMRC. A PhD Scholarship top-up grant is also offered.
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. Details of sponsored grants will be announced in July.
Applications for grants-in-aid up to a maximum value of $100,000 will be considered.
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 $75,000 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.
PhD Scholarship (2013 - 2015)
One postgraduate PhD scholarship (3 years) will be offered commencing in January 2013.
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 May 2012 with closing date at the end of July 2012. The outcome of applications will be determined by NHMRC by December 2012.
One 3-year PhD top-up grant will be offered for a PhD student who has been awarded a University PhD scholarship for biomedical or public health research in motor neurone disease. This grant will provide a $5,000 per annum stipend for the PhD candidate and $5,000 per annum project costs for the Principal Supervisor. The grant will be awarded after the announcement of University PhD Scholarships in December 2012.
For more details click here.
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 two A4 pages) but adequate CV for each person (including the principal investigator). Selected publications included in the CV should be restricted to the past five years. This list should not include publications 'in preparation' or 'submitted'.
- the proposal is brief (maximum 4 pages) and to the point
- adequate justification is provided for the requested funding. Please note that grant awards must be used to cover direct costs of the project and may not be used for indirect or overhead costs.
- other proposed sources of funding to support the project are disclosed.
If the applicant has received previous funding from MNDRIA in the past five years, outcomes of this previously funded work must be sent with the current application.
Applicants will also provide a brief lay statement (maximum 250 words) understandable by the general public, which describes the project, the expected outcomes and also explains how the research might provide benefit and improve our understanding of the disease. Do not include a definition of MND is this readily available. The lay statement will be published in the MNDRIA newsletter and website if the application is successful.
Applicants are asked to complete the following details as a cover sheet and attach to their grant application;
1 Type of grant Grant-in-aid or postdoctoral fellowship 2
Project title
3
Principal investigator
4 Email address and mobile 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 received by 6.00 pm EST on Friday 31 August 2012
to the Executive Officer by email to info@mndresearch.asn.au
The application is to be forwarded in Word or pdf format with font size at least 10 pt.
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.