Grants
MGH DACCPM Internal Research Grants
Program Description
Research activities are an integral aspect of the departments mission to advance patient care, education, research innovation and community service. To support these research activities, the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine provides funding for early and mid-career physician scientists for the conduct of their clinical research studies. The goal of these grant mechanisms is to stimulate clinical research in the DACCPM and aid in the development of projects that may ultimately receive extramural funding for investigators who aim to transition to independence.
Current grant funding opportunities for clinical research include the Clinical Seed Grants (CSG) and the Clinical Project Grants (CPG).
Clinical Seed Grant
The goal of the Clinical Seed Grant mechanism is to stimulate clinical research in the DACCPM and to facilitate research by the clinical faculty across all divisions. This award mechanism supports all subject areas and provides funding of up to $5,000 for a period of up to one year. Up to five Clinical Project Grants will be awarded each year. Emphasis will be placed on subject matter diversity across clinical divisions.
Clinical Project Grant
The goal of the Clinical Project Grant is to provide the opportunity to obtain preliminary data for future grant applications. This award mechanism supports all subject areas and provides funding of up to $50,000 for a period of one year. Applicants requesting more than $25,000 in direct funds must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) at least one month prior to the grant deadline. Up to two Clinical Project Grants will be awarded each year.
Important Deadlines
| Online Application Opens | June 1 |
| Letter of Intent Due | July 31 |
| Applications Due | September 1 at 5:00pm EST |
| Merit Review by Clinical Research Study Section | September 30 |
| Award Notification | October |
| Project Period Begins (Pending IRB Approval) | January 1 |
Eligibility
The applicant must meet all of the following eligibility requirements:
- – CRNAs or faculty members (MD or PhD) who hold HMS appointment of Instructor, Assistant Professor or Associate Professor
- – Active member of the MGH DACCPM throughout the duration of the award
- – Additional Requirements for the Clinical Project Grant: Demonstrated track record of academic research
Faculty members who currently hold or who have previously held extramural grants (excluding NIH R01 and K grants) will be eligible to apply, but priority will be given to applicants without funding. Recipients of the Clinical Project Grant award who later receive significant (R01 or equivalent) extramural funding for the same project will be expected to relinquish this award. The DACCPM research grants are not intended for established investigators who are changing areas of interest.
Only applications for clinical research projects, defined as the study of human subjects and/or their data or specimens, will be accepted. This may include but is not limited to studies involving direct contact with human subjects, outcomes research, health services, epidemiologic or behavioral research studies. These grant mechanisms are not intended to support basic science or bench research.
Financial Information
Clinical Seed Grants are limited to a maximum of $5,000 and the Clinical Project Grant to $50,000 in direct costs, however appropriate funds should be requested based on the research needs. The duration of each grant will be no more than 12 months. Funding can be used to cover research expenses such as supplies, equipment, patient care costs (ex. study medications), remunerations and other miscellaneous research expenses. Equipment may include special computing needs (e.g., software, if clearly tied to the project). No support will be provided for travel to conferences, publication costs, tuition or standard equipment (including computers and computer components). Awards are not intended to support salaries or to buy non-clinical time. Funds can be allocated for external consultants or services however, provided there is no internal expertise available for the proposed project. Indirect costs should not be included in the submitted budget. All funds must be expensed by the end of the funding period unless permission is granted.
Investigators are permitted to submit one application each year in each of the grant categories. If appropriate, applicants may submit both a Clinical Seed and Project Grant, however they may not be for the same project. Awards are limited to one grant per faculty member per year. A grant may be considered for renewal for a second year only if there is strong evidence that the additional work will significantly enhance the potential for extramural support and there are funds available. A no-cost extension of up to 12 months may be requested, if justification for the extension is provided and approved. If a no-cost extension is requested, a progress report with budget justification should be submitted three months prior to the project end date. A maximum of one no-cost extension will be allowed per grant. Awardees who receive a no-cost extension will not be allowed to apply for another grant until the following year.
Effort for Clinical Research Staff: Given its commitment to supporting clinical research in the department, services and effort from the Anesthesia Research Center (ARC) will be made available to successful applicants to supplement the clinical research awards. This includes effort from ARC statisticians, data scientists, and clinical research coordinators, as needed, for the conduct of the proposed project. Investigators who hope to receive support from ARC in any capacity (effort, data queries, space/equipment, etc.) must contact ARC prior to grant submission for approval.
Evaluation
Full grant applications will be peer-reviewed by members of the Department’s Clinical Research Study Section under the supervision of the Anesthesia Research Center. The reviewers may ask for comments from someone outside the committee, if necessary.
The final funding decision will be made by the Anesthesia Clinical Research Study Section in consultation with the Anesthesia Research Center and if needed, the Vice Chair for Research and/or Anesthetist-in-Chief. The grant/protocol must have approval from the Mass General Brigham Institutional Review Board (IRB) before the project can be funded.
A formal report of the grant review will be sent to all applicants. Proposals can be re-submitted only once after the initial submission.
Reporting
Each awardee must submit a final written report that include narrative description of accomplishments related to the research as well as list of any abstracts and publications produced, or additional grant funding secured. A complete list of expenses will be submitted at the completion of the award. Expenses should be as budgeted only. If necessary, during the course of the award recipients will be asked to present their updates to the Anesthesia Research Center to ensure milestones are adhered to.
Presentation at the MGH DACCPM Clinical Research Annual Meeting
Awardees will be required to present a brief overview of their project at the completion of the project during the Annual DACCPM Clinical Research Night in October or at an alternate departmental research presentation.
Submission Information
All applications must be submitted by 5pm EST through the online portal using the link below. Late submissions will not be accepted.
Formatting
Submissions must be typed in Arial font, size 11, single-spaced, with 0.5 inch margins. Smaller text in figures, graphs, diagrams and charts is acceptable as long as it is legible when the page is viewed at 100% Please adhere to all other NIH formatting requirements for page and line spacing.
Application Components
The online application includes information about the applicant and any collaborators. In addition, to the online application, the following items should be submitted as attachments:
| Attachment | Description | Page Limit(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Project Summary / Abstract | A succinct and accurate description of the proposed work. | 250 Words |
| Research Strategy | The research strategy should discuss the specific aims of the research, the background and significance, the study approach and methods, as well as the study timeline. For the Project grant, plans for a related grant submission should be delineated, as well as how the proposed project fits into the PI’s career goals. | Seed Grant: 2 pages Project Grant: 5 pages |
| Budget | Please provide a brief but detailed list of budgeted items in accordance with the financial information above. Only direct costs should be included. No salary support is provided. | Please use the provided ARC template for submission. |
| Budget Justification | A narrative explanation of each of the components of the budget, which justifies the cost in terms of the proposed work. The explanations should focus on how each budget item is required to achieve the aims of the project and how the estimated costs in the budget were calculated. Please be sure to discuss roles and relevant experience of all personnel involved, as well as any collaborators or outside laboratories, if applicable. | Seed Grant: 1 page Project Grant: 2 pages |
| Biosketch | The PI’s biosketch, in the NIH format, is required for submission. Additional biosketches may be submitted for key study personnel such as research mentors, co-investigators collaborators, as appropriate in relation to the research project. | 5 pages per Biosketch |
| References | References should be cited in AMA style and referenced in the sequence they appear in the text. | N / A |
| Letter of Intent | A letter of intent is only required for Clinical Project Grants Requesting more than $25,000 in direct funds. Letters should be addressed to the ‘DACCPM Clinical Research Study Section’ and should be emailed directly to ARC. In addition to a concise description of the proposed project, the letter should include information about why more than $25,000 is required for the conduct of the proposed study. | 2 pages |
Contact
Although optional, applicants are encouraged to contact ARC early, as they may provide feedback and assistance in proposal development during the pre-award phase. Please also be sure to contact ARC with any questions about the grant or submission process (almueller@mgh.harvard.edu; 617-726-9252).
Click here to apply: https://mghanesthesiaresearch.com/grant_apply/
Previous Awardees
To find out more about previous awards, please visit the following link: https://mghanesthesiaresearch.com/awarded_grants