2024 Spring Clinical Research Award

Eligibility

• United States residents and applicants from outside the United States are welcome to apply.
• International applicants and institutions are required to submit additional information in accordance with USA Patriot Act and the U.S. Department of Treasury Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines (see section VI.10.L in the Program Guidelines).
• Applicants must be independent investigators. An independent investigator is an individual who is out of fellowship training and whose institution allows them to submit applications for research funding as a Principal Investigator.
• New or established investigators with no previous work in cystic fibrosis research who wish to apply their expertise to a problem in this area.
• Candidates who are clinical fellows should apply to the CFF Clinical Fellowship program for the appropriate year.
• Candidates who are postdoctoral fellows should apply to the CFF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship program.
• Industry-sponsored research projects are not eligible to apply through this program and instead should consider applying to the Therapeutics Development Awards program. For additional information, please contact grants@cff.org.

Summary

The mission of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is to cure cystic fibrosis and to provide all people with CF the opportunity to lead long, fulfilling lives by funding research and drug development, partnering with the CF community, and advancing high-quality, specialized care. To achieve this mission, various types of grants and awards are offered to support meritorious research in CF.

The 2024 Spring Clinical Research Awards are offered to provide support for investigator-initiated clinical research projects that have the potential to make an important contribution to the CF Foundation’s mission. Research projects may address diagnosis, treatment, management of disease or symptom, or the pathophysiology of CF using clinical (observational/interventional), translational or epidemiologic study approaches. Applicants must demonstrate access to sufficient numbers of CF patients and appropriate controls.

Funding Amount: Applicants may request funding of up to $150,000 per year, plus an additional twelve (12) percent indirect costs for single-center clinical studies; and up to $350,000 per year, plus twelve (12) percent indirect costs for multi-center clinical studies, for up to three (3) years. *Up to an additional $100,000 may be available via supplemental funding. Applicants interested in the Multiple-PI option should contact the Program Officer, Dara Riva (driva@cff.org).

Areas of Encouragement
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation regularly assesses its key research priorities to ensure we are on track to accomplish our mission to cure CF and to provide people with CF the opportunity to lead long lives. Applicants are encouraged to align submissions to these priorities to maximize their potential for being funded. Key research priorities for applicants are outlined in further detail in Applicant Resources.

Areas of Encouragement are research topics that are considered gaps in our knowledge in the detection and monitoring, diagnosis, or treatment of a CF complication. A complete list of the Areas of Encouragement can be found in section VI of the Program Guidelines.

Submission Process

The application process involves two stages: Letter of Intent and Full Application.

1. Letter of Intent (LOI). The LOI application is prepared online at https://awards.cff.org (refer to section IX and X of the Program Guidelines for specific submission instructions). When all the documents have been uploaded to https://awards.cff.org, the system will compile them into a single PDF file. You may preview this file by selecting “LOI Application Full Print”, as well as exporting the compiled PDF file.

Applicants must also obtain institutional approval from the University of Calgary prior to submitting their LOI to CFF. Initiate required University of Calgary internal approvals by completing a Pre-Award/Letter of Intent record in RMS (https://my.rms.ucalgary.ca/)/.

Attach a copy of your compiled PDF file and submit for internal academic approvals from your department head and/or faculty Associate Dean (Research). Please ensure that you allow time for academic approvals prior to the Research Services Office internal review deadline of 12:00pm MT, September 18, 2023.

2. Full Application. If the LOI submission is approved to proceed to a full application submission, please contact chantal.lemire@ucalgary.ca for additional submission instructions. The timeline for results of the LOI and full application submissions is as follows:

• Applicant Notified of LOI Approval: December 2023
• RSO Internal Full Application Review Deadline: February 8, 2024
• CFF Full Application Deadline: February 13, 2024
• CFF Notification of Results: May 2024
• Earliest Project Start-Date: July 1, 2024

Overhead

12% in addition to direct costs.

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.

Additional Resources

Program Guidelines

Applicant Resources