Registration Has Closed
Letter of Intent due April 23, 2021
The ALS Association’s Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral fellowship grant program supports the development of new scientists in the field of ALS by funding junior postdoctoral fellows doing research of high scientific merit and relevance to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Overview
The ALS Association Global Research Program leads the scientific community in finding effective treatments and cure for ALS, and a better life for people with ALS, their caregivers, and families. The ALS Association is the largest philanthropic funder of ALS research worldwide, and our efforts have led to some of the most promising and significant advances in ALS research.
The ALS Association is proud to support the development of new scientists through the Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellowship. The Safenowitz family, through The Greater New York Chapter of The ALS Association, founded the award in memory of Mr. Safenowitz, who died of ALS in 1998. These awards are to encourage and facilitate promising young scientists to enter the ALS field. Fellows work with a senior mentor and receive extensive exposure to the ALS research community through meetings and presentations. After completing this fellowship, over 75 percent of the awardees stay in ALS research. They go on to establish their own laboratories to continue studying ALS and mentor more ALS researchers along the way. Other postdoctoral fellows have moved on to successful careers in industry, medical writing, and non-profit organizations.
Topics of Interest (Scope)
We are especially interested in Fellowships supporting the following:
- Studies for new target validation including in animal models, and human cell models.
- Studies that would elucidate target or pathway biology in disease-relevant models, including defining upstream/downstream modifiers and convergence of promising target pathways.
- Studies of risk factors that could ultimately reduce the risk of developing ALS including studies of genetic risk factors, epigenetics, gene-environment interactions, lifestyle, occupational or dietary factors and epidemiology.
- Studies of new biomarker identification, and development and/or validation of biomarker assays.
- Studies to help people living with ALS, including development and/or validation of novel assistive technology and measurement of patient/caregiver/family burden.
PLEASE NOTE: Priority will be given to specific biological targets and areas of research not previously funded through this program in the last three years. Proposals with significant overlap to already funded work will likely not be considered. To view the previous fellowships awarded through this program, please visit The ALS Association’s Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellowship Program section on our website.
Funding and Eligibility
Budgets for total direct costs up to $75,000 per year may be requested ($150,000 total direct costs for two years of support). Indirect costs are not provided for postdoctoral fellowship awards. Individuals who have the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research and have an existing postdoctoral fellowship, including the support of their mentor. Applicants who have been fellows for less than two years by the time the award starts are eligible to apply.
Deadlines
- Letter of Intent Due Date: April 23, 2021 5 p.m. US ET
- Full Application Due Date (by invite only): June 25, 2021, 5 p.m. US ET
- Anticipated Award Decision: September 2021
- Anticipated Earliest Start Date: October 2021*
*Note: The start date should be prior to January 31, 2022.
Online Submission
To Register for a proposalCENTRAL account, create a new Letter of Intent or to access an existing saved Letter of Intent, please visit: https://proposalcentral.com/
User Guides for proposalCENTRAL:
Questions
We encourage inquiries concerning this funding opportunity and welcome the opportunity to answer questions from potential applicants. Submit general questions and other related correspondence to ResearchGrants@als.org.
