Weston Brain Institute: Seeking Applications for the Rapid Response 2018 (Fluid Biomarkers) Program

Deadline: 23 April 2018(LOIs)

The Weston Brain Institute is seeking applications for the Rapid Response 2018 (Fluid Biomarkers) Program which supports high-risk, high-reward translational research that accelerates the development of therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases of aging.

The Institute’s programs are supported by the Selfridges Group Foundation. The Rapid Response Program was launched to provide seed funding, without requirement for preliminary data, to support high-risk, high-reward, translational research on novel biomarkers detected in patient-derived fluids.

Neurodegenerative diseases of aging are among the most undertreated diseases today and require pioneering approaches to accelerate treatments. Early diagnosis remains a large challenge in the clinic, along with detection of sub types of disease, predicting rate of progression of the disease, and using this information to enroll patients in clinical trials.

Funding Information

The Institute will commit up to £540,000 to fund projects selected through this Program. Grants are contingent on the receipt of a sufficient number of high quality applications.
If each project requests the maximum project budget, 3 projects will be awarded through this program.

Funds available per project:

Up to £180,000 over up to 18 months is available per project. Start-up time (e.g., to obtain ethics Page 4 of 8 approvals) is not included in this duration.
Funds will be granted only for direct costs that are appropriate and justifiable for the work proposed.
Each item and its cost must be clearly described in the budget.
Funds cannot be used for equipment purchases, computer purchases, administrative costs or indirect costs, unless prior written approval from the Institute has been obtained.
Travel expenses to scientific conferences/meetings to present work funded by the Institute can be included in the budget.
The amount granted may not be for the full amount requested.
Up to 35% of the funds can be used to bring unique international resources into work led by Ireland, Netherlands or UK researchers.
There are not any restrictions on funds for collaborations between these three countries.

Eligibility Criteria

For this program, the Institute is only able to accept LOIs and Proposals from PIs at eligible institutions located in Ireland, the Netherlands, or the UK.
Eligible institutions must be either registered with the Charities Regulatory Authority in Ireland, a Public Benefit Organization (PBO) in the Netherlands, or are a UK-registered charity.
Qualified institutions/organizations in Ireland, the Netherlands, or the UK meeting the public benefit requirement towards research in neurodegenerative diseases of aging may also be eligible.
Funds may be used to support the Ireland, Netherlands or UK portion of international collaborations.
Eligible Principal Applicants must be at or above the level of Postdoctoral Researcher or equivalent and at eligible institutions as described above.
If the Principal Applicant is not appointed at the institution from which they are applying, they need to apply with a research supervisor (an “Administrative Supervisor”).
Administrative Supervisors must hold an appointment at the institution from which they are applying, and will be responsible for the successful execution of the research and administration of the funds as per their institution’s policy.
Each applicant may submit one LOI as Principal Applicant, and may appear as a Co-Applicant or Collaborator on an unlimited number of applications.
An LOI submitted to this Program does not need to be approved by the relevant institution on whose behalf or through which the LOI is being submitted.
However, any Proposal submitted to this Program must be approved by the institution on whose behalf or through which the Proposal is being submitted.
Funds will be directed to the institution/organization on behalf of the principal applicant.