RUNX1 Early Career Investigator Grant Program

Eligibility

Applicant Eligibility: must be met at the time of application 

• Applicant institutions may be based in the U.S. or outside of the U.S. Applicants need not be United States citizens. Funds must be granted to non-profit institutions or organizations. 
• Applicants must have an MD, PhD, or MD/PhD (DO, MBBS, or equivalent) and be within five years of their first faculty appointment as an Assistant Professor or equivalent tenure-track position. Associate and Full Professors are ineligible. If at the Instructor level, the applicant must submit a letter of support from their mentor at the sponsoring institution. 
• A minimum of 75% of the applicant’s time during the award period must be allocated as protected time for all research activities. This percentage of time includes both activities on this grant and the applicant’s other research responsibilities. 
• Applicants may have research grants from other funding sources during the award period, but there must be clear documentation of mechanisms to avoid scientific and budgetary overlap. 
• Applicants must have research experience working in, and a deep understanding of, normal or malignant hematopoiesis and/or immunology. 
• One resubmission of a previously unfunded application is allowed. Use the Resubmission section of the application to respond to the prior RRP/ALSF critique of the proposal. The response will be scored in the review process in addition to the criteria used for new applications. Resubmissions compete with new applicants for funding.

Summary

RUNX1 Early Career Investigator Program – Basic and Translational Science The RUNX1 Research Program and Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation are delighted to continue their partnership and funding opportunity for early career investigators: the RRP and ALSF RUNX1 Early Career Investigator Program. 

Key Objective 

To promote the establishment of a new generation of basic and translational scientists interested in tackling inherited hematologic malignancy predisposition disorders with a focus on RUNX1-familial platelet disorder. We believe that providing capital to early career investigators not only injects funding to where it is needed most, but also cultivates a new cohort of investigators who will be invested in an area of research that historically has had limited attention. 

Program Description 

The RUNX1 Early Career Investigator grant is a three-year award designed to fund research investigating strategies that will lead to the development of therapies that will prevent the transition from pre-malignancy to overt hematologic malignancy in patients with RUNX1-FPD. The RUNX1 Research Program and ALSF host an annual scientific meeting that brings together grant recipients and other scientists. Grant recipients are expected to present their progress as part of the annual review. A RUNX1 Early Career Investigator Grant is $180,000 over 3 years (maximum $60,000 per year may be requested).

Scope of Proposal 

• Aims of research proposals must be relevant to the goal of preventing hematologic malignant transformation in RUNX1-FPD. Proposals that seek to translate from bench to bedside will receive priority. 
• Example areas of research interests include: o Characterize the role of RUNX1 in DNA damage repair and the impact germline RUNX1 mutations may have on acquisition of somatic mutations in the blood. 
o Determine the functional differences of human RUNX1 mutant proteins and their role in conferring risk of hematologic malignancies. 
o Define the effects of germline RUNX1 mutations on specific immune cells and potential contribution to the process of clonal evolution to HM. 
o Address the contribution of increased levels of inflammatory cytokines present in RUNX1-FPD bone marrow to somatic evolutionary processes that result in clonal hematopoiesis and its transformation to HM. 
o Investigate feasibility of developing therapies that target specific germline RUNX1 mutation types. For example, for nonsense mutations test compounds that promote read-through of mRNA transcripts bearing nonsense mutations or for splice-site mutations develop antisense oligonucleotide-based therapies that target pre-mRNA fragments and can modulate aberrant splicing. 

Budget 

The requested budget should be in proportion to the scope of the proposed project and should be at or under $180,000 USD in direct costs over 3 years. A maximum of $60,000 in total costs may be requested per year. 

Restrictions: 
o RRP/ALSF adheres to the NIH salary cap for principal investigator(s). 
o Indirect costs are not allowed. 
o The grant may not be renewed; one no-cost extension request is allowed. 
o Other budget items may include fringe, travel, supplies and small pieces of equipment. RRP/ALSF funds cannot be used for tuition remission. View ALSF’s complete budget policy. o If utilizing a subcontract or subaward, you must include this expense in the budget. 
• No indirect costs will be paid. 
• The PI’s institution is responsible for disbursing funds for subawards and/or subcontracts

Overhead

Not allowed.

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.

Application Package Instructions 

• All sections described below should be combined into one PDF (max 20 MB) and uploaded to the ALSF online application form (see Application Submission Instructions). 
• All templates mentioned can be found at ALSF’s Resources for Grant Applicants page. Format Instructions 
• PAGE HEADER: All pages of the application should be numbered; the name of the principal investigator should appear in the upper right-hand corner of each page. 
• FORMAT: Follow NIH format guidelines: Arial, Helvetica, Palatino Linotype, or Georgia fonts with a font size of 11 points or larger with a minimum of ½ inch margins. 
• ORDER & LENGTH: The order of the application should be followed, adhering to the maximum number of pages allowed for each subsection indicated in parentheses.

ADDITIONAL 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