2013American Brain Foundation ALS-Richard Olney, MD Clinician Scientist Development Three Year Award

The American Brain Foundation and The ALS Association are pleased to announce a three-year Richard Olney, MD Clinician-Scientist Development Award to support research into drug discovery and development of therapies that will effectively treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Develped as part of the ALS Association's research program TREAT ALS (Translational Research Advancing Therapy for ALS), the award aims to recognize the importance of good clinical research and encourage young investigators in clinical studies.The three-year award will consist of an annual salary of $75,000 plus $5,000 in educational expenses, per year. Only direct costs will be funded by this award.

ELIGIBILITY

  1. Must be a neurologist interested in an academic career in clinical research. Applicants must hold an MD, DO, or equivalent clinical degree from an accredited institution, and must be licensed to practice medicine in the United States.
  2. Applicants must have completed residency training but be no more than five years from completion of residency when funding begins.
  3. There is no citizenship requirement; however, the individual applying for the award must be licensed to practice medicine in the United States at the time of application.

MATERIALS FOR APPLICATION

One complete set of the following application materials must be uploaded at the time of applying in order to complete the application process.

  1. Letter of nomination from the chair of the department of neurology, including assurance that clinical service responsibilities will be restricted to no more than 20 percent of the fellow's time.
  2. Three-page research plan, including brief statements of aims, background, and the contemplated approaches to methodology and data. The research plan should be written by the applicant and should represent his/her original work. However, the applicant is expected and encouraged to develop this plan based on discussion with the proposed mentor. It is appropriate for the proposed work to be specifically related to the mentor's ongoing research, but not required.
  3. Current curriculum vitae.
  4. Two letters of reference supporting the applicant's potential for a clinical, academic research career and qualifications for the fellowship. Letters of reference are in addition to the three-page research plan.
  5. Listing of the applicant's and mentor's current and pending support, other than this fellowship, using NIH format.
  6. Letter from proposed mentor detailing his/her support of and commitment to the applicant and the proposed research and training plan. The letter should specifically indicate the mentor's role in the development and preparation of the applicant's research plan. Letter should describe:
    • How the proposed research fits into the mentor's research program.
    • Expertise and experience in the area of research proposed and the nature of the mentor's proposed time commitment to the supervision and training of the applicant.
    • Mentor's prior experience in the supervision, training, and successful mentoring of clinician-scientists.
    • More than one mentor is permitted. One mentor should be designated as primary and be responsible for administrative issues.
  7. Proposed mentor's NIH Biosketch.
  8. Document describing arrangements for formal course work including: quantitative clinical epidemiology, biostatistics, study design, data analysis, and ethics.

Documentation must outline:

  • Hours and content of the proposed formal instruction
  • Availability of tutorial assistance for the research project
  • Computer approaches to statistical analysis at the host institution
  • Potential for applicant's future career and comparison of applicant amongst other residents