Introduction

This page lists key dates for all the research programs and discusses procedures and processes common to all of the research grant categories.

For additional information, download the Program Announcement (45 pages). You may also contact grantsapp@alz.org or call 312.335.5747.

Key dates 2009

For more detailed information about specific types of grants, please click on the grant categories below.
Grant Competition	New Investi-gator Research Grant  (NIRG)	Investi-gator Initiated Research Grant  (IIRG)	Senator Mark Hatfield Award for Clinical Research	Zenith Fellows Award	Everyday Technolo-gies for Alzheimer Care Grant (ETAC)	New Investi-gator Research Grant to Promote Diversity(NIRGD)	Mentored New Investi-gator Research Grant to Promote Diversity (MNIRGD)	Molecular Imaging in Alzheimer's Disease Grant (MIAD)
Letter of intent:	Open Receipt Date: September 26, 2008 Deadline Date: December 1, 2008, 5:00 PM EST
Application deadline date:	January 8, 2009, 5:00 PM EST
Review process:	February – May 2009
Award announcement:	July 2009
Number of awards:	Anticipate funding 30	Anticipate funding 55	Anticipate funding 1	Anticipate funding 5	Anticipate funding 4	Anticipate funding up to 5 NIRGD & MNIRGD awards combined		Anticipate funding 3
Requests per year (in any given year) may not exceed:	$60,000	$100,000	$112,500	$250,000	$90,000	$60,000	$60,000	$200,000
Maximum per award:	$100,000	$240,000	$225,000	$450,000	$200,000	$100,000	$150,000	$400,000
Maximum number of years:	2	3	3	3	3	2	3	2-3

 

Scientists from underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply. The funding level for fiscal year 2008 was 21 percent of submitted applications. 

Scientific categories of proposals

Each proposal must be submitted to a specific grant competition. In addition, all applicants in every competition are asked to classify their proposals according to four broad categories of scientific inquiry:
(1) social and behavioral research
(2) clinical investigations
(3) basic biology 
(4) adaptive technology.
During second-level review, these categories help the Alzheimer’s Association Medical and Scientific Advisory Council ensure a balanced, well-distributed award portfolio.

Topics that would fall into the four cross-competition categories might include, but are not limited to:

1. Social and behavioral research (relevant to the NIRG, IIRG, ETAC, Hatfield, NIRGD and MNIRGD competitions): research in diverse populations; assessment of novel approaches to care and support of diagnosed individuals and caregivers; special needs of early-stage and early-onset individuals; analysis of the impact of the physical and social environment; evaluation of services and interventions; quality of life; ethical issues; and health policy.

2. Clinical investigations (relevant to all competitions): projects in which the majority of data is derived directly from studies involving active participation of human subjects. Examples include pilot studies of new therapies; neuropsychological testing; drug administration; biomarker collection; imaging technology; and risk factors including genetics, cardiovascular issues, diabetes and metabolic factors and lifestyle issues. In vitro projects conducted in human samples should be categorized as basic biology rather than clinical work.

3. Basic biology (relevant to NIRG, IIRG, Zenith, NIRGD, MNIRGD and MIAD competitions): these are bench science projects involving in vitro or animal work pertaining to the causes of dementia; early and accurate detection and diagnosis; animal models; treatments; and prevention. Please note that in vitro work involving human samples falls into this category.

4. Adaptive technology (relevant to NIRG, IIRG, ETAC, Hatfield, NIRGD and MNIRGD competitions): research focusing on the use of emerging technologies and their clinical and social implications, including mobile computing, high-bandwidth sensing, “smart” environments, robotics, imaging, face recognition, natural language processing and behavioral monitoring for early detection.

Please note that there are a few cases in which certain scientific categories do not apply to specific grant competitions. Applicability of categories to competitions is summarized in the table below.

 

	Scientific Category	NIRG	IIRG	Zenith	ETAC	Hatfield	NIRGD	MNIRGD	MIAD
	Social/ behavioral	X	X		X	X	X	X
	Clinical	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
	Basic biology	X	X	X			X	X	X
	Adaptive technology	X	X		X	X	X	X

Eligibility, ineligibility and nondiscrimination statement

To avoid disqualification, investigators are encouraged to carefully consider these eligibility and ineligibility requirements before applying.

Eligibility

In general, public, private, domestic and foreign research laboratories, medical centers, hospitals and universities are eligible to apply, with the exception of state and federal government-appropriated laboratories and for-profit organizations, which are prohibited from serving as the applicant institution. However, state and federal government scientists can participate as collaborating scientists with research teams from other eligible applicant institutions. During the LOI or the Application stage, you may be asked to provide proof of your organization’s not-for-profit status.

Ineligibility

This section describes general exclusion criteria. Specific requirements and additional exclusions to eligibility are noted in some detailed competition descriptions.

1. Overlapping funding of more than one Alzheimer's Association grant is not allowed. Investigators who are receiving an active Association grant may apply for another award in the last year of their grant if that last year concludes by June 30th before the start of the new funding year on July 1.

2. Investigators delinquent in reporting: The Alzheimer's Association will not accept new grant applications from currently funded investigators who are delinquent in submitting interim/final scientific reports or interim/final financial reports on active grants. This policy will be strictly adhered to with no exceptions.

3. Current and past holders of a Zenith Fellows Award will not be considered for another award in the Zenith competition.

4. Members of the Association's Medical and Scientific Advisory Council are ineligible to compete for any research grant.

5. Postdoctoral fellows are not eligible to apply for any Alzheimer's Association grant, except in one special case. Applications for a New Investigator Research Grant (NIRG), New Investigator Research Grant to Promote Diversity (NIRGD) and Mentored New Investigator Research Grant to Promote Diversity (MNIRGD) will be accepted from postdocs who can provide a letter indicating they will have a full-time faculty position, such as an assistant professorship, by the application deadline. The letter of employment must be on hiring institution letterhead and must indicate that the position will be activated by the grant award date. If the anticipated position is not activated by the award date for any reason, any offer of funding will be withdrawn.

6. Checks are awarded to the institution, not to the individual principal investigator.  The signing official and the financial officer cannot be the principal investigator.

Nondiscrimination statement

The Alzheimer's Association values diversity and seeks applicants from diverse backgrounds.  The Alzheimer's Association does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, color, nationality or ethnic origin, age, disability, or status as a Vietnam Era Veteran or disabled veteran, in the administration of educational policies, programs or activities.

Submitting a letter of intent online via Proposal CENTRAL

The first step in applying to the Alzheimer's Association for any research grant is to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) through the proposalCENTRAL online application system at http://proposalcentral.altum.com. First-time users must register and fill out a Professional Profile in proposalCENTRAL to begin the application process. In addition, you must register to become a reviewer (if you have not done so already) to be able to submit your LOI. It is required that you review at least one grant proposal within your area of expertise, outside of the grant competition to which you are applying.

The LOI and completed application must be submitted by a single principal investigator (PI). Additionally, a PI cannot submit an LOI that had been approved or rejected during a previous grant cycle. All LOIs must be approved or rejected in the current grant cycle. Hard copies of the LOI will not be accepted. The purpose of the LOI is to ensure that all applicants are eligible for the competition they are applying to and to assist Association staff in planning for peer reviews. LOIs will not be accepted after the deadline date. No exceptions will be made.

The LOI must include:

• Name of the principal investigator

• Contact information for the principal investigator (complete mailing address, telephone number, fax number and e-mail address)

• Institution(s) involved in the research proposal

• Title of the investigation

• Area of focus of the submission, such as diverse populations, social and behavioral, or biological, as outlined in Section II of the program announcement.

• Grant competition for which you are applying (Investigator-Initiated Research Grant, New Investigator Research Grant, Zenith Fellows Award, Hatfield Award, Everyday Technologies for Alzheimer Care Grant, New Investigator Research Grant to Promote Diversity, Mentored New Investigator Research Grant to Promote Diversity or Molecular Imaging in Alzheimer’s Disease Grant)

• Brief rationale for the proposal
  

Online application via Proposal CENTRAL

Once the online LOI is approved, an e-mail notification will be sent granting access to the on-line application at proposalCENTRAL. The online system must be used to submit a grant application – hard copies of the application will not be accepted.

The PI who submits the LOI must be the same PI who submits the application. LOIs submitted on behalf of other applicants will result in a rejected application. Once the applicant enters the application system, on-screen instructions will be provided to complete the application process. The application does not need to be completed in one session; a partially completed application can be saved and completed at any time before the deadline.

(Important Note: It is imperative that you proofread your application before submission; you will not be allowed to make any changes to the application after the deadline).

It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure and to verify that:

1. The application is received by the receipt date/time deadline

2. The application is complete and correct before submission. Only a single copy of an application will be accepted. Signatures are not required at the time of submission.

3. Revisions, additional materials, letters of collaboration and/or reference, manuscripts, appendices, etc., are not allowed and if attached, will be removed from your application. Additionally, we are no longer accepting the above under a separate email.

 

Multiple and overlapping submissions

If separate proposals are submitted to different grant competitions, each proposal submitted must address a distinctly different topic.  Only one proposal will be funded if scores for multiple submissions fall within the funding range of different grant competitions.

Applicants cannot submit two proposals in the same grant competition — even if the proposals cover distinctly different topics.

Applicants may revise and resubmit an application that was previously submitted for an earlier grant cycle; however, an LOI is required each year. A current LOI corresponding to the application year must accompany each application. Revisions of previous submissions will be treated as new applications. Efforts will be made to provide some continuity in reviews.

Overlapping funding of more than one Alzheimer's Association grant is not allowed. Investigators who are receiving an active Association grant may apply for another award in the last year of their grant if that last year concludes by June 30 before the start of the new funding year, which begins on July 1.

Review procedures

All proposals are subject to a two-stage peer-review process carried out with an on-line system. In the first stage, applications are reviewed and rated by three to four peer scientists with expertise in the proposed area of research. The second stage includes further review and discussion of the scores and comments resulting from the initial review process. This second review is carried out by the Medical and Scientific Advisory Council of the Alzheimer's Association to ensure fairness and equity in the initial review procedures and to make funding recommendations to the Association. Members of this Council are internationally recognized experts with distinguished careers in Alzheimer's and related dementias.

This two-stage process is central to our award decisions and is designed to ensure both scientific rigor and fairness to all submitted applications.

Appeals of scientific peer review

To maintain a fair and rigorous review system, the Alzheimer’s Association has established a process for appeal of funding decisions. An appeal is intended to address extraordinary circumstances. Appropriate reasons for initiating an appeal might include:

• Evidence that a reviewer has an undeclared conflict of interest

• An egregious error or misunderstanding in the review process

• Active malfeasance or demonstrable lack of due diligence

The appeal process is not intended to provide a mechanism for routine protest of failure to receive a grant. Disparities in peer reviewers’ enthusiasm for a proposal and the scores they assign are nearly always considered part of the normal variation in human judgment. The reality is that the Alzheimer’s Association research grants program is extremely competitive and is limited by availability of funds. In recent grant cycles, 15 to 21 percent of proposals have been awarded grants, although about twice that number fall into the “fundable” category based on overall score.

If an applicant believes an extraordinary circumstance has contributed to failure to receive funding, the principal investigator may send a two-page, double-spaced formal letter of appeal to grantsappeals@alz.org. Appeals must be submitted by July 24, 2009, 5:00 p.m. EST to be considered. Notification of action on the appeal will be made via email usually within 30 days of the appeal deadline.

Animal welfare and human subject protection

Animal welfare and human subject certifications are not required at the time of application. Investigators have up to 90 days after receipt of their award notification to submit these documents. However, the Alzheimer’s Association encourages investigators to initiate their certification applications on a schedule that recognizes the fact that IRB/IACUC approval at many institutions can take more than 90 days. The Association accepts only certifications that apply specifically to the funded project. An award letter will not be issued unless the appropriate certifications are in place within the 90-day window.

Contact information

This program announcement is posted on the Web site of the Alzheimer's Association at www.alz.org/2009grantsprogram. For additional information, contact grantsapp@alz.org or call 312.335.5747 or 312.335.5889.