The ADA Pathways to Stop Diabetes 2019 call for applications is closed. The previous call is below for your reference only.  This call for applications is scheduled to be update in 2020 and the deadline is anticipated to be in March/April of 2020. Please check the ECOR website and your emails from MGH Research News for updates. Click here to sign up to receive MGH Research News.

American Diabetes Association Pathways to Stop Diabetes 2019

MGH Letter of Intent Deadline
Tuesday, March 26, 2019 – 5:00 PM

 

DESCRIPTION OF THE AWARD


The American Diabetes Association Pathways to Stop Diabetes supports innovative basic, clinical, translational, epidemiological, behavioral, or health services research relevant to any diabetes type, diabetes-related disease state, or diabetes complication. The Association seeks exceptional candidates from a broad range of disciplines, including medicine, biology, chemistry, computing, physics, mathematics and engineering.

MGH is eligible to nominate one candidate. MGH Letters of Intent will be reviewed and assessed by a panel of senior MGH faculty members.  Selected applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal for a final round of internal review at MGH. Letters of intent and invited full proposals must be submitted through MGH ECOR's Online Grant Management Portal by the MGH PI or their delegate. One person will then be selected to submit their full application to ADA, which must be submitted by Monday, July 1, 2019.

 

AWARD AMOUNT

This award will be up to $1,625,000 with a project period of up to 7 years. Funding is granted in two phases, with transition to Phase 2 funding contingent on the success of Phase 1, as evidenced by productivity and continued dedication to diabetes research. Please note that for the Initiator Award, the foundation only covers 10% IDC. For the Accelerator and Visionary Awards, the foundation will cover up to 30% IDC.

This funding opportunity is not exempt from the 15% indirect cost (IDC) floor minimum. However, ECOR policy states that for MGH investigators selected through a competitive process as the institutional nominee for the Smith Family Foundation Odyssey Award, in which the grant will bring in less than 15% indirect cost (IDC), ECOR will cover the IDC gap up to a maximum of $50,000 per year.

DEADLINES    

Letters of intent deadline:  Tuesday, March 26, 2019 - 5:00 p.m.
Invitation to submit full proposals:  Early April 2019
Full proposals due​:  Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Notification to nominee:  Early June 2019
Sponsor deadline: Monday, July 1, 2019
 
ELIGIBILITY
  • Applicants must have a full-time primary appointment at MGH.
  • Applicants must hold a MD, PhD, DMD, DO, PharmD, DVM or an equivalent health- or science-related degree.
  • Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. or U.S. possessions either as a U.S. citizen or permanent resident or with appropriate work visas/permits.
  • Applicants are required to devote at least 75% of total time and effort towards research during the period of Association funding.  Each award type requires the awardee to devote a minimum percent effort to each project. See below for details. This percentage includes time dedicated to the Association-funded grant in addition to grants supported by other funding agencies.
AWARD TYPES
 
MGH is allowed a maximum of one nomination. The nomination can be in one of the three available Pathway award types:
 
  • Initiator: For post-doctoral talent on the cusp of their research careers, Initiator Awards provide the means to establish independent careers, hire staff and—most importantly—focus completely on conducting their innovative research. The two-part funding is designed to support the transition from trainee to independent investigator. Applicants can have no more than seven years of training since their terminal doctoral degree.  A minimum of 75-100% effort in Phase I, 50-75% effort in Phase 2 is required. Applicants cannot concurrently hold an NIH K99/R00 grant.
  • Accelerator: This award is designed to support exceptional, independent early-career researchers who have distinguished themselves as promising investigators and are in the beginning stages of establishing successful, sustainable diabetes research programs. A minimum of 25-50% effort towards the Accelerator Award is required.  Applicants may currently hold independent NIH funding (K, U or R awards, including an initial R01/U01) but must not have applied for (regardless of outcome), or received, an R01/U01 renewal or a second R01/U01 award.   
  • Visionary:  For experienced investigators with demonstrated success in another field who are interested in applying their considerable skills and expertise to diabetes research. Visionary Awards are highly competitive and provide support for particularly innovative and transformational ideas that have the potential to have an exceptional impact in diabetes. A minimum of 25-50% effort towards the Visionary award is required.  Applicants cannot have previously received national grant support (NIH, NIDDK, ADA, JDRF, etc.), as either a PI or Co-PI, in diabetes or diabetes-related research.
 
REVIEW CRITERIA
 
Scientific excellence is the primary benchmark to be evaluated for all Pathway applications, with an emphasis on the investigator’s potential to significantly impact the field of diabetes research. The proposed research strategy serves as a reflection of the individual’s capacity for innovation, creativity and collaboration. The review will include the following components:
        • Principal Investigator
                − Strong potential/proven ability to establish independent diabetes research program
                − Strong potential/proven ability for creativity, collaboration and innovation
                − Institutional commitment
        • Research Strategy
                − Clear evidence of a new direction of research significant to the field of                                                       diabetes (Visionary only)
                − Clarity of thought and approach
                − Innovation and creativity
                − Potential impact for understanding/treatment of diabetes

 

MGH LETTER OF INTENT REQUIREMENTS

The MGH Letter of Intent must include the following 4 items:  

  1. Project Title
  2. Award Type: Initiator, Accelerator, or Visionary (Choose one)
  3. Letter of Intent (maximum of 1-2 pages)
  4. Principal Investigator's NIH Biosketch. Use the current NIH biosketch format. Click here for a sample NIH biosketch.  

FORMAT GUIDELINES

  • Use margins of one inch or greater on all four sides.
  • Use Arial 11pt font size.
  • Upload PDF documents only.  Limit characters to A-Z, a-z and 0-9 when naming PDF documents.  Do not use periods, commas or dashes in the file name.

HOW TO APPLY
 

ECOR accepts all applications online via the ECOR Online Grant Management Portal.  The system has been designed to allow users to:

  • Create a personal profile, which will auto-populate your future ECOR applications
  • Assign a delegate to submit applications on your behalf (optional)
  • View current calls and apply to open opportunities 
  • Save and edit current applications in progress
  • Submit completed applications.

Instructions for Applying Online:

  1. Create your account: Log in using your Partners credentials and fill-out the profile information.
  2. Complete the application: Once your profile is complete, you will automatically progress through the online application. If you cannot complete the application at one time, “save” the application and return to it at a later time to finish. Before submitting your application, you will have the ability to make changes to the application.
  3. Submit your application: Once you have completed the application click on the “submit” button at the bottom of the page. Once you submit it, you will not be able to make further changes unless you send a request to ECOR (note that once the deadline passes, requests to make changes will not be accepted).

Useful tips:

  • To avoid losing your work, remember to save frequently
  • You can only upload PDF documents
  • If you previously created a profile, please ensure your information is current prior to submitting an application.

Click 'Apply' below to begin the application.

QUESTIONS
If you have any questions, please email ECOR.

Click here to visit the American Diabetes Association website.

Click here to read about the six ADA Pathways grant recipients from last year.

____________________________________________________________________________

 

FULL APPLICATION INFORMATION (for invited applicants only): Applicants will receive an email from ECOR with an invitation to submit a full proposal.  Invited applicants must follow the guidelines below to submit a full proposal by the Tuesday, May 7, 2019 MGH deadline. 

        1. Annotated Publications (limit 1 page, 5 references)

        2. Essay Question Responses (limit 1 page) 

        3. Abstract

        4. Research strategy (limit of 4 pages): limit references to 1 page within the 4 page limit.

        5. Budget justification (limit of 1 page)

        6. Collaborator(s) Biographical Sketch(es) (Optional) 

Please note: The sponsor requires the IRB and/or IACUC approval only if it's obtained by the sponsor's application submission deadline.  The IRB and/or IACUC approval is not required for the MGH LOI or invited full proposal.
    

 

QUESTIONS 

  • Any questions regarding the submission and process please email ECOR.