1. Applicants must be a full professor (or equivalent), and maintain peer reviewed competitively funded scientific programs;


2. Scientists that have previously received a NARSAD Distinguished (Established) Investigator Award may not receive the award for a second time until five years has elapsed since the beginning date of the prior award. Grant requirements from all previous awards must be met (including Young Investigator and Independent Investigator Awards), only one applicant may apply per application, and an applicant cannot submit more than one application per cycle;


3. Funding is for one year and is up to $100,000. Funding of institutional overhead at an 8% rate (excluding equipment) is allowed and overhead must be included within the total budget request which may not exceed $100,000. Equipment, salary, and technical support are typical budget requests, but NARSAD wishes applicants to identify requirements specific to their research and setting;


4. Since applicants are already funded, it is essential that the letter of intent state how the proposed work is not feasible without new funds—NARSAD does not seek to extend current work of established investigators, but rather to stimulate new approaches and projects from senior investigators;


5. Letter of Intent must be submitted by May 15, 2008;


6. Requests for further information will be made to selected investigators and declinations will be sent on August, 2008;


7. Final applications (second round--by invitation only) will be due in September, 2008 (a deadline will be included in second-round materials);


8. Notification of awards will be mailed in March, 2009. It is NARSAD’s policy to provide no feedback on applications, other than funding notification. Earliest award start date is May 1, 2009.

The application should enable reviewers to determine eligibility; judge that independence and productivity are established; establish the relevance of the proposal to the NARSAD mission; and estimate the originality and scientific promise of the investigator.

Applications must be submitted electronically via the NARSAD website as one electronic document, be brief, typed in a font size no smaller than 11 pt., with 1" margins, and include in the following order (please label each section accordingly and include applicant's name in the upper right corner, unless otherwise noted, and include a separate page for each):

1. Letter of Intent - a maximum of one page to describe the purpose of the project, including enough detail that reviewers can understand the value of the study, the budget requirements (total budget request and general categories for expenditures only), and the long term implications of the short term funding. If funded, this material may be used in NARSAD announcements;
   
   
2. C.V. – the biography portion of the curriculum vitae only OR an NIH biosketch, with current grant support listed. If the applicant is the "equivalent" of a full professor, then a statement from the departmental chair or equivalent should be included (on a separate page) which specifies how the position is the full professor equivalent in the host institution, and asserting that this rank is held at the time of application;
   
   
3. Bibliography - a separate page stating the total number of publications and listing up to 12 relevant articles;
   
   
4. Institutional Approval - a signed statement from the applicant's Grants and Contracts office indicating their knowledge of the application.

** IRB approval for human and animal subjects will need to be verified at the time of the Award, as will institutional acceptance of the terms of the Award.

** In fairness to all applicants, please note that supplemental material and material exceeding the specified length will not be considered in the review process.

Applications must be submitted electronically through the NARSAD website.

If the Institutional Assurance or collaborator letter(s) cannot be scanned with signature(s), send OR fax to:

NARSAD, Research Grants
60 Cutter Mill Road, Suite 404
Great Neck, NY 11021
Ph: (516) 829-5576 Fax: (516) 487-6930

e-mail: grants@narsad.org (e-mail answered daily)

Download a PDF version of the 2009 Distinguished Investigator Award guidelines.