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

Request for Applications - Deadline: April 1, 2021

The AACAP Pilot Research Award for Learning Disabilities, supported by AACAP’s Elaine Schlosser Lewis Fund, offers $15,000 for child and adolescent psychiatry fellows and early career faculty who have an interest in beginning a career in child and adolescent psychiatry research. By providing up to two awards to a child and adolescent psychiatry early career faculty member or fellow for pilot research on psychiatric conditions that involve learning dysfunction, we support a young investigator at a critical stage, encouraging a future career in child and adolescent psychiatry research. The recipient has the opportunity to submit a poster presentation on his or her research for AACAP’s 69th Annual Meeting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, October 17-22, 2022. The award also includes travel support to attend the AACAP Annual Meeting for up to five days.

AACAP has an ongoing strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. Applications by members of underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged.

Award Requirements

• Candidates must be board eligible/certified in child and adolescent psychiatry or enrolled in a child psychiatry residency or fellowship program.
• Candidates must have a faculty appointment in an accredited medical school or be in a fully accredited child and adolescent psychiatry clinical research or training program.
• At the time of application, candidates may not have more than two years of experience following graduation from residency/fellowship training.
• Candidates must not have any previous significant, individual research funding in the field of child and adolescent mental health. These include the following: NIMH/NIH Funding (Small Grants, R-01) or similar foundation or industry research funding. Candidates who have received or are currently receiving "T32" funding support are eligible to apply.
• Candidates must either be AACAP members or have a membership application pending (not paid by the award) and agree to submit a poster presentation on his or her research for AACAP’s 69th Annual Meeting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, October 17-22, 2022.

Application Guidelines

Application Form

A proposal, no more than seven pages (single spaced, no less than 12 pt. font and 1" margins), including four pages of research protocol, a one-page detailed project timeline, a 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 protocol should include the following sections: significance and specific aims; hypotheses; background and rationale; and a research plan (including data analysis plan). Research may be pre-clinical, epidemiological, or clinical.
• 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 should contain sufficient detail so that each item can be separately judged. Computer related items (e.g., personal computers, printers, modems, etc.) are extremely unlikely to receive budget approval. No salary support for the principal investigator will be provided. No indirect costs for the institution will be provided. Typical budget items may include but are not limited to: subject honoraria and travel expenses; instrumentation costs; assay and lab test costs; and/or payment to research assistants.
• If women or minorities will not be included, detailed justification of the rationale for their exclusion is mandatory. Such exclusion may lower enthusiasm for the proposal.

A letter of support from section chief or department chair.
A letter of support from the proposed mentor.
Candidate's current curriculum vitae.
Mentor’s curriculum vitae.
Letter detailing any current research funding (role on project, title, type of project, and source of funds).
(Human and Animal Subjects must be verified at time of award and do not need to be included with the application.)

Program Format

The award recipient is encouraged to work with a child and adolescent psychiatric investigator with expertise in his or her particular area of interest. Work must be completed within one year of receipt of the award. Submission of the pilot data is due in June 2022. Funding is up to $15,000 beginning on August 1, 2021 and ending October 31, 2022. (the time the award-funded research is presented at the 2022 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 April 1, 2021.

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

For more information contact the Department of Research, Grants, and Workforce at research@aacap.org or call (202) 966-7300.