2020 Research Award, Request for Applications

About this funding opportunity

Search SFARI Home Funding Application Available

November 11, 2019 Application Deadline

January 10, 2020 Award Notification

April 30, 2020 Funding Start Dates

June 1, 2020; July 1, 2020; or August 1, 2020 Administrative Inquiries

sfarigrants@simonsfoundation.org

646-654-0066 Scientific Inquiries

sciencerfa@simonsfoundation.org

646-654-0066 Simons Collections

collections@sfari.org

646-654-0066 Application Available

November 11, 2019 Application Deadline

January 10, 2020 Award Notification

April 30, 2020 Funding Start Dates

June 1, 2020; July 1, 2020; or August 1, 2020 Administrative Inquiries

sfarigrants@simonsfoundation.org

646-654-0066 Scientific Inquiries

sciencerfa@simonsfoundation.org

646-654-0066 Simons Collections

collections@sfari.org

646-654-0066

The goal of the Research Award was to provide support for investigation of key unresolved research questions in autism, particularly those that connect genetic etiologies to brain function and behavior. SFARI welcomed risk and novelty in Research Award proposals, but potential impact on the autism research field will be the most important criterion. Competitive applications had preliminary data or other relevant groundwork that justified substantial investment in the proposed topic.

While SFARI remained open to persuasive arguments for the relevance of any particular project, below were a few examples of types of research questions that address SFARI’s overarching goals: Biological convergence: Given the ever-growing list of genetic risk factors for ASD, it will be important to explore whether biological convergence occurs at the molecular, cellular, circuit or behavioral levels. When convergence is observed, how does it relate to other levels of biological complexity and inform potential opportunities for intervention? Developmental trajectories: How do risk factors for ASD affect biological systems across different stages of development? What are the critical time points, and do they differ by biological mechanism or genetic etiology? How does this inform efforts to develop interventions? Major hypotheses: A number of intriguing hypotheses merit rigorous testing of their validity and generalizability, in addition to suitability for therapeutic follow-up. Examples include excitatory-inhibitory neural imbalance 1; etiological roles for sensory dysfunction in the development of social phenotypes in autism, and causative roles of certain cell types or brain areas, such as glutamatergic cortical neurons; or the striatum.

The above-mentioned topics were neither exhaustive nor exclusionary but were illustrative of key research issues in autism that were appropriate for investigation through a Research Award. Application Available

November 11, 2019 Application Deadline

January 10, 2020 Award Notification

April 30, 2020 Funding Start Dates

June 1, 2020; July 1, 2020; or August 1, 2020 Administrative Inquiries

sfarigrants@simonsfoundation.org

646-654-0066 Scientific Inquiries

sciencerfa@simonsfoundation.org

646-654-0066 Simons Collections

collections@sfari.org

646-654-0066

The submission deadline is Friday, January 10, 2020, 5:00 PM Eastern Time

Accessing the Application in proposalCENTRAL:

Prospective applicants must submit an application via proposalCENTRAL (pC). To start an application in pC, users must first log in to their pC account.

If You Need to Create a New Account in pC

To create a new account, go to proposalCENTRAL and click “Create One Now!” under “Application Login.” Fill in the required fields, check the boxes to agree to pC’s Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy and then click “Save.” For the next steps, see the If You Have an Existing Account in pC section below.

If You Have an Existing Account in pC

For all users with a pC account, log in under “Application Login” at proposalCENTRAL and select “Create New Proposal” or click on the “Grant Opportunities” tab. Scroll down to “Simons Foundation” and then click “Apply Now” for…

Topic areas: General and Cross-cutting R&D, Life Sciences and Health.

Funding amount

This grant provides Varies in funding.

Deadline

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; there is no single fixed deadline.

Who can apply

This opportunity is open to the following applicant types:

• Not specified by the program.

Eligibility

The program did not publish a separate eligibility statement. See the official opportunity page for the full eligibility criteria.

Agency

2020 Research Award, Request for Applications is administered by Simons Foundation (Simons), listed via Simons Foundation.