CDC Young Investigator Awards
APA Young Investigator Award Program for
Adolescent Reproductive, Perinatal, & Newborn Health
Supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Adolescent Reproductive, Perinatal and Newborn Health Young Investigator Award Program funds projects focused on adolescent reproductive, perinatal and newborn health. This Young Investigator Award Program is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Through the process described below, the program may grant up to $10,000 per selected project. We anticipate providing up to 3 awards.
Proposals submitted should address important gaps in our understanding of adolescent reproductive, perinatal and newborn health. Proposals also should inform efforts to achieve the Maternal, Infant and Child health objectives of Healthy People 2020. Teen pregnancy has been identified as a "public health priority with a large-scale impact on health and with known, effective strategies to address them" (http://www.cdc.gov/winnablebattles/). Within the CDC, the Division of Reproductive Health focuses on a broad array of issues related to men's and women's reproductive health (www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth).
This Young Investigator mechanism supports analysis of data sets sponsored by CDC. Possible topics include: 1) adolescent health and teen pregnancy prevention 2) racial/ethnic disparities in perinatal health; or 3) broader reproductive health including preconception health and the prevention of chronic disease. CDC sponsored data sets include: the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), National Health Care Surveys, the National Survey of Family Growth and the State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Surveys (SLAITS, such as the National Surveys of Children's Health) and are described at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/surveys.htm. Additional data collection systems sponsored by CDC include the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System or PRAMS (http://www.cdc.gov/prams/) and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System or BRFS
(http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/).
The specifics of this program are as follows:
- The principal investigator of any proposal submitted must be a member of the APA or have submitted an application for membership.
- Young investigators are defined as: 1) faculty members who are no more than five years out from completion of all training; 2) fellows; or 3) residents.
- The awards will be one-time; multiple-year funding requests will not be considered. Preference will be given to those proposals that have the potential of leading to projects of a larger or longer-term nature as well as to proposals that go beyond merely describing poor quality of health services or unmet health needs. To that end, proposals that link with health outcomes or lead to actionable next steps will be more favorably considered. Possible projects might include, but are not limited to: racial/ethnic disparities in adolescent reproductive, perinatal or newborn health; preconception health; and prevention of chronic disease during the perinatal period.
- Initial proposals must be received by October 15, 2012, by 5 pm ET. These initial proposals must include the following items:* * Only electronic submissions will be accepted.
The deadline has passed
- Cover sheet - indicating the project title, PI name and contact information, funding path, including contact information for the primary mentor, Division Director, Department Chair, and Participation Statement (See Cover Page Form)
- Description of the proposal - not more than two single-spaced pages including the budget and budget justification and must use a font size no smaller than Arial 11 with 1" margins. This section must provide a brief overview of the project including the aims, background, methods, evaluation, and significance of the study. The cover sheet and references are not included in the two-page limit. References may be single spaced and are limited to 1 page. Please adhere strictly to these requirements- failure to do so will result in return of the application without further review.
- Budget and budget justification - This should not include overhead (indirect costs), salary for salary for the PI or mentors, or equipment for long-term use (e.g., computers). A maximum of $1,000 is allowable for travel to the annual PAS meeting. (See Budget Template Form)
- Biographical sketch - The biosketch should use the standard NIH biosketch form. For this purpose, the biosketch is not to exceed 2 pages. The biosketch also needs to be resubmitted with the full proposal and does not count towards the page limit. The form can be found at the following site:.http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/biosketch.doc Instructions for filling out the form can be found at the following link: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/biosketchsample.doc
- Letter of support from the primary mentor including the plan for communication with the mentee. A typed signature is acceptable if an electronic signature is not available. This letter of support also needs to be resubmitted with the full proposal and does not count towards the page limit.
- A review panel, convened by the Chair of the APA Research Committee, will review the submitted proposals, and identify those that warrant further elaboration. Those proposals so identified will be notified by November 16, 2012, and have a December 14, 2012, by 5 pm ET, deadline for submission of a full proposal.
- Full proposals must include the following items:* *
- Cover sheet - indicating the project title, PI name and contact information, funding path, including contact information for the primary mentor, Division Director, Department Chair, and Participation Statement (See Cover Page Form)
- Proposal - including specific aims, background, preliminary studies (if applicable), detailed methods, evaluation, timeline (the project must be completed within 1 year), description of key personnel, significance, budget with justification (see restrictions listed above), tables, and appendices must not exceed 8 double-spaced pages, using a font size no smaller than Arial 11 and 1" margins. The 1-page cover sheet and 1-page of references (single space) are not included in the 8 pages. Please adhere strictly to these requirements- failure to do so will result in return of the application without further review.
- Goals for faculty development - these also should be articulated in the proposal and relate to preventive services research,
- Biographical sketch - The biosketch should use the standard NIH biosketch form. For this purpose, the biosketch is not to exceed two pages. The biosketch does not count towards the page limit.
- Letter of support from the primary mentor, including the plan for communication with the mentee. A typed signature is acceptable if an electronic signature is not available. The letter of support does not count towards the page limit.
- A second study section convened by the APA Research Committee Chair will review and score the full proposals and prepare 1 - 2 page summary review that will be sent to applicants. Funding decisions will be based on the results of the study section review. Full-proposal applicants will be notified of funding decisions in late January 2013. The awardees will be announced at the annual 2013 PAS meeting.
- Review criteria for full proposals include: relevance of the proposed project, likelihood of
project success and contribution to the evidence-base, support from the home institution as well as commitment of the research mentor, and overall quality of the submission.
- Awards will be made with the condition that work begins by March 2013 and is
completed within one year. Awardees are encouraged to submit abstracts to a PAS meeting and to submit results to the APA journal, Academic Pediatrics, for possible publication.
- Three additional grantee requirements are intended to enhance career development.
- First, awardees will be paired with a National Facilitator, an accomplished, nationally recognized senior investigator from an institution other than the PI's. The facilitator will be available to provide advice and input on the project; complement the PI's mentor by offering additional mentoring on an as needed basis; supply networking opportunities for awardees in their field; provide career advice to awardees regarding future academic pursuits; and be in regular communication with the awardee, via phone calls, e-mails, and in-person meetings at the annual PAS meeting.
- Second, grantees will be required to participate in three conference calls. Prior to each call, grantees will submit a 1-page structured abstract describing the project and progress to date. An abstract template will be provided in advance of the calls.
- Third, awardees will be required to attend a 1-day meeting in the fall of 2013; additional travel funds will be provided.
* * Please Note - Incomplete submissions and proposals that exceed page limits will not be forwarded to the review team.
