Early-Career Collaborative Grant

Overview

A new grant has been established to foster research collaborations between the Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine and the Department of Psychiatry.

This grant is intended to foster research that benefits patients who receive care from members of these two leading academic departments. It will provide seed funds for a novel project that will likely attract external funds. The winning project will advance clinical care or offer novel mechanistic insights and will advance the academic mission of the two departments.

Research topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

re-purposing of anesthetic drugs for mental disorders,
mood disorders associated with perioperative illness,
psychiatric aspects of pain disorders,
anesthetic-related adverse effects associated with psychiatric treatments such as ECT, and anxiety and depression associated with post-traumatic stress syndrome after critical illness or traumatic brain injury.
Pre-clinical or basic science projects are also welcome.

Value and Duration

The award is valued at $50,000 per year for two years ($100,000 total).

Funds will be awarded to a team led by two Co-Principal Investigators (co-PIs), one faculty member appointed to the Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine and one faculty member appointed to the Department of Psychiatry. Funds can be used for operational aspects of studies but not for salary support of the Co-PIs or collaborators.

Funds are intended to support new projects rather than ongoing studies. If applicants currently hold grants in the proposed area of research, they must explain how the proposed research project differs and is fully independent of current projects.

The term of the award is for a two-year term and the project is expected to be completed within a 2-year funding period and the timeline included in the application should reflect this. (If necessary, a maximum of one 12-month no-cost extension may be requested and must be approved before the initial grant term-end.)

The successful applicants must agree to acknowledge the support from this grant in all publications and presentations that result from the funded work. These acknowledgements must be brought to the attention of the Vice Chairs, Research of both departments.

Eligibility

Each grant will involve two Co-PIs, one holding a primary appointment in the Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine and the other holding a primary appointment in the Department of Psychiatry. A faculty member may not serve as co-PI on multiple applications for this grant competition.

Both Co-PIs must hold the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor and must be within the first 10 years of the date of their first academic appointment.

The two Co-PIs are welcome to include a team of collaborators, including more senior investigators. Applications involving more than one University-affiliated TAHSN hospital site are strongly encouraged.

Research ethics board (REB) submission or approval is not required when submitting an application. However, REB approval will be required before the funds are released. A successful application will be voided after 9 months if REB approval has not been obtained.

Timeline

Call for Application: May 23, 2023
Deadline for Application: June 18, 2023 at 11:59 EST
Decision to be announced: September 22, 2023
Project Start Date: October 2, 2023

Applications have closed.

Note: All applications must be submitted through the departmental electronic portal.

Recipients

We are pleased to announce Dr. Ishrat Husain and Dr. Karim Ladha as the recipients of the prestigious 2023 Early-Career Collaborative Grant.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

Please note the following:

Research proposals must be single-spaced.
Proposals must be written using 12pt Times Roman font for all the components of the application.
All four margins should be at least 2.5 cm (1 inch).
Page numbers must be places on the upper right corners.

FORMAT

Research proposal

Maximum of four US letter-sized pages, not including figures or references, with the following three sections:

Overview and Objectives (including specific aims and related hypotheses)
Background and Significance (including how the proposal will lead to or support a future application for external funding)
Methods (including data analysis plan, and power analysis if warranted)

References

Unlimited number of US letter-sized pages

Figures

Maximum of two US letter-sized pages
Figure legends no less than 10-point Times New Roman font, single-spaced should be placed either beside or underneath each figure, and are part of the 2-page limit

Five-year abbreviated CIHR CVs for all applicants

Budget and Justification

Maximum of two US letter-sized pages

Lay abstract, suitable for posting

Maximum of 250 words

ADJUDICATION PROCESS

The adjudication process will consist of two stages:

first, all submitted applications will be reviewed by two senior faculty members, one from each Department; applications deemed the most competitive may then undergo external peer review.

Incomplete applications or applications not adhering to the below rules will not be considered. Applications that require funding greater than $100,000 will not be considered.

REVIEW AND ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Dr. Benoit Mulsant, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry

Dr. Beverley Orser, Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine

Dr. Brian Cuthbertson, Vice Chair for Research and Innovation, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine

Dr. Alistair Flint, Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Psychiatry

ANNUAL REVIEW AND CONTINUATION OF THE AWARD

The successful applicant will undergo an annual review by the Department Chair, the Vice Chair of Research, their Department Chief and their primary supervisor/mentor (as appropriate). An annual report will have to be submitted as below.

If this grouping judged that the progress of the successful candidate was unsatisfactory, then the holder will be asked to agree to a plan to rectify any identified deficiencies agree by themselves and the committee and 3-month review will be required with the Vice Chair of Research for the next year. If progress were still identified as being unsatisfactory at the next annual review, the award would be discontinued after appropriate discussion and review by this grouping.