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Graduate Student Award

General Information

  • The applicant and co-investigators must be North American members of ASRA Pain Medicine.
  • The applicant must be graduate or medical student.
  • The amount of the award will not exceed $10,000.
  • The applicant must provide a letter of support from his/her research mentor guaranteeing that sufficient funds, equipment, and time are available to complete the proposed project.
  • All requests for funds will be considered, and the committee retains the right to divide the available funds in any manner it deems appropriate with agreement of the investigators involved.
  • The research proposal must be concerned with an original idea or concept (i.e., has not been done before). The research must be carried out primarily by the applicant. Assistance by or collaboration with other academic faculty or staff anesthesiologists is permitted; these secondary investigators must be identified in the application.
  • The applicant should identify a senior researcher who agrees to serve as a mentor for the proposed project and provide the necessary equipment and environment to perform the project. This individual should state in writing his/her willingness to serve in this position.
  • The grant requests can be for any project falling into the research priorities of ASRA Pain Medicine.

Guidelines

Please refer to the research priorities determined by ASRA Pain Medicine leadership for this cycle. This does not mean that you cannot apply for an area of research outside the scope of the priorities listed. The cycle for the grant awards is April 2025 - April 2027.

Timeline and Process

  • July 15, 2024-October 1, 2024 - LOIs are due by 5:00 pm ET October 1, 2024 to asramembership@asra.com. Late or incomplete submissions will not be considered. Complete the Narrative Requirements, and provide typed in 10 pt Times New Roman, no longer than 1 page, not including biosketch, and submitted as a single file only PDF format.
  • By mid-November 2024 – The ASRA Pain Medicine Committee on Research on Research will notify those selected to submit grant proposals. The Committee will also respond to those not selected to submit a full grant proposal.
  • January 31, 2025 – Invited grant proposals are due by 5:00 pm ET.
  • After ASRA PM Spring Board of Directors meeting - ASRA research committee will notify awardee

If you have any questions, please send an email to asramembership@asra.com  or call the ASRA Pain Medicine office at 412-471-2718.

Letter of Intent Process and Guidelines

Please refer to the Research Grant Priorities, determined by ASRA Pain Medicine leadership for this cycle, which are recommended but not required. This does not mean that you cannot apply for an area of research outside the scope of the priorities listed. 

Letters of intent are limited to 1 page, not including biosketch. This high-level, succinct overview will encompass critical objectives, resources requested, and outcomes to be achieved. The ASRA Pain Medicine Committee on Research will review all LOIs to ensure they meet grant objectives. Submitters of accepted projects will then be asked to submit a full grant proposal.

Narrative Requirements:

  • Objectives of the proposed clinical trial and hypothesis to be tested
    • Background
    • Hypothesis
    • Objectives
  • ASRA Pain Medicine priority addressed in this application
  • Research environment
  • Research team (include biosketch max 100 words per applicant)

Grant Application Format

The ASRA Pain Medicine Committee on Research will select projects based on the initial letter of intent to be expanded into a full grant submission. The following requirements apply to grant applications.

  1. A letter from the mentor/senior researcher confirming the availability of time and facilities for the project must accompany each application. The chair of the department will assure that this grant money will be used for the title of the grant and any unused money will be returned to ASRA Pain Medicine. The application should be sent as a single pdf file to asramembership@asra.com by 5 pm EST on the deadline date.
  2. Budget
    1. The award is made to the individual investigator.
    2. Money can be utilized for salary support for the applicant only.
    3. Up to 10% of total budget can be utilized for indirect institution costs.
    4. Money will not be awarded for the following:
      1. Salary support for anyone but the applicant
      2. Travel
      3. Secretarial or clerical support staff.
    5. Since the amount is not sufficient to carry out investigations which require sophisticated equipment, the Committee on Research must be assured that, when needed, such equipment is available to the applicant. This information should be provided to the Committee on Research in writing from the chair of the department or other responsible individual.
    6. Institutional financial support for the research proposed may also be available to the applicant and should be indicated in the complete research grant proposal. If, during the year of the award, extramural support for the project is obtained, the chair of the ASRA Pain Medicine Committee on Research must be notified immediately and the awardee must return unspent monies that have been replaced by such extramural support in order that other deserving investigators can be funded.
    7. The award for a successful application will generally be available on the first of July of the year following submission, although this time is somewhat flexible under special circumstances.
  3. Curriculum vitae of the applicant (principal investigator) an the mentor should be included with a listing of any past or present research support.
  4. Research plan, which should include the following components (maximum of 3 pages excluding references)
    1. Introduction
      1. Significance of the research
      2. Background, including significant work that has been previously published in the field as well as any preliminary work by the applicant or collaborators (the latter is certainly not essential for a successful award)
      3. Specific aims of the project
    2.  Methods
      1. Specific methodology
        1. Techniques to be utilized
        2. Animal species or patient population
        3. Type of data that will be obtained
        4. Method of data analysis
        5. If the project is clinical, the approval of the Institutional Human Investigation Committee must be included. If the study involves animals, the approval of the institutional review board for such animal studies should also be included (or evidence that a submission has been made).
      2. Rationale behind the proposed approach to the objective
      3. Potential pitfalls, with an explanation of potential problems and response to those problems
      4. Proposed timetable
      5. Literature cited
  5. The application should be submitted as a single pdf (electronic form) form to the chair of the ASRA Pain Medicine Committee on Research at the email address below.
  6. Please e-mail all applications to asramembership@asra.com.
  7. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Reports and Publications

  • Grant recipients must make an annual program report to the ASRA Pain Medicine Committee on Research to include a list of expenditures in the 12 months following receipt of the grant. The report can be 2-3 pages in length and should include citation of any publications in press or to be published. If a report is not generated, the chair of the department to where the funding has been issued will be contacted.
  • A final report must be submitted within 12 months of the termination of the grant. Any abstract or paper ready for submission for publication should also be included with the final report. The awardee is expected to present the research at an ASRA Pain Medicine meeting within two years of the award.
  • The investigators are encouraged to submit the final report to Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine for possible publication. The manuscript should include credit to the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine for supporting the project whether submitted to Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine or another journal.
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