Alzheimer's Association Research Grant — New to the Field (AARG-NTF)

Competition objectives

The Alzheimer's Association Research Grant – New to the Field (AARG-NTF) award aims to fund investigators who are new to Alzheimer's and all other dementia field of research. The purpose of this program is to provide independent investigators with unique expertise and apply their knowledge to Alzheimer's and all other dementias.

This program aims to provide these investigators with funding to establish a research path in Alzheimer's and all other dementias, to develop preliminary or pilot data, to test procedures and to develop hypotheses. Individuals who are new to the field of neuroscience or neurodegeneration (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Lewy body dementia, etc.) will be considered for this program. The intent is to support research that will lay the groundwork for future research grant applications to federal or other funding entities, like the National Institutes of Health, including future proposals to the Alzheimer's Association. The Alzheimer's Association recognizes the need to increase the number of scientists from underrepresented groups in the research enterprise.

This program is not intended for investigators that have and/or are working in neurodegeneration-related research, nor early career researchers; this program is intended for investigators from other disciplines applying their expertise to Alzheimer’s and all other dementia research. The goal of the New to the Field program is to provide an opportunity for investigators with expertise outside neurodegenerative research to apply their expertise to advance and accelerate Alzheimer’s and all other dementia. Competitive applications to this program emphasize how the specific expertise/approach will advance research.

The mechanism of the award is the individual research grant. The maximum allowable duration is three years (minimum two years).

Note: AARG-NTF applicants must confirm their eligibility and receive an exception prior to submitting an Letter of Intent (LOI).

Funding and award period

Each AARG-NTF award total is limited to $200,000 (direct and indirect costs) for up to three years (Award should be a minimum 2 years. For a 2 year award the total is limited to $140,000 with direct and indirect costs). Requests may not exceed $70,000 in any given year (direct and indirect costs). Indirect costs are capped at 10 percent of total direct costs and are inclusive of indirect costs for the implementing institution as well as to any subcontracts.

Eligibility

Applicants must be an Assistant Professors or above at their respective academic institution and who are new to the field of neuroscience or neurodegeneration (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Lewy body dementia, etc.):

• If the applicant’s institution does not have an Assistant Professor position, the letter of employment should include sufficient information to allow the Alzheimer's Association staff to evaluate the eligibility of the applicant.
• Applicants must contact the Alzheimer's Association Research Grants Team at [email protected] to receive an exception prior to submitting an LOI. Please include your full CV, which must include full publication and funding record (biosketches are not accepted).
• Applicants should not have more than 1 publication as first or last author in Alzheimer’s or other dementia field.
• Applicants should not have more than $200,000 in current or past funding for Alzheimer’s and other dementia.

Applicants must contact the Alzheimer's Association Research Grants Team at [email protected] to verify eligibility and inquire regarding any possible exception prior to submitting a Letter of Intent (LOI). No exceptions will be made after the LOI deadline has passed.

Ineligibility

• Individuals currently enrolled in a Doctoral Program are not eligible, regardless of prior degree status.
• Please refer to Section III: B. Eligibility & Ineligibility in the full Program Announcement for additional ineligibility criteria.

Deadlines and award dates

Letter of Intent deadline: March 6, 2023, 5 p.m. EST.

Each AARG-NTF LOI is evaluated with attention to:

• Background and training of applicant and how transitioning to the field will elevate Alzheimer's and all dementia research; specifically, how their unique expertise applied to Alzheimer's and all dementias will advance/elevate research in potentially new directions.
• Demonstrable innovation/novelty of the proposed project (especially in the context of the PIs recently funded work).
• Alignment with the research priorities of the Alzheimer's Association.
• Impact of project on Alzheimer's and all other dementia research.
• Evidence of methodological rigor that address the research question(s) being proposed.

Letter of Intent notifications: Week of April 3, 2023.

Note: Due to the high volume of submissions, specific feedback and reviewer comments are not provided at the LOI stage.

Application deadline: May 4, 2023, 5 p.m. EST.

If invited to submit a full application, each AARG-NTF application is evaluated on:

• Significance of the question being studied.
• Applicant information – including the training of the PI insofar as it enables them to perform the work proposed and qualifications of the collaborators and the expertise they bring to the project. Review will pay special consideration to applicant description of how applying their expertise and transitioning to the field will elevate Alzheimer's and all dementia research.
• Quality of the work plan – including novelty and innovation of the proposed project; additionally, projects that involve human subjects will be evaluated on planned recruitment efforts.
• Quality and adequacy of available resources and budget.
• Impact-Risk of the proposal and how it will add to the field’s overall knowledge and advancement.
• Resubmissions will have the opportunity to provide a response to prior review.

Award notifications: Prior to August 30, 2023.

Budget

A “budget summary” for the proposed research project is required and must be submitted with the application and within the allowable two-page limit. However, if the application is to be awarded, a more detailed budget will be required and must be approved before the disbursement of funds.

Allowable costs under this award

It is required that most of the funds awarded under this program be used for direct research support. No more than 10% of the total direct costs may be included as indirect costs; this is inclusive of indirect costs for the implementing institution as well as any to subcontracts.

Allowable costs include:

• Purchase and care of laboratory animals
• Small pieces of laboratory equipment and laboratory supplies 
• Purchases over $10,000 require prior approval, even if included in the project proposal budget
• Computer software if used strictly for data collection (requires prior approval)
• Salary for the principal investigator, scientific (including postdoctoral fellows) and technical staff (including laboratory technicians and administrative support directly related to the funded grant); there is no salary cap 
• Membership to scientific association
• Professional development / communication training
• Training costs to visit and perform research related to the awarded project on another laboratory/facility (this is not to be included in the travel costs)
• ​Support for travel to scientific and professional meetings not to exceed $5,000 in any given year; additional support for travel expenses necessary to carry out research planned not to exceed $2,000 in any given year – this may include site visits. Total travel cost should not exceed $7,500 for the duration of the award.
• Participant travel expenses for projects involving human participants is not included in the travel and is allowable expenses that can be captured under other expenses (itemized) in the budget.

Direct costs not allowed under this award

Direct costs not allowed include:

• Computer hardware or standard software (e.g., Microsoft Office, mouse monitor, computer parts)
• Laboratory equipment such as freezers, ultracentrifuges, RT-PCR, Microscopy/imaging equipment
• Service contract fees of equipment
• Construction or renovation costs
• Tuition
• Rent for laboratory/office space
• Expenses such as Data Network Recharges and Computing and communication device support services. However, data sharing and/or data storage for imaging, sequencing and other study data is allowed
• General liability insurances, such as GAEL
• Wire and currency exchange fees
• The Alzheimer’s Association Medical and Scientific Advisory Group (MSAG), the International Research Grant Program (IRGP) Council members and current employees of the Alzheimer’s Association are allowed to be key personnel or collaborators on projects, however they are NOT ALLOWED to receive any salary or compensation. A complete list of MSAG and IRGP Council members can be found on our website.

Reporting requirements

Please see Section III, J: Reporting Requirements for additional details. This award requires:

• Annual scientific progress reports.
• Annual financial reports.
• Annual reports on recruitment & retention efforts (if applicable).

Contact information