ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Progress

 

Clinical Management Research Grant Program

Purpose of this program

Through the Clinical Management Research Grant Program, The ALS Association is encouraging new research, the results of which will build an evidence base and demonstrate measurable, positive effects on the clinical management and lives of patients with ALS.

New Initiative

The ALS Association is soliciting and funding a small number of pilot studies. These projects will be funded up to $40,000 per year for up to 2 years. The Association’s Clinical Management Research Grant Program (CMRGP) provides funding for clinical management research designed to improve the symptom management and quality of life for people with ALS. Competitive projects will include a research design and methods, strong scientific merit and high ALS relevance.

General Information:

  1. The number of grants awarded each year is based on the annual budget for this program.
  2. A "Call for Abstracts" is widely distributed on an annual basis. Abstracts must include a brief discussion of the impact of the study on human subjects, the anticipated need for Institutional Review Board (IRB) - or appropriate body - approval and the principal investigator's (P.I.) plan for gaining IRB approval.
  3. The Chair of The ALS Association's Clinical Management Research Review Committee (CMRRC) and appointed individuals review the submitted abstracts.
  4. Based on the review of submitted abstracts, selected investigators are invited to submit full research proposal applications.
  5. All invited grant proposal applications are peer reviewed by The Association's Clinical Management Research Review Committee. Recommendations from the CMRRC regarding which research proposals to fund are based on priority scores. The recommendations from CMRRC are forwarded to the Patient Services
  6. Committee of The Association’s Board of Trustees, which recommends approval of their choice(s) of research grant proposals to The Association's Board of Trustees. The ALS Association's Board of Trustees has the responsibility and sole authority for the final decisions in awarding and funding clinical management research grants.
  7. Periodic and project-end written reports are required. Principal investigators and other personnel from the research team will be asked to make presentations to The ALS Association's audiences to communicate the research study findings and their implications for clinical practice. It is expected that posters and publications will be generated from the funded research projects. It is the intent of this program to invite abstracts and proposals from any member of the health care team, however, the P.I. must be experienced and qualified to conduct the research project and have expertise in the focused topic of the proposed study. Consistent with the interdisciplinary nature of clinical care for patients with ALS, multidisciplinary research projects are encouraged.
  8. The ALS Association's Clinical Management Research Program is not intended to fund clinical drug trials or clinical studies designed to understand the pathogenesis of ALS.
  9. The grants are awarded to the principal investigator's institution. Grant payments are made to the principal investigator's (P.I.'s) institution for disbursement by the institution's finance office. The institution may be an academic medical center, or any organization delivering clinical services to patients with ALS. Payments are made on a specified schedule and are contingent upon the receipt by The ALS Association of satisfactory semi-annual and end-of-project written reports, and documentation of the use of the prior expended research funds.