Maya's Wings Foundation Research Award

The Maya's Wings Foundation Research Award

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PURPOSE

The Maya's Wings Foundation, in partnership with American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) Research Institute invites submission of applications for its Research Award. The purpose of this grant is to support innovative research projects that provide insights into the causes, diagnosis, management, or parthenogenesis of abnormal placentation in IVF pregnancies.

The applicant must demonstrate a strong career goal within the field of Reproductive Medicine and must be dedicated to the advancement of reproductive health and Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) research. Research proposals can involve physiological, psychological, biochemical, pharmacological, genetic, environmental, or pathological investigations.

APPLICANT ELIGABILITY

Applicants must be actively working in areas related to reproductive medicine in the United States. The principal investigator (PI) must:

  • Have a doctorate degree (MD, MD/PhD, PhD, DO, ScD or equivalent) and have sufficient expertise, commitment of effort, organizational structure, and operational effectiveness to successfully implement the plan for the proposed research.
  • Be an independent investigator serving as a full-time clinician/physician-scientist (academic, private practice, other non-profit or for-profit organizations) or holding a research staff position.
  • Fellows and postdoctoral trainees may apply but must complete the project prior to their program completion.
  • Funds may be used for support of a new or ongoing research/clinical investigation project.

AWARD

An award up to $25,000* will be made for a TWO (2) year study period.

*Applicants can submit a budget with a larger amount and may be considered pending committee approval of research aims.

APPLICATION

An application must include the following information in order as described below. Additionally, all letters must be included in your application package and cannot be sent separately or after the application deadline. Please note: Letters outside the required department head or program chair letters are not required but you may submit up to 2 additional letters of support should you choose.

  1. Title Page
    1. Title of the project (not to exceed 200 characters including spaces)
    2. Applicant’s name and credentials
    3. Applicant’s department affiliation & sponsoring institution
    4. Contact information including mailing address, telephone number, and email
    5. ASRM membership status (provide member number if applicable)
    6. IF YOU ARE A FELLOW: research mentor must be named
    7. Total funding amount requested
  2. Letters
    1. IF YOU ARE A PRACTICING PHYSICIAN: Chairman/Division Chief letter (no more than two pages) acknowledging the applicant’s project and grant proposal, endorsing the applicant’s research, and confirming the institution’s commitment to provide time and support to the applicant.
    2. IF YOU ARE A FELLOW: A letter of support must be provided from your research mentor confirming the institution’s and/or practice’s commitment to provide time and support to the applicant.
  3.  Abstract (One-page maximum)
    1. Scientific Abstract (500 words) describing the research proposal including the potential immediate impact of the anticipated results on the practice of reproductive medicine
    2. Lay-person Abstract (200 words) describing the project in general terms
  4. Specific Aims of the research proposal presented in NIH format– (One-page maximum)
  5. A research proposal should include the following sections (Three-pages maximum)
    1. Background and Significance
    2. Innovation and Potential Impact
    3. Research Plan (methodology and statistical analysis plan must be clearly described)
    4. Timeline for project start-up, implementation, and completion
    5. References/citations are required but do not count against the total number of pages for the application. You may also include them as an appendix.
  6. NIH-style Biosketch
    1. Each Biosketch should include a specific description of the role of each investigator in the proposed project and should not exceed FIVE pages (including the current funding)
  7. Budget
    1. A detailed yearly and cumulative budget and budget justification for the project
    2. Conference travel and/or registration expenses to present results related to this award
    3. Funds are available for project expenses, research supplies, technical assistance, and patient expenses. Durable laboratory equipment, analysis software, national registries, survey licenses, etc., used for the purposes of this project are also permitted but are capped at $2000 collectively.
    4. Indirect costs (institutional overhead) will be funded up to 10%
    5. Funds may NOT be used towards degree-seeking courses, cost of routine clinical care, or research team salary and/or benefits
  8. Formatting & Due Date
    1. The proposal must be typed in Calibri 12 pt. type with page margins no less than .5 inches and no more than 1 inch
    2. Pagination should be included at the bottom of each page (excluding the Title page)
    3. The entire application must be submitted as ONE PDF FILE to research@asrm.org, by 4 PM EST on December 2, 2024. SUBJECT LINE: MAYA'S WINGS FOUNDATION GRANT APPLICATION SUBMISSION
  9. Regulatory Requirements
    1. Human and/or animal use must be approved by the Institutional Review Board or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, or their equivalent, and documented before funds are released, but pre-approval is not required for application.
    2. It is required that any research involving human embryos will comply with applicable federal and state laws and will be in line with ASRM’s guidance document on the ethics of human embryo research. No research will proceed without all relevant Institutional Board(s) and Committee(s) reviews and approval.

SELECTION PROCESS

An ASRM Research Institute Grant Review Group (GRG), in collaboration with appointed designees from The Maya's Wings Foundation, will review the proposals and determine the awardees. To avoid a potential conflict of interest, members of the GRG will recuse themselves from reviewing any proposal that involves their institutions of employment. Award notifications will be made in February 2025, and funding will be dispersed in April 2025.

PROJECT PARTNERSHIP AND DELIVERABLES

The project will have the following objectives:

  • Furtherance of ASRM’s mission to advance the science of reproductive medicine
  • Furtherance of The Maya’s Wings Foundation's mission to improve health outcomes of in-vitro fertilization (IVF)-related pregnancies and eliminate preventable pregnancy loss by:
    • Better understanding of the processes that lead to increased risk of abnormal placentation in IVF pregnancies.
    • Optimizing current IVF protocols to reduce the risk of placental abnormalities.
    • Identifying opportunities and a roadmap to enhance existing IVF protocols to reduce abnormal placentation.

The project will have the following deliverables:

  • Increased insights and contributions to the field of knowledge of IVF placentation.
  • Increased awareness and attention to placental abnormalities and miscarriage, stillbirth, or pre-term delivery.
  • Presentation of grant recipients’ research findings at an ASRM Congress within two years of receiving the award.
  • Acknowledgement of The Maya’s Wings Foundation and ASRM support in any publications, abstracts, manuscripts and/or presentations at scientific conferences or meetings resulting from the funded research.

REPORTING

Research progress and financial reports (budget summary) must be submitted to the ASRM Research Institute and The Maya’s Wings Foundation annually; this should include an activity summary and review of current findings/results.  A final research report is due within 60 days of the end date of the project period. The reporting requirements for the final report are the following:  Lay Summary, Activity Summary, Impact, Budget Summary, Publications, Presentations, Data Sharing Plan, and Other Study Generated Findings.

PUBLICATION, PUBLICITY, AND CO-BRANDING

Publications, abstracts, manuscripts and/or presentations at scientific conferences or meetings based on results from the funded project must acknowledge The Maya's Wings Foundation and ASRM using the following language: “Funded in part by a grant from The Maya’s Wings Foundation in partnership with Ferring Pharmaceuticals and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.”  Results and research findings must be presented at the ASRM Congress within two years of receiving the award and a copy of any published works should be sent to the Board of Directors of The Maya’s Wings Foundation and ASRM Research Institute.

The names of the Investigator and institution as well as the project title, a description of the project, and information regarding the award (written or digital) may be listed on the Maya's Wings website (www.themayaswingsfoundation.org), ASRM Research Institute website (www.asrmresearch.org), social media pages, or in print & digital written materials.