Early Career Award

Purpose

The NBS Early Career Award is a program initiated in 2022 and organized by the Quality Improvement and Research Committee to support investigators with a focus on the fetal and neonatal brain.

Description

The support mechanism consists of $10,000 with no indirect costs. A no cost extension might be allowed for a second year maximum. We encourage people from under-represented groups in medicine to apply.

The research topic should be focused on advancing fetal or newborn brain care and can be a basic science, translational, quality improvement or clinical project. Successful applicants are expected to present their completed work at the subsequent NBS or PAS Meeting.

Eligibility Requirements

Must be an NBS member.
MD, PhD, or MD/PhD RN, NNP, PT/OT, MPH, allied health professionals applicant AND either a clinical trainee, post-doc or a junior faculty within 5 years of completion training.
Career development awards or equivalent are allowed (e.g. K23, K08, or foundation early career grants) but total current funding must be ≤ $100,000 US dollars equivalent (excluding salary support) per year.

Application

A Letter of Support signed by the sponsoring department chair/division chief that confirms support of applicant and funding. View template here.
Specific Aims page, Abstract (300 word limit), and an Approach section (No more than 3 pages total using arial 11 font, single space, 0.5 inch margins).
Budget and justification: 1 page
NIH style Biosketch: Use the sample format on the Biographical Sketch Format Page to prepare this section for all grant applications.
Other Support form that includes all other funding sources with amounts. Upload NIH style Other Support form or use the template here.

Important Dates - 2025 - To Be Announced

Frequently Asked Questions

1. May the grant also be used for salary costs Yes

2. In the budget preparation, can we consider personnel costs of researchers already hired by the institution, in their proportion of the time dedicated to the project? Yes

3. Besides indirect costs, are there any other categories that are not eligible? The funds must be used for costs related to conduct of the research project, with appropriate justification. No more than $2000 can be used for travel to present data from this project.

4. In the application requirements, “other funding sources with amounts” should be indicated. Are these funding sources considered for the calculation of the $100k/year limit in career development awards that the early stage researcher can have in other grants excluding salary? All funding sources should be listed, whether the funds are used to support salary, research costs, or other research-related items. Note that the amount used for salary support will not be counted towards the $100,000. This could include start up funds, funding from pharmaceutical companies or other types of non-grant funds for research support.

5. For the “percent time dedication to research” in the Letter of Support, is this percentage related to the effort of the team dedicated specifically to the project, or does this concern the institutional dedication to research activities? Ideally both, but the Letter of Support should indicate the percent time that the researcher will dedicate to research, which may be greater than the time that will be spent on the proposed project for which the NBS Early Career Award funds. There is no specific percent time dedicated to research required for this award.

6. Are financial reports submitted in the end of the project? Yes

7. Should the application be novel research (as in a new addition) within an existing project? It can be for a novel project or to complete an ongoing project being conducted by the applicant– note that this is a competition for funds so the request should be compelling. The funds should not be used solely to complete a mentor’s project; the applicant should have their own substudy or question that they‘re addressing, if the study is part of a larger study.

8. Are there any restrictions on what the grant can be used for? There are no restrictions on the type of research that can be funded through this award – animal, clinical, Quality Improvement. Overall, the work must be hypothesis-driven, but not necessarily an innovation.

9. Regarding the budget, could you give us a few examples of eligible and non-eligible expenses? The funds must be used for direct costs required for conduct of the research project, with appropriate justification.

10. Are the funds managed by the institution for the candidate, or are they transferred directly to the candidate’s personal account Managed by the institution.