AACAP Drs. Gabrielle and Harold Carlson Psychopharmacology Research Award

The availability of all awards is contingent upon the receipt of adequate funding.

Request for Applications - Deadline: May 1, 2024

The AACAP Drs. Gabrielle and Harold Carlson Psychopharmacology Research Award offers $20,000 to one child and adolescent psychiatry 2nd year fellow or early career faculty to complete a two-year mentored research project in the area of psychopharmacology, to include neurotherapeutics, with a focus on practical and investigative work toward treatment for children and adolescents. This award supports early investigators at a critical stage, encouraging a future career in child and adolescent psychiatry research. The recipient will submit a poster presentation on their research for AACAP’s 73^rd Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, October 26-31, 2026.

Award Requirements

Applicants must be a child and adolescent psychiatry fellow at least in their second year of fellowship OR a child and adolescent psychiatrist who has completed their child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship within 7 years.
Applicants must be AACAP members or have membership pending at the time of application.
Applicants must have a faculty appointment in an accredited medical school or be in an accredited child and adolescent psychiatry training program, or research program.
Applicants who have served as Principal Investigator on an NIH R01 grant are not eligible.
Applicants with a K award are eligible to apply, though priority will be given to applicants who do not have current substantial federal research funding (>$25,000/year).
Applicants must have an on-site mentor who has experience in the type of research that is being proposed that will normally include work with children and adolescents.
Project topics should be within the areas of psychopharmacology and/or neurotherapeutics. Examples include but are not limited to the following: treatment of psychiatric disorders including open and controlled studies, analyses of existing primary and secondary outcome datasets, secondary effects of covariates on treatment outcomes, large data analytics, and exploration of mechanisms of action.

Application Guidelines

Research Proposal
A proposal, no more than seven pages (single spaced, no less than 12 pt. font and 1" margins), including four pages of research strategy, a one-page detailed project timeline, one-page budget and justification, and one page addressing the inclusion or exclusion of women and minorities. (References may exceed the page limit).

The research strategy should include the following sections:
- significance and specific aims;
- hypotheses;
- background and rationale; and
- a research plan (including data analysis plan).
The detailed project timeline should list tentative dates of all procedures for the proposed research project. These include but are not limited to:
- data collection processes;
- analysis of results; and
- final report writing.
The budget ($10,000 per year for two years) should contain sufficient detail so that each item can be separately judged. Budget (year 2) should include travel support to AACAP’s 73^rd Annual Meeting. Institutional overhead is allowable but limited to 8% of the total award.

Career Development Plan (no more than 1 page in length) which illustrates how the award will assist the applicant in reaching their goal of becoming an independent researcher.
A letter of support from the proposed primary mentor.
Candidate's current curriculum vitae.
Mentor’s CV or NIH Biosketch
Letter detailing any current research funding (role on project, title, type of project, and source of funds).

Program Format

The award recipient is encouraged to work with a child and adolescent psychiatric investigator with expertise in their particular area of interest. Project must be completed within two years of receipt of the award. Submission of project results is due in June 2026 to the AACAP Annual Meeting Call for Papers. Funding is up to $20,000 ($10,000 per year) beginning on September 1, 2024 and ending October 31, 2026. (the time the award-funded project is presented at the 73^rd AACAP Annual Meeting). Any unused funds must be returned to AACAP. All awardees are expected to attend any required events at the Annual Meeting at AACAP’s discretion.

AACAP has the right to waive informalities.

Application Deadline

All completed applications and attachments must be submitted by May 1, 2024.

Review Process

Applications will be reviewed by child and adolescent psychiatrists with expertise in psychopharmacology and/or neurotherapeutics. Prior to the scientific review process, applications will undergo an administrative review process.

Administrative Review – Applications will be reviewed for submission of all application materials. Incomplete applications will not be forwarded for scientific review. Please ensure you meet the eligibility requirements and have submitted all requested application materials before finalizing your application.
Scientific Review – Applications will undergo a scientific review process by child and adolescent psychiatrists. A selection committee made up of members of the Psychopharmacology and Neurotherapeutics Committee and Research Committee will review applications. Members of the Committees are eligible for the award if they do not serve on the selection committee. The review criteria are as follows:

Significance: The study addresses an important problem.
Approach: The study is adequately developed, well integrated, well reasoned, and appropriate to the aims of the project.
Innovation: The project is original and innovative.
Investigator: The investigator is well suited to carry out this work.
Environment: The scientific environment in which the work will be done and the mentor with whom the work will be done contribute to the probability of success.
Feasibility: The project is doable in the allotted time.
Mentorship: At least one of the mentor(s) selected have the appropriate research experience and the time available to provide guidance and oversight of the project.
Career Development: Given the candidate's career development plan, this award will impact the trajectory of the candidate's career.
Diversity: The candidate is a member of an underrepresented population in clinical research according to NIH definition.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Letters of support must be uploaded by the endorser (i.e., mentor). Please notify endorsers of this process and the application deadline.