NOW ACCEPTING LETTERS OF INTENT!

Issue Date: September 18, 2023
Letter of Intent Due Date: October 23, 2023 by 11:59 pm ET
Invitations to Submit Full Application Notification: By January 29, 2024
Application Due Date: March 11, 2024 by 11:59 pm ET
Grant Selection Notification: By July 26, 2024
Period of Performance: Category I: 1-3 years
Category II: 1-2 years
Category III: Up to 1 year
Amount of Grant: Category I: Up to $250,000
Category II: Up to $100,000
Category III: Up to $50,000

The AASM Foundation is committed to improving patient-centered diagnosis and care for all people with sleep disorders. To ensure that there is a continued advancement in effective diagnosis and care of people with sleep disorders, the AASM Foundation provides research funding through the Strategic Research Grant. This grant is investigator-initiated and supports high-impact research projects aimed at addressing gaps in knowledge that impact the ability to provide optimal, patient-centered, cost-effective diagnosis and care for people with sleep disorders.

2024 Strategic Research Grant: AASM Strategic Plan Goals

This AASM Foundation research grant is supported by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

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This is a focused request for applications (RFA) open to topic areas related to the following American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) Strategic Plan Goals: Advocacy to Improve Patient Care, Public Awareness, Technology Innovation, and Workforce Development. Topic areas that address the AASM Strategic Plan Goals must advance the field of sleep medicine and population sleep health. Details and examples for each of these specific research domains and topic areas of interest are provided below. Only applications that fit into one of these research domains will be considered.

 1. Advocacy to Improve Patient Care – Positively influence clinical practice for providers and their patients. Topics that fall under the strategic goal of improving patient care include, but are not limited to:

  • Research for understanding:
  • The impact of drug use (e.g., cannabis, opioids) on sleep health and sleep disorders.
  • Predictors of treatment adherence.
  • Comparative effectiveness research, especially in special populations (e.g., pediatrics, women, older adults, people with comorbidities), of:
    • Diagnosis of sleep disorders (e.g., new diagnostic devices, delivery methods, alternate metrics for diagnosis or characterization of disease severity, endotyping)
    • Interventions and delivery methods to treat sleep disorders.
    • Interventions (e.g., technology, behavioral, psychological, pharmacologic) to improve sleep disorder treatment adherence.
  • Health services research for:
    • Understanding the impact of screening for sleep disorders by non-sleep clinicians.
    • Understanding patient preferences and satisfaction with different treatment options for sleep disorders.
    • Evaluating the economic impact of treating sleep disorders on long-term healthcare utilization.

2. Public Awareness – Promote greater public recognition that sleep is essential to health. Topics that fall under the strategic goal of increasing public awareness include, but are not limited to, projects that:

  • Develop or implement strategies that address the importance of sleep in the pediatric population (infancy through adolescence) and/or the impact of sleep deprivation and sleep disturbances in development, mental health, cognition, mood, school performance, etc.
  • Implement strategies to increase clinician awareness of the importance of healthy sleep and appropriately diagnosing and treating sleep disorders with models for follow-up with sleep medicine care with a board-certified sleep provider.
  • Develop awareness strategies that address sleep disturbances and sleep disorders and their connection to various other health conditions.

Note: Projects that use or expand AASM sleep education resources, AASM Sleep is Good Medicine campaign, or results from AASM Foundation-funded projects to promote healthy sleep and highlight sleep as a pillar of health will be given priority.

3. Technology Innovation – Positively influence the impact of technology, and artificial intelligence on patients and the sleep team. Topics that fall under the strategic goal of technology innovation include, but are not limited to, research that:

  • Evaluates current and new technology for expanding delivery of sleep care to improve patient outcomes, quality of care, and cost-effectiveness.
  • Leverages consumer wearables for promoting and improving sleep in patients, increasing engagement with the sleep team, monitoring and improving patient care and treatment adherence.
  • Harnesses large datasets and computing power to yield greater clinical sleep insights, augment clinical expert opinion of sleep data, enhance diagnostic abilities, patient care, and treatment.

4. Workforce Development – Expand the sleep team workforce of the future to improve access to high-quality sleep care. Topics that fall under the strategic goal of workforce development include, but are not limited to, research that:

  • Develops and tests comprehensive and innovative models of care that use a team-based approach for long-term care and management of people with sleep disorders.
  • Evaluates the value of services provided by sleep physicians and the sleep team or assesses how their roles in patient care may evolve in the future.

Note: Projects focused on central disorders of hypersomnolence, REM sleep behavior disorder, dissemination and implementation research, or sleep health disparities will not be considered under this RFA and should be submitted to the 2024 Strategic Research Grant: Central Disorders of Hypersomnolence Research RFA, 2024 Strategic Research Grant: REM Sleep Behavior Disorder Research RFA, or 2024 Strategic Research Grant: Dissemination and Implementation Research.

The following individuals are eligible to apply:

  • Sleep scientists with a master’s level degree or higher are eligible to apply.
  • 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. Additionally, if an individual submits more than one application in a given Career Development Grant cycle, the AASM Foundation will only approve funding one grant should multiple proposals submitted by the applicant receive a competitive score.
  • Individuals who are the Principal Investigator on an open AASM Foundation research grant at the time of the application deadline are eligible to apply if 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 grant to start the new grant).
  • 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.

Past applicants of the 2023 Strategic Research Grant: AASM Strategic Plan Goals RFA, who went unfunded, are allowed a single resubmission within 12 months of receipt of the original application notification, if the project is still relevant to the topics of interest in the current RFA and if invited by the AASM Foundation.

If resubmitting an original and unfunded application, the applicant must still meet all eligibility criteria listed under the Eligibility section of this request for applications. The resubmission must include a response to the reviewers of the original application; resubmissions that do not include this response will not be reviewed. Additionally, the applicant may bypass the LOI submission stage, however, must notify the AASM Foundation of their intent to resubmit an unfunded application by the LOI deadline.

 Note: Resubmission of an original application for one grant program across another grant program is not permitted.

2024 Strategic Research Grant: Central Disorders of Hypersomnolence Research

This AASM Foundation research grant is supported by AASM Foundation general funds.

LOI Overview
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This is a focused request for applications (RFA) open to projects that address research gaps in the treatment of central disorders of hypersomnolence that were identified in the 2021 published systematic review titled, Treatment of central disorders of hypersomnolence: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine systematic review, meta-analysis, and GRADE assessment and basic, translational, clinical and population  research gaps identified by patient advocacy stakeholder groups. Details for each research domain and related topic areas of interest are provided below. Only applications that fit into one or more of these research domains and topic areas will be considered.

 1. Basic and Translational Studies for Understanding Central Disorders of Hypersomnolence

Studies designed to understand the biological process and pathophysiology of central disorders of hypersomnolence and the mechanism of action of certain treatments are needed. Examples of research topics that fall under basic translational studies for understanding central disorders of hypersomnolence include, but are not limited to:

  1. Research to understand the mechanisms of hypersomnia and excessive daytime sleepiness in specific conditions, so that more targeted therapies can be developed.
  2. Understanding the role of the innate and adaptive immune system in the development of narcolepsy and other central disorders of hypersomnolence should herald clinical trials in immune modulating treatments that could attenuate disease severity.
  3. Understanding the molecular architecture of the human orexin receptor to inform development and testing of orexin specific therapies.
  4. Mechanistic data for understudied conditions like Kleine-Levin syndrome, idiopathic hypersomnia, narcolepsy type 2 and hypersomnia due to specific medical and psychiatric disorders for targeted drug development and testing.
  5. Research that investigates whether data and findings from published basic science sleep research are relevant to or can be applied to further the understanding, diagnosis, or treatment of central disorders of hypersomnolence.

 2. Improvement of Diagnosis for Central Disorders of Hypersomnolence

Identification of central disorders of hypersomnolence currently poses a challenge, and there is a need to improve its diagnosis in sleep medicine practice and routine clinical practice. Examples of research topics that fall under the improvement of diagnosis for central disorders of hypersomnolence include, but are not limited to:

  1. Development of novel diagnostic tools and methodologies.
  2. Develop extended sleep studies needed for better diagnosis of idiopathic hypersomnia.
    • In-house sleep clinic protocols for extended sleep studies to enable better phenotyping of hypersomnias (long sleep type, disrupted sleep, total 24+ hour sleep time).
    • Evaluate home extended sleep studies, wearable EEGs/sleep monitors, etc.

3. Pharmacologic Treatments for Central Disorders of Hypersomnolence

There is a need for studies that directly compare different medications used to treat central disorders of hypersomnolence across the lifespan. Examples of research topics that fall under pharmacological treatments for central disorders of hypersomnolence include, but are not limited to:

  1. Comparative-effectiveness studies of new medications that enter the market against standard treatments so physicians and patients can factor this information into treatment decisions. This includes studying treatment options other than stimulants for idiopathic hypersomnia since some patients cannot tolerate stimulants.
  2. Well-designed studies evaluating the following:
    • Commonly used traditional stimulants for central disorders of hypersomnolence, and/or
    • Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors/serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors cataplexy treatments for people with narcolepsy type 1.
  3. Prospective clinical trials for drugs widely used for treating cataplexy. The low cost of this therapy is attractive, and it is already commonly used across the world.
  4. Research and develop front-line treatments for narcolepsy and other central disorders of hypersomnolence.
  5. High quality randomized controlled trials for pediatric patients with central nervous system hypersomnias since children and adolescents may react differently to medications for hypersomnolence than adults, and side effect profiles can vary based on patient age.
  6. Studies to discover how oxybates and other hypersomnia medicines work and to help predict which particular people with central disorders of hypersomnolence will most likely benefit from each of these medicines.

4. Patient-centered Outcome Measures for Central Disorders of Hypersomnolence

There is a need to identify, develop and validate patient-centered outcome measures that can be used to evaluate and monitor important outcomes in people with central disorders of hypersomnolence. Examples of research topics that fall under patient-centered outcome measures for central disorders of hypersomnolence include, but are not limited to:

  1. Identify validated outcome measures that most closely reflect patient priorities in order to develop and validate disease-specific patient-reported outcome measurement tools, and to delineate clinical significance thresholds to harmonize future research and facilitate future clinical guideline development.
  2. Research focused on quality of life measures, both cross-sectional and longitudinal, to help the field better understand aspects of the disease most disruptive to people’s lifestyles.
  3. Evaluate treatments for narcolepsy and other central disorders of hypersomnolence in regard to patient satisfaction, ability to adhere and continue treatment, and overall quality of life.

 Note: Proposals are encouraged to use standardized, validated assessments, which will permit clinicians and patients to compare clinical trial data to get an estimate of comparative effectiveness

5. Behavioral and Psychological Treatments for Central Disorders of Hypersomnolence

Reliance on medications alone to treat central disorders of hypersomnolence is likely insufficient without broader guidance on behavioral and psychological influences on symptom management. Examples of research topics that fall under behavioral and psychological treatments for central disorders of hypersomnolence include, but are not limited to:

  1. Evaluating cognitive behavioral therapy (in-person, online), other modes of therapy, sleep scheduling, naps for furthering medication effects and/or demonstrating independent treatment benefit.

6. Disparities and Health Access Equity Research for Central Disorders of Hypersomnolence

It is well-known that sleep disturbances and deficiencies affect disadvantaged populations, which lead to disproportionate sleep health disparities in the United States. However, little is known on how to best find, diagnose, and treat individuals with central disorders of hypersomnolence, particularly those from underrepresented communities. This is further hampered by lack of knowledge on central disorders of hypersomnolence among health care providers and the public, which can lead to delayed diagnosis, treatment, and support for people with central disorders of hypersomnolence. Examples of research topics that fall under disparities and health access equity research for central disorders of hypersomnolence include, but are not limited to:

  1. Develop a sleep disorder screening tool that is inclusive of all central disorders of hypersomnolence and can be used by the public, for example, on a website, where patients can answer a list of questions and receive information on a possible diagnosis, including information on how to follow up with a sleep medicine specialist and connect with patient advocacy groups.
    • Any screening tool developed should consider whether there is a need for customization for people from diverse backgrounds.
    • Delivery of the tool may differ by group.
  2. Quantify access to diagnosis and treatments for less common sleep disorders (e.g., central disorders of hypersomnolence) for people from diverse backgrounds.
  3. Initiatives to accurately collect demographic fields in electronic health records to measure current diversity and health equity and lay foundation for further health equity research and improvement.
  4. Increase outreach to historically underserved populations, both patients and future providers.

The following individuals are eligible to apply:

  • Sleep scientists with a master’s level degree or higher are eligible to apply.
  • 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. Additionally, if an individual submits more than one application in a given Career Development Grant cycle, the AASM Foundation will only approve funding one grant should multiple proposals submitted by the applicant receive a competitive score.
  • Individuals who are the Principal Investigator on an open AASM Foundation research grant at the time of the application deadline are eligible to apply if 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 grant to start the new grant).
  • 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.

Past applicants of the 2023 Strategic Research Grant: Treatment of Central Disorders of Hypersomnolence RFA, who went unfunded, are allowed a single resubmission within 12 months of receipt of the original application notification, if invited by the AASM Foundation.

If resubmitting an original and unfunded application, the applicant must still meet all eligibility criteria listed under the Eligibility section of this request for applications. The resubmission must include a response to the reviewers of the original application; resubmissions that do not include this response will not be reviewed. Additionally, the applicant may bypass the LOI submission stage, however, must notify the AASM Foundation of their intent to resubmit an unfunded application by the LOI deadline.

 Note: Resubmission of an original application for one grant program across another grant program is not permitted.

2024 Strategic Research Grant: Dissemination and Implementation Research

This AASM Foundation research grant is supported by AASM Foundation general funds.

LOI Overview
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This is a focused request for applications (RFA) open to dissemination and implementation sleep research projects.

 It’s well-known that there is a significant lag time for biomedical research to reach clinical practice, all while there is rapid development of therapies for sleep and circadian disorders that are not reaching the hands of patients.1 Dissemination and implementation research can help reduce this gap and increase the uptake of evidence-based research findings into real-world practice settings in order to provide optimal, patient-centered, cost-effective diagnosis and care for people with sleep disorders, which is the goal of the Strategic Research Grant.

 Dissemination and implementation are defined as:

  • Dissemination is the intentional, active process of identifying target audiences and tailoring communication strategies to increase awareness and understanding of evidence, and to motivate its use in policy, practice, and individual choices.
  • Implementation is the deliberate, iterative process of integrating evidence into policy and practice through adapting evidence to different contexts and facilitating behavior change and decision making based on evidence across individuals, communities, and healthcare systems.2

The AASM Foundation will support dissemination and implementation sleep research through the Strategic Research Grant focused on these research domains:

1. Dissemination and Implementation of AASM Clinical Practice Standards

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) publishes various evidence-based practice standards, such as clinical practice guidelines, clinical guidance statements, position statements, and consensus statements and papers. Research must focus on strategies that increase the accessibility, usefulness, and uptake of the AASM’s evidence and recommendations among targeted end-users, such as clinicians, patients, caregivers, decision makers and healthcare stakeholders.

2. Dissemination and Implementation of Research Findings from Funded AASM Foundation Research Projects

The AASM Foundation is committed to moving evidence generated from AASM Foundation-funded projects into practice to improve the diagnosis and care for people with sleep disorders. Research must focus on strategies that facilitate the uptake of AASM Foundation-funded research project findings in real-world practice settings and targeted populations. The proposal can be submitted by the original AASM Foundation-funded research project investigator or by an individual investigator with support from the original investigator whose findings are being disseminated or implemented in the project proposal.

1 Parthasarathy, S., Carskadon, M. A., Jean-Louis, G., Owens, J., Bramoweth, A., Combs, D., Hale, L., Harrison, E., Hart, C. N., Hasler, B. P., Honaker, S. M., Hertenstein, E., Kuna, S., Kushida, C., Levenson, J. C., Murray, C., Pack, A. I., Pillai, V., Pruiksma, K., Seixas, A., … Buysse, D. (2016). Implementation of Sleep and Circadian Science: Recommendations from the Sleep Research Society and National Institutes of Health Workshop. Sleep, 39(12), 2061–2075. https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.6300

2 PCORI Dissemination & Implementation Mathematica Framework.

https://www.mathematica.org/publications/pcori-dissemination-and-implementation-framework

The following individuals are eligible to apply:

  • Sleep scientists with a master’s level degree or higher are eligible to apply.
  • 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. Additionally, if an individual submits more than one application in a given Career Development Grant cycle, the AASM Foundation will only approve funding one grant should multiple proposals submitted by the applicant receive a competitive score.
  • Individuals who are the Principal Investigator on an open AASM Foundation research grant at the time of the application deadline are eligible to apply if 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 grant to start the new grant).
  • 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.

Past applicants of the 2023 Strategic Research Grant: Dissemination and Implementation Research RFA, who went unfunded, are allowed a single resubmission within 12 months of receipt of the original application notification if invited by the AASM Foundation.

If resubmitting an original and unfunded application, the applicant must still meet all eligibility criteria listed under the Eligibility section of this request for applications. The resubmission must include a response to the reviewers of the original application; resubmissions that do not include this response will not be reviewed. Additionally, the applicant may bypass the LOI submission stage, however, must notify the AASM Foundation of their intent to resubmit an unfunded application by the LOI deadline.

 Note: Resubmission of an original application for one grant program across another grant program is not permitted.

2024 Strategic Research Grant: REM Sleep Behavior Disorder Research

This AASM Foundation research grant is supported by AASM Foundation general funds.

LOI Overview
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This is a focused request for applications (RFA) open to projects that address research gaps in the management of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder that were identified in the 2023 published systematic review titled, Management of REM sleep behavior disorder: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine systematic review, meta-analysis, and GRADE assessment. Details for each research domain and related topic areas of interest are provided below. Only applications that fit into one or more of these research domains and topic areas will be considered.

 1. Diagnosis of REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

Several factors contribute to diagnosing individuals with REM behavior disorder (RBD), and there is a need to improve diagnosis in clinical practice. Examples of research topics that fall under the improvement of diagnosing REM sleep behavior disorder include, but not limited to:

  1. Increasing recognition of RBD symptoms among clinicians, patients, and families.
  2. Models that increase access to sleep specialists that can appropriately diagnose RBD.
  3. Methods for assessing RBD severity.

2. Treatments for REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

There is a need for well-designed studies that enhance the treatment of RBD and consider factors such as balance of benefits and harms, patient values and preferences, and resource use. Examples of research topics that fall under treatments for RBD include, but are not limited to:

  1. Clinical trials for new and standard treatments, including randomized placebo-controlled trials and comparative effectiveness trials.
  2. Clinical trials that focus on the following populations: women, racial subgroups, and other demographic subgroups.
  3. Development of RBD-modifying therapies.

The following individuals are eligible to apply:

  • Sleep scientists with a master’s level degree or higher are eligible to apply.
  • 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. Additionally, if an individual submits more than one application in a given Career Development Grant cycle, the AASM Foundation will only approve funding one grant should multiple proposals submitted by the applicant receive a competitive score.
  • Individuals who are the Principal Investigator on an open AASM Foundation research grant at the time of the application deadline are eligible to apply if 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 grant to start the new grant).
  • 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.

2024 Strategic Research Grant: Sleep Health Disparities Research

This AASM Foundation research grant is supported by AASM Foundation general funds.

LOI Overview
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This is a focused request for applications (RFA) open to sleep health disparities research projects among disadvantaged populations in the United States: racial/ethnic minorities, socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, underserved rural populations, and sexual and gender minority populations.

It is known that sleep disturbances and deficiencies contribute to poor health and are linked to multiple chronic health problems, mental wellbeing, safety, and work productivity. Additionally, sleep disturbances deficiencies, and disorders affect disadvantaged populations, which lead to disproportionate sleep health disparities in the United States (US) among Blacks/African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders, socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, underserved rural populations, and sexual and gender minority populations.1 In an effort to dismantle, reduce or eliminate sleep health disparities in the US and equitably provide optimal, patient-centered, cost-effective diagnosis and care for disadvantaged populations with sleep disorders, the AASM Foundation will support sleep health disparities sleep research through the Strategic Research Grant focused on these research domains:

1. Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Disorders

There is a need to increase access and effectiveness of sleep disorder screening and sleep healthcare services among disadvantaged groups across the lifespan, including pediatric populations. Research topics that fall under screening, diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders include, but are not limited to:

  • Developing approaches to promote screening of poor sleep and sleep disorders among disadvantaged populations in various settings.
  • Projects that expand access to sleep disorder diagnosis for underrepresented communities.
  • Projects that increase access to treatment and improve outcomes of sleep disorders among disadvantaged patients.

2. Development and Evaluation of Interventions

There is a need to develop and evaluate innovative, multi-level (patient, provider, health system) interventions that are relevant, culturally acceptable, sustainable, and scalable to targeted disadvantaged groups across the lifespan, including pediatric populations. Research topics that fall under interventions to address sleep health disparities include, but are not limited to:

  • Preventive sleep medicine interventions that target disadvantaged populations early in the life course.
  • Interventions designed to improve sleep health awareness in disadvantaged populations.
  • Adapt and develop evidence-based, culturally appropriate interventions across the life course for disadvantaged populations.
  • Evaluate existing sleep health and sleep disorders interventions and their economic impact, benefits/harms and/or the values and preferences of these interventions for disadvantaged populations.

1 Jackson, C.L., Walker, J.R., Brown, M.K, Das, R., Jones, N.L. (2020). A workshop report on the causes and consequences of sleep health disparities. Sleep, 43(8). https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsaa037

Note: Proposals must use US populations. Proposals that use populations outside of the US will not be considered.

The following individuals are eligible to apply:

  • Sleep scientists with a master’s level degree or higher are eligible to apply.
  • 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. Additionally, if an individual submits more than one application in a given Career Development Grant cycle, the AASM Foundation will only approve funding one grant should multiple proposals submitted by the applicant receive a competitive score.
  • Individuals who are the Principal Investigator on an open AASM Foundation research grant at the time of the application deadline are eligible to apply if 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 grant to start the new grant).
  • 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 and research must focus on US populations of interest in this RFA.

2024 Strategic Research Grant: General Information

The Strategic Research Grant program is organized into three categories to allow flexibility and a range of funding opportunities to potential applicants:

  • Category I is for those applicants seeking funding for projects up to $250,000 and covers a project period of up to three years.
  • Category II is for those applicants seeking funding for projects up to $100,000 and covers a project period of up to two years.
  • Category III is for those applicants seeking funding for projects up to $50,000 and covers a project period of up to one year.

The funds can be used for research expenses such as salary support (commensurate with current stipends or salaries), supplies, participant costs and institutional overhead. There are no restrictions on the distribution of expenses, however, indirect costs are capped at 8%. The grant is executed as a contract between the AASM Foundation and the grantee’s institution.

The following individuals are not eligible to apply:

  • 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 granting body or supplement ongoing work (e.g., enrolling addiitonal 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.

  • Current AASM and AASM Foundation Board of Directors members are not eligible to apply and cannot be listed as a PI, co-PI, key personnel, mentor (paid or unpaid) or paid consultant for one year after their term ends.

Note: In rare instances, AASM and AASM Foundation Board members may serve as unpaid consultants on an application, however, this requires Executive Committee approval prior to submitting the application.

This grant is a two-stage application process, in which a letter of intent (LOI) is required prior to submission of a full application. Applicants will then be notified whether they will be invited to submit a full application.  If the LOI is not approved, the applicant may not apply for the grant.

Please note that the information submitted in the LOI (e.g., grant category, key personnel, research domain) is final and those invited to submit a full application will be bound by the content of their approved LOI unless a modification was specifically requested or approved by the AASM Foundation.

For applicants who voluntarily submit a LOI, the AASM Foundation Executive Committee will review all submitted LOIs. The following criteria will be considered in determining whether the applicant will be invited to submit a full application for consideration:

  1. Responsiveness: Responsiveness to one of the topic areas being requested as part of this RFA.
  2. Significance: Potential significance of the planned research in addressing important problems or critical barriers needed to progress the sleep medicine field.
  3. Strategic Goal Alignment: Alignment with the AASM Foundation’s strategic goal of improving patient-centered care through high impact research.

Once LOIs are reviewed, invitations will be sent out to applicants who have a favorably reviewed LOI so a full application may be submitted. For invited applicants who submit a full application, 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: Strong scientific premise of planned research in addressing important problems or critical barriers needed to progress the sleep medicine field.
  2. Investigators: Experience, training, and ongoing record of accomplishments of the principal investigator(s) and key personnel.
  3. Innovation: Use of novel theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions that challenge and seek to shift current research or clinical practice paradigms.
  4. Approach: Strategies to ensure a robust and unbiased approach, methodology, analyses, and benchmarks for success are well-reasoned and appropriate for the specific aims of the planned research.
  5. Environment: Institutional support, availability of equipment and other physical resources that contribute to the probability of success of the planned research.

Only materials submitted within the application will be used in the evaluation of applications. The AASM Foundation Executive Committee will submit funding recommendations to the AASM Foundation Board of Directors based on the Grant Review Committee scores and consideration of the AASM Foundation’s strategic priorities. The AASM Foundation Board of Directors will make the final funding decisions.

Category I Grants:

Payment #1 – Upon execution of contract 50%
Payment #2 – At project midpoint after approval of Progress Report 40%
Payment #3 – Upon receipt and approval of Final Report 10%

Category II and Category III Grants:

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 awarded, reallocation of funds of <10% do not require approval.

The AASM Foundation Strategic Research Grant supports high-impact research which will advance the diagnosis, treatment, and delivery of patient-centered care across the healthcare continuum for people with sleep disorders. The AASM Foundation intends that the research funded by this grant will lead to the publication of original research in peer-reviewed journals.

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.

During the project period, or shortly after project completion, the principal investigator will submit an abstract to the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS) for presentation at the annual SLEEP meeting. The AASM Foundation also anticipates that projects funded by this grant will lead to the publication of original research in peer-reviewed journals, such as the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

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.

Category I and Category II Grants:

Progress Report Annually
Final Report Within 90 days of grant completion

Category III Grants:

Progress Report 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.

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.

Frequently asked questions for our grant programs can be found here.

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.