Sponsored Early-Career Research Grant

Research Grant Announcement
2019 Sponsored Early-Career Research Grant

Announcement and Request for Proposals

The call for 2019 Sponsored Early-Career Research Grants has closed.

Purpose

The Acerta Supported Early-Career Research Grant (ECR) will provide funding to promising investigators early in their career to encourage and promote quality, basic, and pre-clinical translational lab-based research, (although clinical research may also be considered), in hematology/oncology among HOPA members. The purpose of this award is to fund US-based pharmacists within their first 7 years post completion of formal training and have not yet attained R21 level funding. The Acerta Pharma supported ECR Grant will award up to $50,000 to the chosen applicant, paid in two equal installments over a two-year period.

The grant funds will be used to provide an ECR award to individuals whose research has an emphasis on hematology research, primarily within research concerning Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), BCell Malignancies, and Non‐Hodgkin’s lymphomas.

This funding will help bridge the gap for early investigators from their residency or fellowship program into major grant funding for continued oncology pharmacy research. The Sponsored ECR Grant is designed to assist early-career pharmacy researchers in establishing themselves within the field, develop into committed members of HOPA, and active researchers in oncology pharmacy. The applicants must be HOPA members in order to apply for the funding and not concurrently be awarded any other grants from HOPA. Grant recipients are required to attend the HOPA Annual Meeting the following year in order to participate in the HOPA Grants and Awards Ceremony, at which time they can provide any preliminary data or updates on their research. The recipient is subsequently required to present their completed research at the HOPA Annual Meeting immediately following the last year of their funding period.

Applicant Criteria

Pharmacist (PharmD.) working within the United States and within 7 years of completion of his/her formal residency or fellowship training by the award of the grant.
Planning an investigative career in pharmacy.
Have a valid, active pharmacy license in the state where the research will be conducted at the time of application.
Applicant must be a HOPA member.
Applicant has not yet attained R21 level funding.
A department commitment by the applicant’s director/manager with a letter supporting the applicant at the time of grant submission the provision of applicable time and effort over the 2-year span of the grant.
Have a mentor secured in the proposed research field from either the sponsoring institution or an institution within the US. The mentor must assume responsibility and provide guidance for the research. If the mentor is not a HOPA member, a supporting letter from a HOPA member from the applicant’s institution must be included in addition to the mentor support letter. A mentor letter of support is required as part of the application process to ensure that the principal investigator has the support needed to complete the research study.
Be able to commit at least 10% of full-time effort in research (applies to total research, not just the proposed project) during the award period.
Eligible pharmacists are allowed to hold only one grant from HOPA at a time.

Mentor Component Requirement

Mentoring will be an essential component of the Sponsored ECR Grant. Awarded early-career pharmacists will be required to work with a mentor either from their sponsoring institution or to find a mentor from another institution within the United States. The mentor will occupy an important role in guiding and ensuring the completion of the proposed research. Moreover, the mentor serves as a valuable resource and support for early-career investigators attempting to establish their career in oncology pharmacy.

Review

The application process will be managed and overseen by the HOPA Research - Basic & Translational Sciences Committee and will occur in two steps. First, applicants will be asked to submit Letters of Intent (LOI) to be reviewed by a peer review task group selected by the Committee. The task group will submit recommendations to the Committee for final approval, and those applicants approved will then be asked to submit full applications.

All full applications will be reviewed by a peer review task group. An effort will be made to find reviewers who have expertise in the research topic of each application; however, this is not always possible in highly specialized areas. Requests for funds will be critiqued on the following items:

The strength of the research
Alignment of the proposed project with HOPA's Strategic Plan and goals
The strength of collaboration
Defined plan for future extramural support

After the review task group completes their scoring of submitted applications, they will once again submit their recommendations to the Basic and Translational Committee Chair and Vice Chair for final review and approval.

Budget Guidelines

The budget guidelines for applicants are as follows:

Total Award:
- The total award amount is $50,000 over the 2 year period, payable on or about late December/early January in two equal installments. The total requested budget must be less than or equal to $50,000.
Research support:
- At least $44,500 should support costs directly related to the research project such as personnel salary, supplies, equipment, and other expenses. Budgeted items, fees and cost must be consistent with available institutional facilities and resources. Professional membership dues, tuition fees, and fees for academic courses are unallowable costs.
Equipment:
- Non-expendable equipment: Equipment is defined as an item which has a primary function related to the project and will ordinarily have a useable life expectancy of over one year and costs $5,000 or more. When equipment is mandatory for the successful completion of the proposed project, an equipment allowance may be included in the grant with justification and approval from HOPA.
- The purchase of computers or computer components (including software) not in the original budget must be approved in advance.
Changes to the budget:
- With the exception of computer equipment, up to 25% of any major budget category may be transferred to another major budget category at the discretion of the investigator. Transfers greater than 25% require prior written approval and should be sent in writing with a justification. Project directors may make unlimited shifts within each major budget category.
Travel:
- Applicant: Up to $1,500 may be allotted specifically for the applicant’s to travel to the HOPA Grants and Awards Ceremony at the following HOPA Annual Meeting in March of the following year to formally accept the award and present summary of the proposed grant and any updates (if available, any preliminary data). Attendance is mandatory at the HOPA Grants and Awards Ceremony, which will take place during the HOPA Annual Meeting in March 2019. HOPA approves costs incurred to attend this annual meeting as pre-award costs. HOPA will provide a complementary HOPA Annual Meeting registration when presenting.
- Mentor: Up to $1,500 may be allotted specifically for the mentor for travel use to a) the HOPA Annual Meeting with the grantee if the mentor is at same institution; b) the grantee’s institution to meet and discuss the on-going status of the project and to support the grantee, if mentor is at a different institution. HOPA will provide a complementary HOPA Annual Meeting registration when presenting.

Application Process

Letters of intent, mentor support letter, department support letter, and institutional letter of support must be submitted electronically to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If the mentor is not a HOPA member, a supporting letter from a HOPA member from the applicant’s institution must be included in addition to the mentor support letter.
The LOIs will be reviewed by members of the HOPA Research - Basic & Translational Sciences Committee and a decision regarding acceptance for development into a full grant proposal will be sent to applicants. Concepts presented in the LOI that do not address stated objectives and/or criteria of the request for applications (RFA) will be returned with a letter of explanation and not considered further.
Submitters of LOIs that are approved for development will be invited to prepare a full grant proposal using the current NIH format. Refer to http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html for format. Grant applications must be submitted electronically as a single PDF file to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
All applicants will receive written feedback regarding review of their application.
Here you can find the Letter of Intent (LOI) format details.
Here you can find a list of Frequently Asked Questions.

STRICT ADHERENCE TO THE INSTRUCTIONS IS NECESSARY OR THE PROPOSAL WILL NOT BE REVIEWED.

Award Administration

Funds will be released in two $25,000 instalments to the investigator in their entirety, over a two year period, and contingent upon Institutional Review Board approval, unless stipulations are placed on the disbursement by the HOPA Research - Basic & Translational Sciences Committee in its review of the application.
The awardee is required to submit a quarterly report of progress to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The awardee is expected to present the results of their research at the HOPA annual meeting. This presentation is expected to occur no later than two years after the release of the research funds. The results of the study are expected to be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed biomedical print or online journal. The Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association is to be acknowledged in any presentation or publication for its support of the research.
View the budget guidelines (above) to determine what costs are and are not covered by the grant or by HOPA.
All unused funds remaining from the grant 48 months after the disbursement must be returned to HOPA. The investigator may petition the HOPA Research - Basic & Translational Sciences Committee for an extension for use of the funds. This request for an extension must be made at least six months before the expiration of the grant.

Progress Reporting by Awarded Investigator

On accepting the award the Principle Investigator agrees to provide the following as requested.

Quarterly Reports (click here for form): PI to provide a Quarterly Report to the Committee on progress of project with any comments from mentor.
- During 1st year, Mentor & Mentee must meet and document their interaction via communication to HOPA as requested.
- PI must submit Quarterly Reports within 14 days of report deadlines. Failure to provide Quarterly Reports will lead to withholding of future grant payment
After the close of the final year, a final progress report must be submitted.
- Included with the reports should be a list of any publications, presentations, and abstracts that are a result of this award.
- The final report is due 60 days after the end of the project period.
HOPA must be acknowledged as supporting the research in all publications, presentations and abstracts

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