Sponsored by the AACAP Work Group on Research — Research Initiative

The AACAP Junior Investigator Award for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Junior Faculty

Request for Applications - Deadline: March 2, 2009

The AACAP Junior Investigator Award offers two awards of up to $30,000 a year for two years for child and adolescent psychiatry junior faculty (assistant professor level or equivalent). The program is intended to facilitate innovative research. The research may be basic or clinical in nature but must be relevant to our understanding, treatment and prevention of child and adolescent mental health disorders. Recipients are required to submit a poster or oral presentation on his or her research for the AACAP's 58th Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada, October 18-23, 2011. The award also includes the cost of attending the AACAP Annual Meeting for five days.

Award Requirements

• Applicants must be board eligible or certified in child and adolescent psychiatry.
• Applicants must have a doctoral level degree and be in a faculty or independent research position.
• Applicants who have served as Principal Investigator on an NIH R01 grant are not eligible.
• Applicants must have an on-site mentor who has had experience in the type of research that is being proposed that will normally include work with children and adolescents.
• Candidates must either be AACAP members or have a membership application pending (not paid by the award).
• Funding is for two years; up to $30,000 per year. Funding for the second year will be based on a review of progress made.
• Use of funding support is flexible. Funding support may be used for: award recipient salary and fringe benefits, supplies, lab costs, equipment, etc. as long as the support is in the service of the research project. All expenses must be justified. Institutional overhead is allowable but limited to 8%.
• Funding support may be used to supplement an ongoing research project.

Application Guidelines

Application Materials*

• Application Form - Click here to download the application
• Budget
• Mentor Letter
• Applicant CV
• Mentor CV or NIH Biosketch
• List of Other Current Grant Support for Applicant
• List of Other Current Grant Support for Mentor
• Research Proposal
  • The Research Proposal should be no less than 10 pages and no more than 14 pages in length (Single spaced, no less than 12 pt font). The Research Proposal must include an abstract, an introduction, information on research experience, a description of research methods, and collaborations, if any.
  • Abstract – The abstract should not exceed 200 words. The abstract is a clear and concise description of the proposed research. It should include the long-term objectives and specific aims of the project, as well as the research design and overall impact on the field of child and adolescent psychiatry. This section should be understandable by the lay public.
  • Introduction – The introduction should not exceed 2 pages. The introduction should convey the relevance and importance of the proposed research to the field of child and adolescent psychiatry. It should include background information and a rationale based on a critical review of related research and how the proposed research will meet the deficiencies in knowledge based on current science or the limitations of related research.
  • Research Experience – The Research Experience Section should not exceed one page. This section should include a demonstration of the applicant’s familiarity with the subject matter and methods proposed through a description of relevant prior experience.
  • Research Methods – The research methods should deal separately with sample, assessment or intervention methods, statistical design and evaluation. In the event that the applicant is to undertake a unique examination of a sample group that is already being studied for something else, the applicant must add an appendix that details the methods used in the other study and precisely iterate how the proposed research will be a discrete and separate effort that would not otherwise be completed.
  • Collaborations – If the proposed research is based on an active collaboration, the collaborators will need to be identified and submit a letter of acknowledgement and support of the proposed research methodology.
• Career Development Plan (no more than 2 pages in length) which illustrates how the award will assist them in reaching their goal of becoming an independent researcher.

(*Human and Animal Subjects must be verified at time of award and do not need to be included with the application.)

AACAP has the right to waive informalities.

Application Deadline
All completed applications and attachments must be submitted by March 2, 2009. Electronic materials should be sent to asommer@aacap.org.

If you need to mail any additional attachments, please submit them to the following address. Please note all application requirements (application and attachments) must be submitted/postmarked by March 2, 2009.

 Junior Investigator Award
AACAP Department of Research, Training and Education
3615 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20016

For more information, contact the Department of Research, Training and Education at 202.966.7300, ext. 157 or email Alyssa Sommer, Research Coordinator at asommer@aacap.org.