Ethel & Jack Hausman Clinical Research Scholars Award

The objective of the Ethel & Jack Hausman Clinical Research Scholars Award is to assist institutions in the United States (only) to foster promising clinician-investigators early in their careers and to help in their establishment as independent researchers in areas of direct relevance to cerebral palsy. The emphasis of this award is as much on research training as it is on the research itself. Candidates for the Award must either be citizens of the United States or have permanent residency status.

The Award is in the amount of $75,000 a year for each of three years. The funds can be used at the discretion of the awardee within the purposes of the Award, the broad confines of the annual approved budget and grantee institutional policy. Supplemental funding from other sources is encouraged. It is expected that Award funds will be used as necessary and appropriate to further the objectives of the Award: the conduct of a clinical research and educational program relevant to cerebral palsy. A minimal commitment of 60 percent research effort is a requirement of the Award. The clinical research program must be patient-based or a combined laboratory–patient endeavor.

Candidates for the Award will have completed their formal clinical, graduate, and/or fellowship training. Additional opportunities for formal or informal research training are strongly encouraged during the Award. Special explanation of the need for the Award is required of applicants who have completed a research career development award from government or other organizations. It is expected each Awardee will have an appointment in an academic institution and have a clearly identified sponsor who will serve as a mentor and consultant.

The bar is set high for this award. Applicants must indicate a plan for two or more scientific or clinical publications each of the three years and submission of a subsequent research grant proposal in the second year to a non-CPIRF source. Continued funding each year is contingent on meeting these milestones.

A mandatory Letter of Intent is due January 15, 2013 (see address below). When invited to submit a full proposal, the deadline for the receipt of applications is March 1, 2013.

1. The letter should not exceed one typewritten page. It should briefly summarize:

• Importance of the award for one’s career development;
• Relevance of the award to clinical or scientific aspects of cerebral palsy;
• The research question being addressed and the research design of the proposal;
• The potential impact on the applicant’s career in cerebral palsy research.

2. Include a brief CV (NIH biosketch format) of the applicant.

3. In contrast to the research awards, there are no designated research priorities within the field of cerebral palsy for the Hausman Award.

Click here to download Hausman Award Application

Research Grant Program

The Foundation provides funding for pilot studies on research important to the prevention, cure, and treatment of cerebral palsy, including improvement in the quality of life of persons with disabilities due to cerebral palsy. This broad research agenda includes basic, clinical and applied research in the biomedical and bioengineering sciences. Research grant applications are reviewed for scientific merit by independent referees, the Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Council, and finally, by the Foundation’s Board of Directors. Grants are awarded on a competitive basis taking into account scientific merit, scientific and clinical significance, and relevance to cerebral palsy. Grants are generally awarded for up to 2 years at a maximum of $50,000 a year.

The preparation and review of research grant applications requires a great deal of time and effort for all persons and organizations involved. In order to expedite the process, the following procedure is used for the submission of research grant proposals to the Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation.

A mandatory “Letter of Intent” must be submitted (see address below) prior to the submission of a full application (due January 15, 2013). On the basis of the review of the letter, the investigator will be advised within two weeks whether the Foundation will accept a full application.

1. The letter should not exceed one typewritten page. It should briefly summarize:

• Relevance of the project to cerebral palsy.
• The research question being addressed and the research design of the proposal.
• The potential impact of the results of the project on the biology of or clinical implications for cerebral palsy.

2. In addition to the one-page summary, the Letter of Intent should include a brief CV (NIH biosketch format) of the principal investigator.

3. For the 2013 research grant competition, the following exclusive priorities have been identified. No proposals will be considered that do not address one or more of these priorities:

• Charting and understanding loss of physical mobility through the lifespan, especially in adulthood, in persons with CP. Research may examine the role of therapy (or lack of), assistive devices, accelerated musculo-skeletal aging, pain, environmental factors (physical, social, financial), brain changes, weakness, or others. The goal of such research should be to prevent loss of physical mobility.
• Application of state-of-the-art imaging to identify and understand changes in and correlations between brain structure and function following injury to the basal ganglia in the immature brain and in recovery (including response to interventions). Research focused on the basal ganglia in dyskinetic (extrapyramidal) cerebral palsy is particularly encouraged and will receive priority.
• Development and/or exploration of highly innovative therapeutic approaches to CP that are likely to have significant functional benefit and which are consistent with and demonstrate neurophysiological principles underlying restoration, recruitment or reorganization of brain structures (i.e. plasticity). Research may involve animal models or humans with developmental brain injuries and may range from “pure” exercise paradigms to device-augmented or pharmacologically-enhanced approaches.

4. A complete Research Grant Application would be accepted following review and approval of the Letter of Intent. Once the Letter of Intent has been approved and notification of the approval received, a research grant application must be submitted by March 1, 2013. After merit review, the applicant will be advised if the proposal will be submitted to the Foundation’s Board of Directors for consideration for funding.

5. All research grant applications in the competitive scientific merit review priority range are presented to the Foundation’s Board of Directors for funding consideration (usually at its October meeting). Applicants are advised that the Board of Directors cannot guarantee funding for all of the projects in the priority range.

If you have any questions about the Foundation’s research grant program, please contact the Foundation at the following:

Jacqueline Carmosino
Administrative Director
Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation
186 Princeton Hightstown Road; Building 4; 2nd Floor
Princeton Junction, NJ 08550
Phone: 609-452-1200
Fax: 609-452-1201
Email: jcarmosino@cpirf.org

Click here to download Research Grant Application

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