2024 AES Seed Grant Program

Eligibility

• Applications may come from individual investigators or from two or more collaborating investigators. The primary investigator (PI) or at least one of the primary investigators in a multiple-PI seed grant must be: 1) an AES member; 2) an established investigator with at least an Associate Professor or equivalent level appointment; and 3) an epilepsy-focused academic investigator. An assistant professor(s) may serve as a collaborator or Co-PI on the project provided that the application is submitted by the established professor and the award is contracted at least in part for use by the established professor.
• The proposed research must be in a new direction that could not be initiated without Seed support. Proposals are welcome across the spectrum of epilepsy research, including basic, translational, clinical, and outcomes-related research.
• If a project involves a collaboration between two or more investigators, preference will be given to collaborations that are new and/or involve investigators at different institutions or in different disciplines or fields of research.
• Although collaborations between academic and industry investigators will be considered, the grant must go to an academic institution and the academic investigator should be the primary investigator. Preference will be given to collaborations between academic investigators.
• Applications that propose only infrastructure development with no primary research or data collection will not be accepted.
• Preference will be given to applications for research to be conducted at U.S. institutions. Depending on available funds, applications may be considered from investigators outside the U.S. who otherwise meet the eligibility criteria.
• Final funding decisions may take into account a preference to limit multiple awards to investigators who recently received a grant from AES.

Summary

The AES Seed Grant Program provides support to established investigators to:

• Pursue new and innovative directions in epilepsy research
• Bring new research methods to their research programs
• Begin new collaborations with other investigators in epilepsy or in different, complementary disciplines

These small awards are designed to enable preliminary investigations that will lay the groundwork for subsequent substantial grants from government, industry, or other funding sources for research to advance the understanding, treatment, and prevention of epilepsy.
Seed grants may provide up to $20,000 for one year for direct costs only. They may not be renewed. Examples of allowable costs include research project supplies and expenses related to information and technology exchange, such as travel for postdoctoral fellows between collaborating laboratories. The number of awards made each year is contingent on available funds.

Application Submission

Applications must be submitted through ProposalCentral (https://ProposalCentral.altum.com/). Applicants who do not yet have an account with ProposalCentral will need to register as a new user and provide the requested professional profile information before proceeding. Once logged in as a user, go to the Grant Opportunities tab, and filter the list to display American Epilepsy Society Awards.

Applicants must obtain institutional approval from the University of Calgary prior to submitting their application in ProposalCentral. Initiate required University of Calgary internal approvals by completing a Pre-Award/Application record in RMS (https://my.rms.ucalgary.ca/)/. Attach a copy of your complete application materials and submit for approvals. Please ensure that you allow time for academic approvals prior to the Research Services Office internal review deadline of 12:00pm MT,

Overhead

Not Applicable.

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via RMS in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.