CALLING ALL EARLY CAREER CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY RESEARCHERS!

AACAP’s Research Committee is seeking applications for the 2025 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Research Institute (CAPRI)!

Occurring at AACAP’s 2025 Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, October 20-25, 2025, this 2-day event (Oct 20-21) is the beginning of a two-year journey for up to 12 early research career child and adolescent psychiatrists to receive ongoing mentorship from leaders in the field AND career development planning through exposure to skills and strategies to bolster the chances of independent grant funding as a principal investigator (PI) of a career development (K) award or other equivalent National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant mechanisms.

• Networking and informational sessions with NIH officers on NIH’s strategic plan and funding priorities relevant to child and adolescent psychiatrists.
• Break-out groups led by nationally recognized and experienced research faculty from academic child and adolescent psychiatry research programs on topics such as:
  • Career development
  • Identifying and networking with mentors
  • Addressing specific gender and underrepresented minority issues
  • Discussing practical ways to achieve work-life harmony
• Participants will present to their group and senior faculty member(s) a research proposal for review and critique.
• Networking opportunities with peers and senior faculty leaders. 
• Travel reimbursement up to $2,000 to attend CAPRI at the Annual Meeting.

Prior to the CAPRI, all participants will 1) Submit a draft of the K Award (or other) grant proposal’s Specific Aims for review; (2) Review faculty biosketches to become familiar with the group of Mentors; and (3) Participate in a pre-Institute orientation webinar.

After the Annual Meeting, CAPRI will host one-hour monthly webinars for sustaining group cohesion and mentorship from November through June. Primarily, these will be CAPRI Scholars presenting research updates about their K-award submissions and receiving feedback from Mentors and peers.

CAPRI is co-chaired by Daniel Dickstein, MD (McLean Hospital), Lisa Fortuna, MD, MPH (University of California, Riverside), and Manpreet Singh, MD, MS (University of California, Davis).

Ideal candidates are:

• MDs, DOs, MD/PhDs, DO/PhDs, or MD/MPHs
• Child and adolescent psychiatrists or triple board trained, or general psychiatry residents with a strong interest in child and adolescent psychiatry research
• Current trainees or within 5 years of completing fellowship
• Interested in submitting a K or equivalent grant application within the next 3 years
• AACAP has an ongoing strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. Applications by members of underrepresented populations in biomedical and clinical research are strongly encouraged. https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-20-031.html
• AACAP members or those with an AACAP membership application pending
• Preference will be given to those who have not participated in the full program in the past

Application Requirements

Submit all application materials by April 1, 2025.

1. Specific aims page – no more than one page.
2.  A career development plan – no more than one page addressing how this program and a theoretical K award will help propel the career development of the applicant. It may include plans for future grant submissions.
3.  Self-identification form (optional).
4.  A letter of support from mentor (ideally one planned for a K award-type grant).
5.  Candidate's current curriculum vitae.
6.  Mentor’s curriculum vitae or NIH biosketch.
7.  Letter detailing any current research funding (role on project, title, type of project, and source of funds).

Selection Process

The merit-based process  involves the following:

Administrative Review - Submissions are vetted for completion of the required application materials. Incomplete applications will not be forwarded for further review. Please ensure you meet the eligibility requirements and have submitted all requested application materials before finalizing your application.

Selection Review - Applications undergo a review process by the CAPRI selection panel with involvement of members of the AACAP Research Committee. These AACAP members with relevant expertise score each application factoring the following criteria:

• Candidate: A record of involvement in research-related activities.
• Career Development: Given the candidate's career development plan, the degree to which this event will impact the trajectory of the candidate's career.
• Research Plan: Quality of the overall proposed research proposed in the aims, including hypotheses, study design, and methods.
• Feasibility: Given the candidate’s experience and support, the likelihood that the proposed research proposal will receive funding within 3-5 years.
• Mentorship: The candidate has (or the potential to have) one or more mentors with the appropriate research experience to provide guidance at a local level.
• Resources: The institution has and makes available adequate support, e.g., equipment, facilities, and interdepartmental collaboration, for the project to succeed.
• Originality: The product of this research will add significantly to existing knowledge.
• Presentation: Quality of application.
• Diversity: Candidate is a member of an underrepresented population in biomedical and clinical research and/or the research addresses diversity, equity, and inclusion (through population, topic, community partnership, etc.).

The selection process is finalized after the panel’s discussion of the overall top ranked proposals. Notifications will take place in early summer.

Questions

Please contact AACAP’s Department of Research, Grants, and Workforce at research@aacap.org or call 202.966.7300 for additional information or questions.