2024 Alzheimer's Association Research Fellowship to Promote Diversity (AARF-D)

Eligibility

Eligibility

• Applications will be accepted from postdoctoral fellows (or an equivalent level position) with full-time positions at their respective academic institution and less than 13 years of research experience after receipt of their doctorate (Ph.D) or terminal degree.
• If the applicant is promoted to faculty during the application process, the applicant may continue to proceed with the AARF-D program.

Specific for the AARF-D program, eligible applicants have the same requirements as the AARF program, but are an underrepresented faculty in biomedical and behavioral research on a national, international or institutional basis. 

Applicants must submit a Diversity Self Statement (one paragraph max.) during the letter of intent (LOI) stage outlining the applicant’s status and eligibility for this program. 

The self-statement will not be included in the information shared with reviewers and will only be used to confirm eligibility to this program. This statement will only be accessible to the applicant and the Alzheimer's Association through their Proposal Central Account (if the applicant gives others access to the LOI, they will be able to view all attachments).

Note: Alzheimer’s Association grants are generally open to scientists and researchers across the globe; however, as a U.S.-based charity, the Alzheimer’s Association is subject to, and complies with, U.S. law. As a result, the Alzheimer’s Association cannot award, and will not award, grants in violation of applicable U.S. statutes and regulations. This means, among other things, that the Alzheimer’s Association cannot, and will not, fund any individual or entity (i) that is subject to U.S. comprehensive or targeted sanctions or if awarding funding would result in a violation of such sanctions, (ii) that is on the U.S. List of Specially Designated Nationals or entities owned or controlled by such persons, or (iii) when doing so is otherwise prohibited by U.S. laws related to combating terrorism.

Ineligibility

Ineligibility criteria include:

• Individuals who have a position of an Assistant Professorship or above are not eligible.
• Individuals currently enrolled in a Doctoral Program are not eligible, regardless of degrees status.
• Please refer to Section III: B. Eligibility & Ineligibility for additional ineligibility criteria, which are applicable to both Applicant/Fellow and the Mentor.

Summary

The Alzheimer's Association Research Fellowship to Promote Diversity (AARF-D) award is intended to support exceptional scientists from underrepresented groups who are working in Alzheimer's or all other dementias research and who are engaged in their post-graduate work (i.e., postdoctoral fellows) and before their first independent faculty positions (i.e., Assistant Professor) and working in diverse areas of research, including basic, translational, clinical, functional and social-behavioral research. Investigators doing clinically-focused research without clinical practice are encouraged to apply to this AARF-D program.

Individuals applying to the program will be accepted from postdoctoral fellows with full time positions at their respective institution who have less than 13 years of research experience after receipt of their doctorate or other terminal degree. Individuals who have a position of an Assistant Professorship or above are not eligible.

The objective of this award is to increase the number of highly trained investigators from diverse backgrounds whose basic, clinical and social/behavioral research interests are grounded in the advanced methods and experimental approaches needed to solve problems related to Alzheimer's and all dementias in general and in health disparities populations. The Alzheimer's Association recognizes the need to increase the number of scientists from underrepresented groups participating in biomedical and behavioral research. The Association anticipates that by providing these research opportunities, the number of scientists from underrepresented groups entering and remaining in biomedical research careers in Alzheimer's and all other dementia will increase.

The Alzheimer's Association feels strongly that the mentoring and involvement of researchers from diverse backgrounds and perspectives is essential to engaging cutting edge ideas and thinking in addressing scientific gaps for Alzheimer's and all dementias.

The mechanism of the award is the individual research grant. The maximum allowable duration is three years (minimum two years).
 

Mentoring plans and Fellowship benchmarks

Each Fellowship award must identify a primary mentor. The mentor should be experienced in conducting Alzheimer's and dementia research and in mentoring junior investigators. The application must include a two-three page statement from the selected mentor that includes information on his/her research qualifications, experience as a research supervisor and commitment to the applicant. This statement will be a significant part of the application review. The application must also include information to describe the mentor's research support relevant to the applicant's research plan and the nature and extent of supervision and training that he/she will provide during the period of the award. Only one primary mentor is allowed; however, additional team members who might function as mentors can be listed as key personnel.

Note: The primary mentor must agree to provide annual evaluations of the applicant's progress for the duration of the award, as required for the yearly progress report.

Mentors can be early-career researchers and/or mid-career scientists who choose to shift into Alzheimer’s and all dementia research. The applicant and proposed mentor must specify a mechanism for ensuring effective mentoring. The application should contain a plan for and an evaluation strategy of the mentoring process for enhancing diversity in the professional research workforce. A successful plan will include specific details on the mentoring goals designed towards achievements both related to research and other professional development.

Additionally, a successful mentorship plan should include the following Fellowship Benchmarks, which are required to receive the research stipends, but should not be limited to only these.

Required Fellowship Benchmarks are as follows:

• Attendance at an Association-sponsored networking event at the Alzheimer's Association’s International Conference (AAIC).
• Acceptance of an abstract at AAIC.
• Mandatory documentation of hours spent on face-to-face mentoring.
• Citation of specific exercises of mentorship such as supervision of manuscript writing and submission or grant writing and submission .
• Reviewing grant applications. This is not limited to the Alzheimer’s Association review process, as reviewing for other funding organizations, but supervised reviews are encouraged for those with little to no review experience. The Alzheimer’s Association staff will provide additional resources for those new to reviewing for the Association.
• Documentation of specific instances of the facilitation of networking, including introductions to colleagues, inclusion in discussions at scientific meetings, etc.
• Submission of funding proposal(s) to other funding agencies, including Alzheimer’s Association, National Institutes of Health or National Science Foundation, Medical Research Council (United Kingdom), Canadian Institutes of Health Research, etc. 

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

Application deadlines

Internal deadline: Letter of intent

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.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

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.

View program objectives, LOI instructions, timelines, eligibility requirements and more: Grant RFP

Apply for the AARF research grant by submitting your LOI through the ProposalCentral website. Registration is required: Grant Application

Deadlines and award dates

Letter of Intent deadline: February 23, 2024, 12 p.m. MST.

Each AARF LOI is evaluated with attention to:

• Demonstrable innovation/novelty of the proposed project (especially in the context of the PIs recently funded work)
• Alignment with the research priorities of the Alzheimer’s Association
• Impact of project on Alzheimer’s and all other dementia research
• Evidence of methodological rigor that address the research question(s) being proposed

Letter of Intent notifications: Week of April 1, 2024.

Note: due to the high volume of submissions, specific feedback and reviewer comments are not provided at the LOI stage.

Application deadline: May 1, 2024, 3 p.m. MST.

If invited to submit a full application, each AARF application is evaluated on:

• Quality and nature of the training to be provided and the institutional, departmental, and mentor-specific training environment, this includes available resources to support the applicant in their training (30%)
• Quality and emphasis of applicant and originality of the research plan (40%)
• Significance of the question being studied, quality of the work plan and the impact-risk of the proposal, impact on the advancement of diverse science (30%)
• Resubmissions will have the opportunity to provide a response to prior review

Award notifications: Prior to August 30, 2024.

For any inquiries or additional information, please contact a member of the Alzheimer's Association Research Grants Team at grantsapp@alz.org.