In line with SPARTAN’s vision to accelerate research in the field of Spondyloarthritis and to improve the care of patients with Axial Spondyloarthritis, this seed fund opportunity will support early career investigators who are working in the field of Axial Spondyloarthritis.
The goal is to support the early stages of a research project to generate preliminary data that will support grant applications to funding agencies such as NIH. 2 new grants will be supported (one basic/translational project and one clinical project). A maximum of $10,000 will be allocated per project per year. The application deadline is March 31, 2020 12:00 noon EST.
Eligibility
– Applicants must be SPARTAN members,
– Within first 5 years of starting their first faculty research position, and
– Appointed at the level of Assistant Professor or Clinical Instructor (not higher)
Use of funds
The funds can be used for activities directly linked to the proposal including expendables, services or salary/stipend of fellows or technicians. The funds cannot be used for salary support of the PI. Institutional indirect costs are not supported.
Application:
Within a maximum of 5 pages, include the following sections in your application.
- Signed Cover Page with Title of the project, applicant contact information and supporting signature of the head of your institution (Division Chief, Research Director or Dean).
- Description – Abstract, Specific Aims, Preliminary results / Supporting Literature and Methods.
- Brief Budget justification (Maximum 250 words)
- Timeline for completion of project milestones
- Figures and References may be added as an appendix (Combined maximum 2 pages)
- BioSketch: Max 5 pages with publications from last 5 years.
- Letter of Support – from the Institution (stating availability of resources and space for the proposed project)
Adjudication
The scientific committee of SPARTAN and the peer review committee for this competition will review applications. Results will be announced to the applicants by April 28, 2020. The results will be announced to the membership at the annual SPARTAN meeting.
Requirements
Grant recipients must acknowledge SPARTAN in any presentations or publications related to the project. In oral or poster presentations, the SPARTAN logo must be displayed.
Recipients are asked to present their project update at the 2021 annual SPARTAN meeting.
Reporting
A post activity report must be submitted via email to SPARTAN within 6 months of completing each one-year grant period. The study results/progress should be presented at the annual SPARTAN meeting. Reports are mandatory for applicants’ continued participation in future SPARTAN competitions.
2019-2020 cycle
“The interplay between gender and sex in understanding health quality of life among patients with axial spondyloarthritis: an exploratory sequential mixed method study”
Shao-Hsien Liu, MPH, Ph.D. (University of Massachusetts Medical School)
2018-2019 cycle
“Development of Minimal Disease Activity Criteria in Spondyloarthritis”
Maureeen Dubreuil, MD, PhD (Boston University School of Medicine)
“Validation of administrative billing codes for the diagnosis of axial spondyloarthritis”
Jonathan Chan, MD (University of British Columbia, Division of Rheumatology)
2017-2018 cycle
“Understanding the pathophysiology of SpA by characterizing trafficking lymphocytes in the gut-joint axis”
Kristi Kuhn, MD, PhD (University of Colorado School of Medicine)
“N-of-1 trials of NSAIDs in SpA with adaptive design”
Runsheng Wang, MD, MHS (Columbia University Medical Center)