Fighting Blindness Canada: Early Career Research Grant Competition 2024

Updated Information

Updates – March 6, 2024

  • Deadline changed to Tues Mar 12, 2024, from Thurs Mar 7, 2024

Sponsor

Fighting Blindness Canada

For More Information

Please see the 2024 Competition Guide for complete instructions and guidelines.

Description

The 2024 Research Grant competition will support exceptional early career researchers with interest in retinal (including optic nerve) degeneration.

The program is open to early career principal investigators from Canadian institutions with a budget of up to $200,000 over two years per award.

Applications from across the spectrum of retinal research are welcome, including but not limited to discovery, translational, clinical and epidemiological research.

The competition is open to all research related to retinal degeneration but may prioritize funding projects with potential to impact individuals with inherited retinal diseases (e.g. retinitis pigmentosa, Usher syndrome, choroideremia), age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy or glaucoma.

Eligibility

At the time of the grant start date (October 1, 2024), applicants/Principal Investigators:
  • Must be early career scientists (including clinician scientists), who hold a full-time appointment at an eligible Canadian host institution such as a university, hospital or research institute.
  • Must have a firm faculty appointment (minimum assistant level or equivalent) which allows the individual to engage in independent research activities for the duration of the project and includes the ability to supervise trainees and publish research results and where the appointment is not contingent on the success of a pending application. Adjunct Professors or Status only appointments are not eligible to apply.
  • Must be within 7 years from the start of their first independent academic appointment.
  • Applications must include a letter of commitment from the host institution guaranteeing the applicant protected time allocated to research as well as a description of available mentoring support and resources available to the applicant.
  • Cannot be awarded an Early Career Research Grant and Clinician Scientist Emerging Leader Award from Fighting Blindness Canada in the same calendar year. While individuals may apply to both competitions, in the circumstance that they are successful in both, they will be awarded one award (the award of greater value).
  • Can submit a maximum of one application to this competition as Principal Investigator. However, applicants may be named as a Collaborator on additional grants.

Funding Availability

Grant budgets can be up to $100,000 per year for up to two years (maximum $200,000 per grant). While subject to budget availability, it is anticipated that up to five grants will be awarded from this competition. Funding should support the direct costs of research, including supplies, staff and trainee salaries, and equipment. Equipment requests cannot exceed 5% of the requested budget. Salary support for the applicant or indirect costs are not eligible for funding. Fighting Blindness Canada does not provide overlap funding. It is the responsibility of the applicant to notify us if you receive other sources of financial support for a grant under review or once awarded.

Indirect Costs

0%

Project Duration

One to two years.

Deadlines

If College-level review is required, your College will communicate its earlier internal deadlines.

TypeDateNotes
External Deadline

Submit Letter of Intent to sponsor directly.

Internal Deadline

If invited by the sponsor to submit a full application, please submit a copy of your application along with an OR5 form to Office of Research to research.services@uoguelph.ca.

External Deadline

Applicants submit full application to sponsor directly.

How to Apply

This competition has two stages:
  1. Letter of Intent (LOI) : Applicants who meet the eligibility requirements will be contacted by Fighting Blindness Canada the week of March 11, 2024 and invited to submit a full application.
  2. Full Application: Only applicants who submit an LOI and receive confirmation of their eligibility from Fighting Blindness Canada can submit a full application.

Please see the 2024 Competition Guide for instructions on how to apply.

For Questions, please contact

Larissa Moniz, PhD
Director, Research and Mission Programs
research@fightingblindness.ca

Office of Research

Laurie Gallinger, Awards & Agreements Officer
Research Services Office
lgalling@uoguelph.ca

Alert Classifications
Category:
Funding Opportunities and Sponsor News

Disciplines:
Health and Life Sciences