Next Issue Date: November 29, 2021
Next Submission Due Date: January 10, 2022 by 11:59 pm ET
Next Grant Selection Notification: By April 29, 2022
Period of Performance: 18 months
Amount of Grant: Up to $50,000 per grant

The 2021 Focused Projects Grant for Junior Investigators: Insomnia Biomarkers is no longer accepting applications. Please check back for additional details or subscribe to the mailing list to receive updates on AASM Foundation programs.

The AASM Foundation is committed to developing the careers of sleep and circadian investigators by increasing support for sleep researchers. To meet this goal, the AASM Foundation established research career development grants (CDG) to assist sleep researchers at various stages of their career.

The Focused Projects Grant for Junior Investigators supports the career development of early career investigators who are committed to focusing their research in basic, translational, clinical or population sleep and circadian science. The Focused Projects Grant for Junior Investigators provides seed funding for mentored research projects in an effort to jumpstart an early career investigator’s research career and provide the necessary support and resources needed to establish a track record of funding, become competitive for larger grants and/or prepare for a larger study, and enhance an early career investigator’s chances of establishing a successful career in sleep and circadian research.

The Focused Projects Grant for Junior Investigators: Insomnia Biomarkers is open for projects that will identify, evaluate and/or validate biomarkers to support insomnia (disorder) differential diagnosis and clinical treatment response. Proposed mentored research projects must address this topic. 

This AASM Foundation Focused Projects Grant for Junior Investigators: Insomnia Biomarkers is supported by Eisai, Inc.

The Focused Projects Grant for Junior Investigators: Insomnia Biomarkers provides funds for 18 months and can be for up to $50,000 per grant (includes direct and indirect costs). There are no restrictions on the distribution of expenses, however, indirect costs are capped at 25%. The grant is issued as a contract between the AASM Foundation and the grantee’s institution. A sample contract is available here.

The following individuals are eligible to apply:

  • Individuals with the following education and training are eligible to apply:
    • Physicians (MD or DO) who are board-eligible or board-certified in sleep medicine by a member board of the American Board of Medical Specialties or American Osteopathic Association and have completed their sleep medicine fellowship within the past 10 years, or who are currently enrolled in or accepted into an ACGME-accredited sleep medicine fellowship program are eligible to apply.
    • Researchers (PhD, DNP, DNSc, PharmD, or other similar doctoral degree) who are within 10 years of completing their post-doctoral training or who are current post-doctoral fellows.
    • Dental scientists (DDS or DMD) who are within 10 years of completing their dental degree or who are current post-doctoral fellows.
  • Individuals must identify a research mentor with the skills, knowledge, and resources to provide mentorship to the applicant in sleep and circadian research.
  • Individuals may apply for multiple AASM Foundation grants however, the same proposal (i.e., projects with budgetary and scientific overlap) may not be submitted for multiple requests for applications in a given cycle.
  • Individuals who are the Principal Investigator on an open or previous AASM Foundation research grant at the time of the application deadline are eligible to apply if:
    • The open or previous grant is NOT a Bridge to Success Grant for Mid-Career/Senior Investigators or Strategic Research Grant – Category I.
    • They can demonstrate that there is no budgetary or scientific overlap between their open grant and the new project they are applying for funding. If there is budgetary and/or scientific overlap between projects, the applicant must indicate their plan to close their open grant in the event their new application is selected for funding (e.g., relinquish the current grant or complete the current award to start the new award).
  • International individuals who meet all the eligibility criteria are eligible to apply; however, payment of grant funds must be accepted by the institution in US dollars.

The following individuals are not eligible to apply:

  • Individuals who have received independent research funding of more than $150,000 are not eligible to apply. This does not apply to post-doctoral/ fellowship level training grants primarily covering the applicant’s salary (e.g., NRSAs).
  • Individuals who have a financial conflict of interest or have the potential to incur significant financial benefit from the proposed work and beyond the work itself are not eligible to apply.
  • Individuals who are seeking funding from AASM Foundation research grants to support ongoing projects that are currently funded by another awarding body or supplement ongoing work (e.g., enrolling additional subjects into an ongoing trial) are not eligible to apply.

Note: The principal investigator will be required to make a statement to this effect prior to execution of the contract.

A grant review committee, appointed by the AASM Foundation Executive Committee, will evaluate and score all submitted applications. Factors that will be taken into consideration include:

  1. Significance: Significance of planned research in addressing important questions related to sleep, sleep disorders or sleep health.
  2. Experience and Appropriateness of Mentors: Plan for mentorship will facilitate applicant’s success and key personnel are well-suited for the project.
  3. Career Development Activities and Goals: Planned research and mentorship will fill gaps in applicant’s knowledge, skillset, and abilities.
  4. Approach: Planned research (overall strategy, methodology, and analyses) is scientifically sound, plan addresses protection of human subjects from research risks and inclusion/exclusion of individuals justified (if applicable).
  5. Environment: Institutional support and availability of equipment and other physical resources for the planned research.
  6. Appropriateness: What will be achieved with the Focused Projects Grant for Junior Investigators and how it will enhance the applicant’s career trajectory.

Only materials submitted within the application will be used in the evaluation of applications. The AASM Foundation Executive Committee will make final funding decisions based on the grant review committee scores.

Payment #1 – Upon execution of contract 90%
Payment #2 – Upon receipt and approval of Final Report 10%

If unique circumstances are explained in the budget justification of the applicant’s proposal, the Board of Directors will consider requests for an alternate payment schedule, with a maximum variance of 10%.

Note: Once a contract is executed for the grant, reallocation of funds of <10% do not require approval.

The AASM Foundation intends the Focused Projects Grant for Junior Investigators: Insomnia Biomarkers to provide funding for research efforts that improve sleep health and advance the careers of sleep scientists. This grant mechanism is designed to address the need of early career investigators to gather pilot data for larger grant applications, conduct small-scale research projects and/or to develop a funding track record while advancing an academic career.

Applicants are expected to address the specific aims as described in the application. Major modification of the proposed aims requires AASM Foundation Board of Directors or Executive Committee approval.

The expected results and deliverables should be clearly stated in the application. The applicant must submit progress and final reports during the project period, describing project activities and results, as outlined below. Failure to meet the deliverables or submit progress or final reports may result in termination of project funding.

Progress Reports Every six months
Final Report Within 90 days of grant completion

Outcomes evaluation is an essential component of this grant. All proposals must identify the goals and appropriate outcomes measures of the research. The outcomes should align with the goals and objectives stated in the applicant’s proposal for this grant. The AASM Foundation intends that the research funded by this grant will lead to the publication of original research in peer-reviewed journals.

If using human or animal subjects, the applicant will be responsible for obtaining Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Institutional Animal Care and use Committee (IACUC) approval. The IRB or IACUC letter of approval for the specified project must be on file with the AASM Foundation office prior to the execution of the contract. No funds will be released for the project without receipt of written approval by an IRB or IACUC. Failure to obtain IRB or IACUC approval will result in retraction of the grant.

We encourage potential applicants to contact us early in the application process with questions. Eligibility questions may need to be reviewed by a member of the AASM Foundation Executive Committee, so please allow for at least a 1-week response time for eligibility questions. For all other inquiries, please allow a minimum of two business days for a response. Please note that questions received within 48 hours of an application deadline may not be answered before the deadline.