'A' Award Grant

Eligibility

Applicant Eligibility: must be met at the time of application 

• Applicant institutions must be based in the United States or Canada. Applicants need not be United States citizens. Funds must be granted to nonprofit institutions or organizations

• Applicants must have an MD, PhD or MD/PhD (DO, MBBS or equivalent) and be within ten years of their terminal degree and five years of their first faculty appointment as an Assistant Professor at the time that their application is submitted. More senior Assistant Professors, as well as Associate and Full Professors, are ineligible. If still at the Instructor level, the applicant must have a firm commitment from the Department Chair/Division Chief at the time of grant submission for an Assistant Professor position within one year of receiving the award. 

• A minimum of 75% of the applicant’s time during the ‘A’ Award period must be allocated as non-clinical protected time for all research activities. This percentage of time includes both ‘A’ Award activities and the applicant’s other research responsibilities. 

• Mentor(s) must be identified and must be in the applicant’s home institution. A comentor whose research expertise is aligned with the application could be added from an outside institution. 

• Applicants cannot be the Principal Investigator (PI) of a K99/R00 or other independent, nationally competitive award (e.g., R01 or equivalent, P or U award) that has been funded or recommended for funding (i.e., will be funded) any time before the ‘A’ Award grant start date. R01 equivalent grants include the DP1, DP2, DP5, R01, R37, R56, RF1, RL1, U01 and selected R35 activity codes. Applicants cannot have 2 R21s or 2 R03s at any time before the award. Applicants, when unsure, are encouraged to contact ALSF at least 4 weeks before the application due date to determine eligibility. 

• Applicants may have mentored-career development grants (such as K01, K08, K23, K25) or mentored-research grants (such as ACS-Clinician Scientist Development Grant; DoD Physician Research Award) from other funding sources during the ‘A’ Award period, but there must be clear documentation of how scientific and budgetary overlap will be avoided. • Applicants currently holding an ALSF Young Investigator (YI) Grant may apply. If the ‘A’ Award is given, it would supersede the YI grant if there is an overlap in the funding periods.

Summary

ALSF seeks game-changing proposals to substantially advance childhood cancer treatments and cures. The 'A' Award is designed for the early career scientist who wants to establish a career in pediatric oncology research and does not have independent NIH funding. The ideal candidate has an original project, can demonstrate outstanding career development support from their institution, and has a strong future commitment to pediatric cancer investigation. A mentor is required, and a career development plan must be included. The award totals $800,000 over four years. 

The requested budget should be in proportion to the scope of the proposed project and should be at or under $800,000 USD in direct costs over four years. A maximum of $200,000 in total costs may be requested per year.

Overhead

Not allowable as per organization policy.

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.

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.

Submission Process

1. Internal Approvals
To initiate internal approvals, complete the Pre-Award/Application record in RMS (https://research.ucalgary.ca/conduct-research/additional-resources/resea...), attach your completed Application, and submit for approvals from your department head and/or faculty Associate Dean (Research). *Important: when submitting in RMS, please ensure that you allow time for academic approvals prior to the Research Services review deadline of 12:00pm MT on June 10, 2024.

Once these approvals are obtained, RMS will automatically forward the Application record to Research Services for institutional review and approval.

Research Services will review, provide feedback (by email) if necessary, and will provide the institutional approval. RSO will provide the capping institutional signature (if required) and will advise when ready (all other required signatures should be in place when submitting to RSO).

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2. Final Submission
Please follow ALSF's 2024 'A' Award Grant application guidelines and submit full application through Proposal Central.

Additional tips for applicants can be found here.

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RESOURCES

Support for projects involving Indigenous Research:

Support with the development of your grant application is available internally through the Indigenous Research Support Team (IRST). Applicants can reach out by email to IRST at IRST@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information about IRST, please visit the IRST webpage.

Support for Knowledge Engagement:

Support for knowledge mobilization/engagement/translation is available internally through the Knowledge Engagement Team. Applicants can reach out by email to the KE team at knowledge.engagement@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information, please visit the KE team webpage.

Support for Research Data Management:

For information on research data management plans, processes, or best practices for your research program, please contact research.data@libanswers.ucalgary.com and/or visit https://libguides.ucalgary.ca/researchdatamanagement.

Support for EDI in Research:

RSO can provide resources and support to research teams on the integration of equitable and inclusive practices in research design and research practice. Contact Erin.OToole@ucalgary.ca for more information.

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award LOI

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application