Period of Performance: 2 years
Amount of Grant: Up to $100,000 per grant

The American Board of Sleep Medicine Junior Faculty Grant has been merged with the Physician Scientist Training Grant. Please visit the Physician Scientist Training Grant homepage for details on the changes to this program and subscribe to the mailing list to receive updates on AASM Foundation programs. 

This request for applications for the ABSM Junior Faculty Grant is open to mentored projects that address one or more important unanswered scientific questions related to sleep and circadian science, sleep disorders and/or sleep health.

The ABSM Junior Faculty Grant program provides funds for two years and can be up to $100,000 per grant (includes direct and indirect costs). There are no restrictions on the distribution of expenses, however, indirect costs are capped at 8%. The grant is a contract between the AASM Foundation and the grantee’s institution. A sample contract is available here.

The following individuals are eligible to apply:

  • Individuals with the following education and training are eligible to apply:
    • Physicians (MD or DO) who are board-eligible or board-certified in sleep medicine by a member board of the American Board of Medical Specialties or American Osteopathic Association, have completed their sleep medicine fellowship within the past 10 years, and hold a faculty appointment are eligible to apply.
  • Individuals must identify a research mentor with the skills, knowledge and resources to provide mentorship to the applicant in sleep and circadian research.
  • Individuals may apply for multiple AASM Foundation grants however, the same proposal (i.e. projects with budgetary and scientific overlap) may not be submitted for multiple requests for applications in a given cycle.
  • Individuals who are the Principal Investigator on an open or previous AASM Foundation research grant at the time of the application deadline are eligible to apply if:
    • The open or previous grant is NOT a Bridge to Success Grant for Mid-Career/Senior Investigators or Strategic Research Grant – Category I.
    • They can demonstrate that there is no budgetary or scientific overlap between their open grant and the new project they are applying for funding. If there is budgetary and/or scientific overlap between projects, the applicant must indicate their plan to close their open grant in the event their new application is selected for funding (e.g. relinquish the current grant or complete the current grant to start the new grant).
  • International individuals who meet all the eligibility criteria are eligible to apply; however, payment of grant funds must be accepted by the institution in US dollars.

The following individuals are not eligible to apply:

  • Individuals who have received independent research funding of more than $150,000 are not eligible to apply. This does not apply to post-doctoral/ fellowship level training grants primarily covering the applicant’s salary (e.g. NRSAs).
  • Individuals who have a financial conflict of interest or have the potential to incur significant financial benefit from the proposed work and beyond the work itself are not eligible to apply.
  • Individuals who are seeking funding from AASM Foundation research grants to support ongoing projects that are currently funded by another granting body or supplement ongoing work (e.g. enrolling additional subjects into an ongoing trial) are not eligible to apply.

Note: The principal investigator will be required to make a statement to this effect prior to execution of the contract.

Applicants are allowed a single resubmission of an original and unfunded ABSM Junior Faculty Grant application within 12 months of receipt of the original application notification. If resubmitting an original and unfunded application, the applicant must still meet all eligibility criteria listed under the Eligibility section of this request for applications. The resubmission must include a response to the reviewers of the original application; resubmissions that do not include this response will not be reviewed.

Note: Resubmission of an original application for one grant program across another grant program is not permitted.

A scientific grant review committee, appointed by the AASM Foundation Executive Committee, will evaluate and score all submitted applications. Factors that will be taken into consideration include:

  1. Significance: Significance of planned research in addressing important questions related to sleep, sleep disorders or sleep health.
  2. Experience and Appropriateness of Mentors: Plan for mentorship will facilitate applicant’s success and key personnel are well-suited for the project.
  3. Career Development Activities and Goals: Planned research and mentorship will fill gaps in applicant’s knowledge, skillset, and abilities.
  4. Approach: Planned research (overall strategy, methodology, and analyses) is scientifically sound, plan addresses protection of human subjects from research risks and inclusion/exclusion of individuals justified (if applicable).
  5. Environment: Institutional support and availability of equipment and other physical resources for the planned research.
  6. Appropriateness: What will be achieved with the ABSM Junior Faculty Grant and how it will enhance the applicant’s career trajectory.

Only materials submitted within the application will be used in the evaluation of applications. The AASM Foundation Executive Committee will submit funding recommendations to the AASM Foundation Board of Directors based on the scientific grant review committee scores. The AASM Foundation Board of Directors will make the final funding decisions.

Payment #1 – Upon execution of contract 90%
Payment #2 – Upon receipt and approval of Final Report 10%

If unique circumstances are explained in the budget justification of the applicant’s proposal, the Board of Directors will consider requests for an alternate payment schedule, with a maximum variance of 10%.

Note: Once a contract is executed for the grant, reallocation of funds of <10% do not require approval.

The AASM Foundation intends the ABSM Junior Faculty Grant to aid outstanding individuals with potential for a productive career as a physician scientist in academic sleep medicine, by providing them the skills, resources, and time needed to address highly significant sleep and circadian science research questions through mentored projects and lead to career advancement.

Applicants are expected to address the specific aims as described in the application. Major modification of the proposed aims requires AASM Foundation Board of Directors or Executive Committee approval.

During the project period, or shortly after project completion, the principal investigator should submit an abstract for presentation to the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS) Annual Meeting. The AASM Foundation also anticipates that projects funded by this grant will lead to the publication of original research in peer-reviewed journals.

The expected results and deliverables should be clearly stated in the application. The applicant must submit progress and final reports during the project period, describing project activities and results, as outlined below. Failure to meet the deliverables or submit progress or final reports may result in termination of project funding.

Progress Reports Every six months
Final Report Within 90 days of grant completion

Outcomes evaluation is an essential component of this grant. All proposals must identify the goals and appropriate outcomes measures of the research. The outcomes should align with the goals and objectives stated in the applicant’s proposal for this grant. The AASM Foundation intends that the research funded by this grant will lead to the publication of original research in peer-reviewed journals.

If using human or animal subjects, the applicant will be responsible for obtaining Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Institutional Animal Care and use Committee (IACUC) approval. The IRB or IACUC letter of approval for the specified project must be on file with the AASM Foundation office prior to the execution of the contract. No funds will be released for the project without receipt of written approval by an IRB or IACUC. Failure to obtain IRB or IACUC approval will result in retraction of the grant.

We encourage potential applicants to contact us early in the application process with questions. Eligibility questions may need to be reviewed by a member of the AASM Foundation Executive Committee, so please allow for at least a 1-week response time for eligibility questions. For all other inquiries, please allow a minimum of two business days for a response. Please note that questions received within 48 hours of an application deadline may not be answered before the deadline.