2024 SCIRTS Pilot Research Grants

Eligibility

• Applicants must have a doctoral degree or an equivalent terminal professional degree (e.g., PhD, MD, DVM).
• The Neilsen Foundation encourages submissions from eligible PIs who represent a wide range of disciplines; however, it is required that relevant SCI expertise is represented on the proposed research project team.
• The grantee must be a nonprofit academic/research institution or rehabilitation facility located in the United States or Canada with the capability to conduct grant-funded research.
• The Applicant is not required to be a citizen of the United States or Canada; however, the Applicant must be employed by an eligible grantee institution.
• The Applicant named in a grant application must be deemed eligible by the grantee organization to apply for a grant and is expected to be responsible for conduct of the research. Each application must include the appropriate endorsement of an institutional official who is responsible for the administration of grant funds.
• A PI may submit only one application in a given cycle in this portfolio.
• The Neilsen Foundation does not allow Co-Principal Investigators on its research grants. If two or more investigators are working together on a research project, one must serve as the PI; the other(s) should be listed as collaborator(s). Collaborators and/or consultants do not need to be affiliated with the same institution as the PI; a subcontract may be used to support a domestic or international collaborator or consultant.
• Multiple PIs from an institution may submit concurrent, independent applications in a given grant cycle. In such cases, each project must be distinct, with non-overlapping Aims.
• It may not be necessary to provide preliminary data. Neilsen Foundation funding may be sought to allow the Applicant to obtain data to establish a line of research if the proposal provides strong rationale (i.e., support from the literature or use in an indication other than SCI) that justifies testing the hypotheses with the proposed experimental design. However, if feasibility issues add an unacceptable risk of failure, reviewers may note that preliminary data to address this risk should be provided.

Summary

The Craig H. Neilson Foundation

The Craig H. Neilsen Foundation is the largest private funder of spinal cord injury research, rehabilitation, clinical training, and programmatic support in the United States and Canada. The Neilsen Foundation partners with scientific, charitable, and educational organizations conducting spinal cord injury research, training in spinal cord medicine, and supports grassroots organizations providing services to assist individuals affected by spinal cord injury. The Neilsen Foundation values diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility and is dedicated to improving the world for persons with spinal cord injury.

The SCIRTS Portfolio

The SCIRTS Portfolio advances novel approaches to improving function and developing curative therapies after SCI. This research is designed to improve understanding and advance the treatment of acute and chronic SCI and includes mechanistic, preclinical, translational and/or clinical studies. This portfolio emphasizes SCI (vs. diseases or disorders that secondarily affect the spinal cord) and is intended to fill gaps in the field and to further develop new strategies to restore function resulting from SCI. The Neilsen Foundation does not intend to provide continuous funding to individual labs but to fund novel research throughout the translational spectrum. This portfolio comprise three distinct funding opportunities: SCIRTS Postdoctoral Fellowships*, SCIRTS Pilot Research Grants, and SCIRTS Senior Research Grants.

* For more information on SCIRTS Postdoctoral Fellowships, please contact rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. 

2024 SCIRTS Pilot Research Grants

Two-year Pilot Research Grants help to establish new investigators in the field of spinal cord injury research and assume the risk inherent when established investigators undertake new directions in their work. These grants cultivate new lines of research, help move work across the translational spectrum and generate essential preliminary data. This funding is intended to support pilot studies that lay essential groundwork, allow either junior or established PIs to test the feasibility of novel methods and procedures and/or collect new data that can lead to or enhance larger-scale studies. Clinical trials of novel interventional drug/biologics are not permitted in the Pilot award category.

PIs must be independent investigators, actively employed at the grantee institution at the time of FGA submission and can be at any stage of their research career. Key criteria include the scientific merit of the project, the importance and innovative nature of the proposed direction of study, and the likelihood that success will move the area of SCI research forward. Funding for each year of the two-year project is up to $200,000 for a maximum total cost of $400,000.

Applicants must hold an independent faculty position (i.e., Instructor, Assistant Professor or equivalent research position) at the time of the Full Grant Application submission. Established investigators’ proposals should demonstrate taking a direction in their SCI research where the elevated risk of failure is balanced by high potential impact. While new directions may be explored in both Pilot and Senior categories, when feasibility of the approach or initial establishment of a mechanism, target, or intervention is being tested, a Pilot grant is the appropriate category.

Junior investigators should demonstrate evidence of a strong research background that is relevant to the proposed study. For investigators who are not in a tenure track position (e.g., Instructor, Research Assistant), a Letter of Assurance from the institution’s Director or Department Chair is recommended at the LOI and FGA stage. The letter should indicate that the applicant is an independent investigator, and that necessary space and equipment are available for this research.

Overhead

10% of the total cost of the grant. 

Pre-application deadlines

RSO internal deadline

Pre-application program deadline

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 either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, 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.

Submission Requirements

For each cycle, the application process begins with a LOI. Full grant applications will only be accepted from Applicants invited through the most recent LOI competition. The Neilsen Foundation uses the web-based grants system, ProposalCentral (https://ProposalCentral.altum.com), to review and manage its grants. 

The LOI stage requires internal institutional approval prior to submission. To initiate required University of Calgary internal approvals, complete a Pre-Award/Letter of Intent record in RMS (https://my.rms.ucalgary.ca/), attaching a copy of your completed LOI materials, and submit for approvals from your department head and/or faculty Associate Dean (Research). NOTE: when submitting in RMS, please ensure that you allow time for academic approvals prior to the Research Services Office internal review deadline of 12:00pm MT, June 6, 2023.

Additional Resources

2024 Application Guide

Knowledge Translation Guiding Principles