Summary: The Infrastructure Grant is designed to fund the development of infrastructure — tools, techniques or services — that will be of use to the neuromuscular disease research community for the purpose of therapy development.  Although the need for the proposed infrastructure can be presented in the context of a specific research project or projects, the grant will ultimately be evaluated on the need for the infrastructure by the community at large, and on the applicant’s specific plan for making this resource available to the community. Collaboration and compatibility of the proposal with relevant existing infrastructure is encouraged.


DEADLINES
Summer Review:
Letter of Intent: April 23, 2010
Grant Application: May 15, 2010
Start Date: January 1, 2011
 
Fall Review:
Letter of Intent: September 15, 2010
Grant Application: October 15, 2010
Start Date: July 1, 2011

FOR ONLINE SUBMISSION OF THE "REQUEST FOR GRANT APPLICATION" go to: https://proposalcentral.altum.com

Frequently Asked Questions:
Infrastructure Grant

Who can apply?
The applicant should be a professional or faculty member at an appropriate educational, medical or research institution who is qualified to conduct and supervise a program of original research. The applicant should hold a Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor of Science or equivalent degree.

What kinds of projects are funded?
Examples of acceptable infrastructure projects include, but are not limited to, development of databases, core facilities (e.g., vector production, muscle imaging, drug screening), microarray chips, animal model resources, tissue repositories, and components of clinical research networks.

How is the application reviewed?
Grant applications to the Translational Research Program are reviewed by two or more expert ad hoc reviewers for scientific feasibility. Recommendations of ad hoc reviewers are passed on to MDA staff, who make a final funding recommendation by taking into account the ad hoc reviews and MDA priorities. All applicants, whether selected for funding or not, receive copies of the anonymous ad hoc reviews.

What are the review criteria?

1. RECOGNIZED NEED FOR PROPOSED INFRASTRUCTURE: Rationale and supporting letter(s) from potential users

2. FEASIBILITY: Description of resource and detail of its development and maintenance; evidence of effectiveness; superiority over existing similar resources

3. COMPATIBILITY WITH EXISTING RESOURCES: If applicable, is there compatibility with pre-existing data formats, protocols or record keeping?

4. ACCESS PLAN: Plan for disbursement, sharing and collaborations; ease of access, breadth of access, cost of access

5. LOCAL SUPPORT: Commitment from university, institution or other funding source to support project (e.g., commitment of space, staff, other resources)

6. COST EFFECTIVENESS: Proposed infrastructure development cost is reasonable in face of the likely benefit to the research community; vendor contracts (where applicable) are appropriate and cost-effective.

7. PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: General excellence; experience with proposed infrastructure subject

How is the grant administered?
Funding is paid in quarterly installments; continued funding is contingent in part upon a satisfactory progress report at the end of each funding year.

What restrictions apply to this grant?
Recipients of an MDA infrastructure grant must develop a plan to make this MDA-funded resource available to the research community. Grantees will be expected to honor reasonable requests for access to the resource, and in some cases, may be bound by a specific agreement with MDA. Commercialization of the resource is not necessarily precluded.

Contact
Elizabeth Habeeb-Louks
3300 E. Sunrise Drive
Tucson, AZ 85718
(520) 615-6704
(520) 529-5454 (fax)
elouks@mdavp.org