Clinical Research Training Scholarship

The Clinical Research Training Scholarship (CRTS) award aims to recognize the importance of good clinical research and to encourage early career investigators in clinical studies

In 2023, FPN, in partnership with the American Brain Foundation (ABF) and the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), has awarded two $150,000 research grants dispersed over the course of two years. A third award was given in 2024. FPN’s grant is being administered through ABF’s Next Generation Research Grants program. For most recipients, this grant is their first major, independent research award. It provides an opportunity to gain experience managing a grant-funded research award while in a mentored environment. Since the start of the program in 1993, approximately $33M has been provided to more than 300 researchers. Over 80% of recipients have gone on to secure additional research funding from the NIH, NIA, and other sources.

This program is unique in neurology and brain research because of its interdisciplinary approach to research (which ABF calls “Cure One, Cure Many”). This approach fosters connections between brain diseases through a cohort of early career researchers working across the spectrum of brain diseases and disorders.

The CRTS program is intended to encourage emerging experts in peripheral neuropathy to develop innovative solutions that improve the treatment or prevention of peripheral neuropathy. Research proposals are evaluated for their ability to address key outstanding questions and have the potential to create a change in current wisdom or knowledge about peripheral neuropathy and/or lead to a groundbreaking discovery. 

To be eligible for the award, applicants must:

• Be an early-career investigator, in the first five years of their initial academic appointment, or within five years of finishing their PhD or residency/fellowship.
• Be working within a U.S.-based non-profit organization, public or private, such as universities, colleges, hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local governments and eligible agencies of the federal government.
• Hold an MD, DMD, DVM, PhD or equivalent, and have a faculty position or equivalent at a college, university, medical school, or other research facility.
• Conduct their research and be appointed at an institution in the United States.
• Have a letter of support from the department chair/division chief, ensuring that the applicant has sufficient laboratory space and support to complete the proposed project and that at least 50% of the applicant’s time will be protected for research activities.
• Demonstrate a commitment to the field of peripheral neuropathy.
• Must be an American Academy of Neurology (AAN) member

In terms of the application process, this year’s (2024) dates are:

June 3 – applications open
September 10 – applications close
Early November, TBD – review day
Early January 2025 – recipients notified
July 1, 2025 – funding to new recipients begins

Recipients for the inaugural CRTS were announced in January 2023.

The recipient for the 2024 CRTS was announced in January 2024.

Eligibility and Application Requirements

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