Military-Connected Research

 

Home Base, a Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Dept. of Psychiatry Program, is providing catalyst funding to be used towards innovative and novel military-focused research. The purpose of this grant funding is to stimulate the entry of new ideas and exciting approaches to research designed to yield meaningful impact for Veterans, Active-Duty Service Members and Military-Connected Families. Data from catalyst awards can then be used to seek additional, larger-scale funding from other funding entities to conduct additional investigations. Home Base is specifically interested in advancing one or more of the following areas of clinical or translational research related to invisible wounds such as:

• Post-traumatic stress and its most common comorbidities including but not limited to depressive, anxiety, and substance use disorders.
• TBI and its most common comorbidities including but not limited to depressive, anxiety, and sleep disorders.
• The impact of the invisible wounds on the service member’s or veteran’s family relationships, as well as interventions to improve these relationships.
• Interventions to improve wellness among service members and veterans, irrespective of specific clinical diagnoses.

Applications will be reviewed and evaluated by the Home Base Scientific Advisory Council based on their scientific merit, the quality of the research team, the project design, budget, and the likelihood the project will generate novel findings relevant to the invisible wounds.  We plan to provide $150,000 in total funding, distributed according to project merit, timeframe and number of awards.  The project period for your proposal can be either one year or two years.  One-year projects can receive up to $50,000 in total funding, and 2-year projects up to $100,000 in total funding, inclusive of 20% indirect costs. Recipients will be expected to present their interim and final findings to the Home Base Program, provide annual progress reports to the Home Base Scientific Advisory Council, and acknowledge the support in any presentations or publications that result from this research.

 

About Home Base

Home Base is dedicated to healing invisible wounds; traumatic brain injury (TBI), post-traumatic stress (PTS) and related conditions, for Veterans of all eras, Service Members, Military Families and Families of the Fallen through world-class clinical care, wellness, education, and research. Home Base is the only private sector clinic in New England, and the largest private sector clinic in America with the sole focus of helping at-risk Veterans and Military Families regain the lives they once had. By caring for Veterans in a family-based clinic, and by working in cooperation with the Veterans Administration (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD), Home Base serves as the model of excellence for promoting the health and well-being of Veterans nationwide. All care is provided at no cost to the Veteran or Family Member thanks to support from a Grateful Nation.

 

APPLICATIONS DUE: Friday, June 2, 2023 by 5:00 pm

FUNDING PERIOD: October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2025

 

SCOPE OF AWARDS

Successful applications must demonstrate the following:

• An outstanding multidisciplinary team committed to solving a pressing challenge in the field. Team members should have a track record of successful teamwork, although may be new to the team proposed for this grant.
• Evidence of a compelling long-term vision that extends well-beyond the duration of the catalyst award, and toward measurable improvement in patient health and well-being.

 

ELIGIBILITY

• Principal investigator(s) must hold an MGB faculty appointment in any department.  For more details, please see the PI Eligibility Policy.
• Awards are for new projects and should not extend ongoing or previous work.
• Awards are not intended to be used as bridging support.

 

APPLICATIONS WILL BE EVALUATED ON

• Potential to generate findings that will transform the field..
• Potential to catalyze growth of cross-disciplinary military-focused research at MGB
• Scientific merit and novelty.
• Likelihood that preliminary data will be generated that could attract additional funding from federal, industry, or philanthropic sources.

 

EXPENSES FOR WHICH FUNDS MAY BE USED

Funds may be used at investigator’s discretion for completion of the project, for example:

• Salary support (PI, co-investigator, RA, post-doc)
• Research supplies
• Equipment
• Meeting support

 

REVIEW PROCESS

Applications will be evaluated and ranked for funding priority by a Scientific Advisory Council consisting of senior researchers and advisors from across the hospital. The SAC recommendations will be submitted to Home Base leadership for final approval. Applicants will be notified by September 1, 2023.

 

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

The application requires the following items to be submitted:

 

1. Title of Research Project

 

2. Project Proposal (2-page limit, excluding references; PDF only) to include a description of the problem to be solved; long-term strategy and how this award will provide the essential first step toward success. This section should include:

• Precise description of the problem to be solved
• Specific aims
• Background and significance
• Preliminary data (optional)
• Experimental design and methods
• Next steps & long-term impact

 

3. Performance Sites & Key Personnel (2-page limit; PDF only)

 

4. NIH Biosketches for Key Personnel (PDF only). A sample NIH-formatted biosketch can be found here: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms/biosketch.htm

 

5. NIH-formatted Other Support page for lead investigator(s) (PDF only). Be sure to list all current and pending research support including dollar amounts. A sample NIH-formatted Other Support page can be found here: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms/othersupport.htm

 

6. Proposed Budget (PDF only).  Please use the MGB RM Budget Template located at https://partnershealthcare.sharepoint.com/sites/phrmResources/Pages/Forms.aspx

       Convert Tabs 2, 3, and 5 to PDFs, and merge these into a single PDF.

 

7.    Budget Justification (2-page limit, PDF only). Please describe:

• MGB Personnel: Briefly describe the role of each individual, and anticipated effort (time) budgeted.
• Independent Contractors / Consultants (if applicable)
• Materials & Supplies (if applicable) – e.g. software, medical supplies, medications, equipment costing less than $5,000 per unit.
• Equipment (if applicable)
• Travel costs (if applicable)
• Subject renumeration (if applicable) – e.g. gift cards for study participants.
• Other costs (if applicable) – e.g. Core Services (researchcores.partners.org/cores)

 

HOW TO APPLY

We are now accepting applications online via the Mass General Research Institute Online Grant Management Portal. To apply, please click the "Apply" button at the bottom of this page.

This user-friendly system allows MGB researchers to submit electronic applications. The system has been designed to allow users to:

• Create a personal profile which will auto populate your future applications
• View current calls and apply to open opportunities
• Assign a delegate to submit an application on behalf of the applicant (optional)
• Save and edit current applications in progress
• Submit completed applications
• View all your applications that have been submitted via the online grants system

 

Instructions for Applying Online

1. Create your account: Login using your MGB 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@mgh.harvard.edu (note that once the deadline passes, request to make changes will not be accepted).

 

Useful tips:

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

 

Click apply below to start your application.

 

QUESTIONS

Please see our FAQ document to learn more. Please reach out to Alan Berkeley at aberkeley@mgh.harvard.edu  with additional questions. For technical questions about the Online Grant Management Portal, please email Katherine Book at kebook@mgh.harvard.edu.