Submission Criteria

1. All requests for funds will be considered and the committee retains the right to divide the available funds in any manner it deems appropriate with agreement of the investigators involved.
2. The grant requests can be for research using laboratory animals or clinical research projects with patients.
3.  It is the interest of the Society that these awards should provide "seed money" for preliminary investigations leading to continued work supported by other sources. The awards are not intended, nor should they be used, to supplement ongoing projects.
4. The applicant and co-applicants must be North American members of ASRA.
5. The application, which must be written by the applicant, shall be accompanied by a complete narrative Research protocol.
6. The Research proposal must be concerned with an original idea or concept (i.e., has not been done before). The Research must be carried out primarily by the applicant. Assistance by, or collaboration with other academic faculty is permitted; these secondary investigators must be identified in the application.
7. The amount of the award will ordinarily not exceed $50,000.00.
8. Since the amount is not sufficient to carry out investigations which require sophisticated equipment, the Research Committee must be assured that when needed; such equipment is available to the applicant. This information should be provided to the Research Committee in writing from the Chair of the department or other responsible individual.
9. Institutional financial support for the research proposed may also be available to the applicant and should be indicated in the research proposal. If during the year of the award, extra-mural support for the project is obtained, the Chair of the ASRA Research Committee must be notified immediately and the awardee is to return unspent monies which have been replaced by such extra-mural support in order that other deserving investigators can be funded.
10. The recipient of the grant must make an annual program report to include a list of expenditures on November 1st of the year following receipt of the grant to the ASRA Research Committee. The report can be 2 to 3 pages in length and should include citation of any publications in press or to be published. If the report is not produced, the Chair of the Department where this research was awarded will be responsible and appropriate actions deemed by the ASRA board will be undertaken.
11.  A final report must be submitted within 12 months of the termination of the grant. Any abstract or paper ready for submission for publication should also be included with the final report. The awardee is expected to present the research at an ASRA meeting within 2 years of the award.
12. The investigators are encouraged to submit the final report to Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine for possible publication. The paper should include credit to the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine for supporting the project whether submitted to Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine or another journal.

Application Format

1. A letter from the chair of the department confirming the availability of time and facilities for the project must accompany each application. The Chair of the department will also assure the Committee that the money awarded will be used for the titled project.

2. Budget

a. A maximum of $50,000.00 is available and may be awarded at the discretion of the committee in any denomination over $500.00.

b. The award is made to the individual investigator.

c. Money can be utilized for salary support for technical or clinical support staff.

d. Up to 20% of total budget can be utilized for indirect institution costs.

e. Money will not be awarded for the following:

1. Salary support for the investigator

2. Travel

3. Secretarial or clerical support staff

f. The Award for a successful application will generally be available on the first of January of the year following submission, although this time is somewhat flexible under special circumstances.

3. Curriculum Vitae of the applicant (principal investigator) should be included with a listing of any past or present research support.

4. Research Plan (should include the following components)- Maximum ten pages excluding references

a. Introduction

1. Significance of the research

2. Background. Include significant work which has been previously published in the field as well as any preliminary work by the applicant or collaborators (the latter is certainly not essential for a successful award)

3. Specific Aims of the project.

b. Methods

1. Specific Methodology

a. Techniques to be utilized

b. Animal species or patient population.

c. Indicate the type of data that will be obtained

d. Indicate the method of data analysis

e. If the project is clinical, the approval of the Institutional Human Investigation Committee must be included and if the study involves animals, the approval of the institutional review board for such animal studies should also be included

2. Rationale behind the proposed approached to the objective

3. Potential Pitfalls - explain potential problems and response to those problems

4. Proposed Timetable

5. Literature Cited

5. The application should be sent in a pdf form to the office of the Chair of the Research Committee of the ASRA.

6. Please e-mail all applications to juliek@kenes.com