ACCEL Jumpstart Grant for Investigators

Donor: The Delaware CTR ACCEL Program

About: The ACCEL Jumpstart Grant Program is designed to foster new collaborations among investigators with the goal of developing strong research grant proposals. This program provides Jumpstart awards to teams that have participated in an ACCEL-sponsored Retreat or Workshop, offering up to $20,000 for a six-month period. Funds can be utilized for various purposes, including investigator release time, preliminary data collection, hiring consultants, or organizing additional retreats to support the development of research proposals.

The grants are aimed at clinical and translational research, with proposals potentially leading to either an ACCEL pilot grant or an external grant. The technical scope of the research plan must align with clinical and translational research goals, ensuring that the funded activities contribute to advancing innovative research projects. To be eligible, the Principal Investigator (PI) must have participated in an ACCEL Research Retreat or Workshop, and the proposal should emerge from these collaborative events.

To apply, proposals should be submitted using PHS 398 forms, following a structure similar to an NIH R03 proposal but with a condensed research description. The submission must include an NIH face page, summary, relevance, project/performance sites, senior/key personnel, budget with justification, biographical sketches of key personnel, research strategy, references, and additional forms if applicable, such as human subjects or vertebrate animals justification. Junior investigators must also include a section outlining success from prior IDeA awards if relevant.

The research strategy section should detail specific aims, significance, innovation, collaborators’ roles, action plans, and the target funding agency for the eventual proposal. The focus is on activities planned within the six-month period to develop a compelling research proposal.

IRB/IACUC approval is not required at submission but must be secured if the proposal involves human or animal studies before funding. Investigators working at hospitals where they are not employed may need to obtain credentials, a process that should be started well in advance.

Awardees are expected to submit a research proposal to the identified funding agency by the next submission deadline following the Jumpstart period. They must also attend and present their work at the annual ACCEL Research Conference and the NIH IDeA Conference, citing the ACCEL grant on all related publications. Quarterly progress reports and updates to ACCEL profiles are mandatory, with outcomes reported up to three years post-award.

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Focus: clinical research, translational research, investigator release time, preliminary data collection, consultant hiring, retreat organization, research proposal development, ACCEL pilot grant, external grant, IRB/IACUC approval, credentialing, budget management, progress reporting, conference attendance, publication citation

Region: Delaware, South Carolina, United States

Eligibility:
-The PI must have participated in an ACCEL Research Retreat or Workshop.
-Applicants may request up to $20,000 for 6 months.
-Funds can be used for investigator release time, preliminary data collection, hiring consultants, or additional retreats.
-The proposal should emerge from an ACCEL-sponsored event.
-Submissions must use PHS 398 forms and follow NIH R03 proposal guidelines.
-Inclusion of NIH face page, summary, relevance, project/performance sites, senior/key personnel, budget with justification, biographical sketches, research strategy, and additional forms as needed.
-Junior investigators must include a section on prior IDeA awards success.
-IRB/IACUC approval required if involving human or animal studies.
-Investigators may need to obtain hospital credentials if working at external hospitals.
-Proposals must be submitted electronically via the ACCEL website.
-All investigators on the proposal must have ACCEL website user accounts.
-Final approval by the ACCEL External Advisory Committee and NIH if involving human or animal subjects.
-Awardees must submit a research proposal to the identified funding agency by the next submission deadline.
-Attendance and presentation at the annual ACCEL Research Conference and NIH IDeA Conference.
-Citation of the ACCEL grant on all related publications.
-Completion of quarterly progress reports and ACCEL profile updates.
-Reporting on outcomes up to three years post-award.

Benefits:
-Funding up to $20,000 for 6 months.
-Support for investigator release time, preliminary data collection, consultant hiring, and retreat organization.
-Opportunity to develop competitive research grant proposals.
-Collaboration with investigators from ACCEL partner institutions.
-Priority given to proposals from multiple partner institutions.
-Potential for lowered priority for faculty with previous CTR, INBRE, COBRE, or DHSA funding.
-Expected funding for up to four awards each year.

Deadline: Rolling basis

Terms:
-ACCEL: Advancing Clinical and Translational Research through Collaboration and Innovation.
-Jumpstart Grants: Funding awards aimed at facilitating new research collaborations and proposal development.
-PHS 398: Standard forms used for grant applications, including face page, summary, budget, and biographical sketches.
-NIH R03: National Institutes of Health research grant mechanism for small, targeted projects.
-IDeA: Institutional Development Award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.
-IRB: Institutional Review Board for human subjects research approval.
-IACUC: Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee for vertebrate animal research approval.
-ACCEL Research Retreat/Workshop: Collaborative events sponsored by ACCEL to foster new research partnerships.
-Clinical and Translational Research: Research aimed at translating scientific discoveries into clinical applications.