At this time, the ACVO Vision for Animals Foundation (VAF) is pleased to announce a Request for Proposals for a Research Fellowship.  The award recipient will be announced by March 1, 2023

Submission Deadline: Friday, January 13, 2023, 11:59 pm ET  

Application materials include a grant application and a grant template.

Purpose: The purpose of the VAF Research Fellowship is twofold. The first goal is to establish a mechanism to facilitate collaborative studies between institutions. The second is to provide an opportunity for motivated early-career veterinarians with an interest in ophthalmology to participate in mentored research through data collection, collation and analysis and manuscript preparation.

Background: The veterinary ophthalmology community is small and many community members have time, financial or administrative constraints that prevent them from organizing or sharing their vast clinical data sets with other community members and the literature. There is a wealth of untapped information that if collated and analyzed would likely significantly impact and inform our understanding of ophthalmic disease and the care that veterinary patients receive. In many instances, willing participants could be assisted in contributing their data by an individual tasked with collection and organization that data. Research fellow would travel to or gather data from participating institutions to access and organize retrospective or prospective data.

An overarching goal of the ACVO-VAF research initiative is to support quality research and co-join basic and clinical research to understand underlying disease pathogenesis and accelerate progress toward developing effective diagnostics and/or therapeutics. There are no restrictions on the targeted disease, tissue, or species. Each applicant will need to convince the reviewers that the proposed research project will advance the science of veterinary ophthalmology. Applications are encouraged from academic institutions, private practice, or a collaboration between the two. This grant opportunity is intended to promote collaborative research and thus is required to involve the participation of and contributions from at least three institutions or practices.

Scope: The VAF Research Fellowship award will provide funding to support stipend, fringe benefits and travel for one fellow for the period of one year. The amount allotted is not to exceed $90,000.

Up to $69,000 = $45,000/ year stipend + $24,750/ fringe benefits (up to 55%) *

Up to $15,000/ year travel and per diem

Up to $6,000, professional statistical support (consultant/ contractor)

Cost of the research project itself (laboratory supplies, equipment) will be the responsibility of the program that is awarded the fellowship.

* The VAF Research Fellowship is a full-time position, with an expected minimum of 40 hours weekly.

Considerations:

• VAF will fund professional statistical support (estimated to be $3-6K).
• Fellowship applications will define the proposed project in detail, will identify the research team and the institutions/practices to be included (signed form acknowledging collaboration from each participating entity) and will describe previous mentoring experiences of the team leader.
• There are no restrictions on the targeted disease, tissue, or species. Each applicant will need to convince the reviewers that the proposed research project will advance the science of veterinary ophthalmology. Applications are encouraged from academic institutions and private practice; collaborations between academia and private practice is a strength.
• It is up to the successful applicant institution to ensure legal and ethical access to medical records at participating institutions is possible.
• Candidate selection criteria: Qualified candidates must hold a Bachelor’s degree, at minimum, and have a demonstrated interest in clinical research. Candidates with a DVM and additional training or clinical experience will be given preference. The project team chosen to receive this fellowship support will select individual for the fellowship. The proposal should include the criteria the grant recipient will use for selection of the research fellow.

PROPOSAL DETAILS:

• A complete application must be submitted to the ACVO-VAF Scientific Advisory Committee Chair by January 13, 2023 by 11:59 pm ET.
• Projects must advance the science of ophthalmic health in small or large animals or in wildlife. Projects specifically oriented towards human ocular health will not be considered for funding.
• Projects must be collaborative in nature and are required to involve the participation of and contributions from at least 3 institutions or practices. Signed letters of collaboration are required.
• Projects must adhere to the ACVO-VAF Policy for Animals Involved in Research
• A maximum of one application is permitted from each Principal Investigator.
• The maximum duration of the fellowship funding is one year. Regular progress reports will be required according to the ACVO-VAF’s terms and conditions.
• The maximum budget is $90,000. The ACVO-VAF does not support institutional facilities and administrative costs (i.e. indirect costs).

Additional Requirements:

• Results of the project must be submitted for publication to a peer-reviewed journal appropriate to the scope and the topic of the project within two years following completion of the fellowship.
• Results of the project must be shared with the veterinary ophthalmology community via a webinar within one year of completion of the fellowship.

 

Complete grant applications will undergo peer-review, in which proposals will be evaluated on study design and scientific merit, innovation, feasibility of proposed research, and the potential impact within veterinary ophthalmology. As with all other research program areas, collaborative, multi-disciplinary teams of investigators who can approach discovery research from multiple perspectives will be considered a strength.

It is anticipated that funding decisions will be made by March 1, 2023.

Please direct submissions and any application questions to the VAF Scientific Advisory Committee Chair:

Dr. Caryn E. Plummer
University of Florida
plummerc@ufl.edu