2024 Pilot Award, Request for Applications

About this funding opportunity

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Over Two Years

$300,000 Application Available

April 2024 Application Deadline

June 13, 2024 Award Notification

November 2024 Award Start Date

Awards may begin as early as Feb 1, 2025, but we encourage PIs to select a project start date that best accommodates the needs of their project. Funds are expected to be expended as requested during each annual budget period. Projects must begin on the first of the month. Administrative Inquiries

sfarigrants@simonsfoundation.org

646-654-0066 Scientific Inquiries

sciencerfa@simonsfoundation.org

646-654-0066 Technical Assistance

samsupport@simonsfoundation.org

646-654-0066 Simons Collections

sdbr@simonsfoundation.org

646-654-0066 Monday - Friday: 9 am - 5 pm ET

Over Two Years

$300,000 Application Available

April 2024 Application Deadline

June 13, 2024 Award Notification

November 2024 Award Start Date

Awards may begin as early as Feb 1, 2025, but we encourage PIs to select a project start date that best accommodates the needs of their project. Funds are expected to be expended as requested during each annual budget period. Projects must begin on the first of the month. Administrative Inquiries

sfarigrants@simonsfoundation.org

646-654-0066 Scientific Inquiries

sciencerfa@simonsfoundation.org

646-654-0066 Technical Assistance

samsupport@simonsfoundation.org

646-654-0066 Simons Collections

sdbr@simonsfoundation.org

646-654-0066 Monday - Friday: 9 am - 5 pm ET SFARI Mission

The mission of the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) is to improve the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) by funding innovative research of the highest quality and relevance.

To this end, we solicit applications for Pilot Awards from individuals who will conduct bold, imaginative, rigorous and relevant research. Objective of the Pilot Award

The goal of the Pilot Award is to provide early support for exploratory ideas, particularly those with novel hypotheses. Appropriate projects for this mechanism include those considered higher risk but with the potential for transformative results, including work in human subjects. Projects that represent continuations of ongoing work (whether funded by SFARI or other funders) are not appropriate for this mechanism.

This funding mechanism is particularly suitable for investigators who are new to the autism field, though we encourage those new to the field to consult with experts in autism research to ensure their projects are relevant to the human condition.

In particular, we encourage applications that propose research to link genetic or other ASD risk factors to molecular, cellular, circuit or behavioral mechanisms and set the stage for development of novel interventions. Please read more about SFARI’s scientific perspectives. We also strongly advise applicants to familiarize themselves with the currently funded projects and resources that SFARI supports and to think about how their proposals might complement existing efforts.

As with other Pilot projects, proposals in human subjects should be relevant, novel, exploratory, high-risk and with the potential for transformative results. They may test new mechanisms, employ new technology or analytics, or take innovative approaches to phenotyping or stratification that stand to move the field forward in transformative ways. Given the heterogeneity and multifactorial causes of ASD, SFARI places a premium on the use of well-characterized and sufficiently powered cohorts. To facilitate recruitment of cohorts with well-characterized ASD and associated neurodevelopmental disabilities, SFARI has developed the Research Match program, which helps investigators recruit participants from Simons collections, including SPARK and Simons Searchlight. RFA applicants are strongly encouraged, but not required, to use Research Match as part of their participation recruitment strategy. Recognizing that sufficiently-powered work in humans can…

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

2024 Pilot Award, Request for Applications is administered by Simons Foundation (Simons), listed via Simons Foundation.