Although the scope of funded research is broad, we seek to support projects that aim to impact and improve patient care. Areas of research can include, but are not limited to: clinical research, health services or outcomes research, public health, epidemiology, informatics, and other general Med-Peds clinical research domains. Quality improvement projects without rigorous research methodologies will not be considered.

We will award up to $2,500 per selected project. The number of grants will depend on the funds available and the amount of funding requested by each selected project.

Grant requirements:

• The principal investigator (PI) of any proposal submitted must be a resident member of NMPRA or have submitted an application for membership.
• Eligible applicants are defined as: 1) Med-Peds resident physicians in good standing or 2) Med-Peds chief resident physicians (“5th year chiefs”)
• Proposals submitted should address an important area of concern for the health or healthcare of children, adolescents, and adults, preferably one particularly salient to Med-Peds.
• Awards are one-time awards; multiple-year funding requests will not be considered. Preference will be given to those proposals with the potential for large-scale or long-term success and which address important Med-Peds health issues.

Applications – each proposal must include the following items:

• Cover Page – project title, PI name and contact information (address, telephone, email address), level of training and program, primary mentor name and contact information, Division Director, and Department Chairs.
• Budget and Budget Justification – do not include overhead (indirect costs), salary for the PI or mentors, or equipment for long-term use (e.g., computers, iPads, phones, etc.). A maximum of $500 is allowable for travel to the NMPRA National Conference during which you will be required to present the results of your research as a condition of receiving this grant. You may request up to a total of $2,500. All items must be justified, and the Board may modify your final budget if required.

Proposals only requesting funds for publication fees after research has already been completed will not be considered.

• Description of the Proposal – include specific aims, background, preliminary studies (if applicable), detailed methods, evaluation plan, timeline (must be completed within 1 year), description of key personnel, significance, tables (if any), and appendices (if any). This cannot be more than 8 double-spaced pages with 1”margins. You must use a font size no smaller than Arial 11. The cover page, references, tables/appendices, and budget are not included in the 8-page limit.
• Relevance to Professional Career – describe why you selected this topic for study and how this proposed project fits into your career plans. Include relevant research, clinical experience, and how the knowledge and skills you will learn can contribute to your future professional goals.
• Biographical Sketch – use the standard NIH Biosketch form. For this purpose, the Biosketch is not to exceed 2 pages. It does not count toward the page limit.
• The form can be found here: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/biosketch.doc
• Instructions for filling out the form can be found here:
• http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/biosketchsample.doc
• Letter of Support – from your primary research mentor. Include your mentor’s NIH Biosketch (not to exceed 4 pages) and the plan for communication with the mentee. It does not count toward the page limit.

The research mentor must have relevant research background and be knowledgeable in the specific field related to the project. The mentor’s Biosketch should include a list of his/her research funding. The mentor’s letter of support should explicitly answer the following questions:

• How does the proposed project fit into the resident’s career plans?
• How was the topic selected by the resident?
• What components of the proposed study will the resident perform directly?
• What is the resident expected to learn from conducting the proposed research?
• Is the proposed project feasible to complete during residency training (e.g., elective time set aside during the residency to complete the project)?
• What exactly is the mentor committed to do to ensure that the resident increases his/her research skills and successfully conducts the project?

Letter from Residency Program Director – must indicate that you are in good standing with your residency program. The PD must write a letter of support and commitment which outlines the time available for the resident to conduct the research project, such as research electives, etc. It does not count toward the page limit.

The NMPRA Board of Directors will review and vote on all submitted applications. Review criteria for proposals include: relevance of the proposed project to Med-Peds, likelihood of project success, support from the home institution as well as commitment of the research mentor, and overall quality of the submission.

Grants will be awarded with the understanding that the project must be initiated by October of the year of submission and will be completed within one year. Winners are encouraged to submit abstracts from their projects to other national research meetings. However, you must include an acknowledgement of grant funding from NMPRA for any abstracts, poster presentations, and manuscripts that result from this research
project.

Winners are required to submit to the NMPRA Board of Directors a progress report on the funded project 9 months after the project start date and a final report upon completion of the project. Winners are also required to attend the NMPRA National Conference in the year after grant reception to present the results of their research.

Submission Details

• Email all completed applications as a single PDF file to [email protected]
• Letters from the Program Director AND primary research mentor as well as their Biosketches may be emailed separately
• Submit your proposal to your Institutional Review Board (IRB) as soon as possible. No checks will be awarded without prior IRB approval or exemption. Funds must be used only for allowed expenses detailed in the final budget approved by the Board for the approved project only. Any changes must be submitted for approval.
• Always notify NMPRA of any address or contact information changes.

Please adhere strictly to the above requirements – failure to do so will prevent your application from being considered for funding.