CatWalk Trust Translational Award

Purpose

These grants are focused on translational activities aimed at addressing scientific and technical hurdles on the critical path to the clinic. Funding is designed to bring promising treatments to a stage that they are ready for first-in-human studies, and will provide support for pre-clinical studies of the following example types: dose-response, toxicity and studies of the optimum therapeutic windows; optimisation of delivery methods; assessment in additional spinal injury models. Support for phase I clinical trials and clinical feasibility trials will also be considered. Milestones that are demonstrably on the critical path to the clinic are essential and will have a strong bearing on the success of the application.

Scope

* Projects that support the translation from the laboratory into the clinic of promising new treatments for spinal cord injury

* Candidate treatments should already have demonstrated efficacy in a peer-reviewed publication in at least one in vivo spinal injury model, and should involve a clinically-feasible delivery procedure

* Applicants will be expected to have considered possible primary and secondary clinical outcomes and the target patient cohort

Who can apply?

* Post-doctoral research fellows

* Clinicians

* Continued academics

What can be funded?

* Salaries for post-doctoral research fellows

* Salaries for named investigators

* Salaries for research assistants and technicians

* Working expenses, including publication costs

* Equipment up to a value of $15,000

What will not be funded?

* Funding through this scheme will not be available for projects where the primary aim(s) are to examine mechanisms of action, test novel therapeutic concepts or establish proof of principle

* Stipends or fees for postgraduate students

* Salaries or institutional overheads for clinicians or scientists with permanent positions

Maximum value

There is no specific maximum value, please review previous grants awarded on the Trust’s website as a guide

Closing dates

_If the closing date falls on a weekend or holiday, it will be extended to the next working day_

* 1 April and 1 September

Process

* The review process is managed by the Neurological Foundation. Contact the Catwalk Trust for an application form at catwalk.org.nz/research/funding-opportunities/

* Complete the application form, including signatures from your host institution. The Neurological Foundation will only accept applications sent by the host institution’s research office

* The budget requested should be in NZD. The CatWalk Trust will not award more than is requested in the budget and does not fund institutional overheads

* Supporting documentation:

NZ Standard CVs for all named investigators, using the template available at www.neurological.org.nz/apply-for-funding/

Quotes for any items of equipment

Partial funding and ethics approval letters, as required

A cover letter for any resubmissions, addressing previous reviewer comments

* Applicants will be advised of the outcome early in July or December

* Successful applicants will be informed of the conditions of the grant and asked for their formal acceptance of the research contract.

General Advice

Objectives

The key objectives of the CatWalk Spinal Cord Injury Research Trust are:

* Support the scientific opinion that a cure for SCI can be found

* Promote and generate funding for research into a cure for paralysis

* Identify and assist in medical research and development into techniques designed for the regeneration of the effects of spinal cord injuries

* Monitor the research progress of all scientists funded by the Trust

* Provide targeted assistance to organisations working on projects that promote the purpose of the Trust.

* Disseminate information about research into SCI

* Foster cooperation between all disciplines engaged in central nervous system research, regeneration and direct relief

* Cooperate with international efforts in this field

The Trust will accept applications for research aligned with these objectives.

Grant writing advice

Two groups of assessors will read your application: external national and international reviewers with expertise in your area, and the Neurological Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Committee which is comprised of a diverse range of clinicians and scientists. A clearly written proposal that is accessible to the non-expert will be appreciated by the Committee. Reviewers warm to a concise application and can be irritated when important details are missing, especially if there is unused space in the application.

Assessment

The Neurological Foundation of NZ undertakes the evaluation of all applications to The CatWalk Trust on the basis of their scientific merit and relevance to the aims of the Trust. All applications are submitted to a peer review process via the Neurological Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Committee.

The Neurological Foundation makes a recommendation to The CatWalk Trust on whether the application should, in their view be considered for funding. The final decision on funding is made by The CatWalk Board of Trustees.

Resubmission

The Neurological Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Committee provides constructive feedback to applicants after each grant round. If unsuccessful, applicants can resubmit their proposal in a subsequent grant round. However, the Scientific Advisory Committee believes that a third submission of an unsuccessful project is not appropriate. Therefore, only one resubmission of a project grant application will be accepted. A researcher who has been unsuccessful twice with a particular application is welcome to submit further proposals in their chosen field of research, but these proposals will need to be based on new or substantially revised hypotheses.

Research contracts

Successful applicants will be offered research contracts that outline the conditions of the grant, including the following:

* If required, ethics approval must be obtained prior to commencing the project

* The host institution will administer the grant

* The grant will have a specific start date and end date

* The institution’s research programme may be rapidly evolving and the details of the research project may change after the application is made. * If the contractual details of the project change a variation request will need to be submitted to the CatWalk Trust

* Funded salaries will cease at the grant’s end date, and the Trust will not fund any leave owing at the end of the grant

* A final report will be required within 12 months of the grant’s end date

* Any presentations or publications resulting from the project will acknowledge the Trust’s support

Questions?

If you have any queries please contact the Trust’s General Manager for advice at [mailto:meg@catwalk.org.nz,meg@catwalk.org.nz]. If you need support with the application process, contact the Neurological Foundation at [mailto:research@neurological.org.nz,research@neurological.org.nz].

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