2022 Pilot Award – Request for Applications
Grants awarded through this RFA are intended to provide early support for exploratory ideas, particularly those with novel hypotheses for autism. Appropriate projects for this mechanism include those considered higher risk with less assurance of ultimate impact, but with the potential for transformative results.
Investigators new to the field of autism are encouraged to apply for these awards. The total budget of a Pilot Award is $300,000 or less, including 20 percent indirect costs, over a period of up to two (2) years.
Over Two Years
$300,000
- Application Available
- Application Deadline
- Award Notification
- Award Start Date
Awards may begin as early as September 1, 2022, but we encourage PIs to select a project start date that best accommodates the needs of their project. Funds are expected to be expended as requested during each annual budget period. Note: Projects must begin on the first of the month.
Over Two Years
$300,000
- Application Available
- Application Deadline
- Award Notification
- Award Start Date
Awards may begin as early as September 1, 2022, but we encourage PIs to select a project start date that best accommodates the needs of their project. Funds are expected to be expended as requested during each annual budget period. Note: Projects must begin on the first of the month.
- Administrative inquiries:
sfarigrants@simonsfoundation.org
646-654-0066 - Scientific inquiries:
sciencerfa@simonsfoundation.org
646-654-0066 - proposalCENTRAL:
pcsupport@altum.com
800-875-2562 - Simons Collections:
collections@sfari.org
646-654-0066
Over Two Years
$300,000
- Application Available
- Application Deadline
- Award Notification
- Award Start Date
Awards may begin as early as September 1, 2022, but we encourage PIs to select a project start date that best accommodates the needs of their project. Funds are expected to be expended as requested during each annual budget period. Note: Projects must begin on the first of the month.
- Administrative inquiries:
sfarigrants@simonsfoundation.org
646-654-0066 - Scientific inquiries:
sciencerfa@simonsfoundation.org
646-654-0066 - proposalCENTRAL:
pcsupport@altum.com
800-875-2562 - Simons Collections:
collections@sfari.org
646-654-0066
SFARI Mission
The mission of the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) is to improve the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) by funding innovative research of the highest quality and relevance.
To this end, we solicit applications for SFARI Pilot Awards from individuals who will conduct bold, imaginative, rigorous and relevant research.
Objective of the Pilot Award
The goal of the Pilot Award is to provide early support for exploratory ideas, particularly those with novel hypotheses. Appropriate projects for this mechanism include those considered higher risk but with the potential for transformative results. Projects that represent continuations of ongoing work (whether funded by SFARI or other funders) are not appropriate for this mechanism.
In particular, we encourage applications that propose research to link genetic or other ASD risk factors to molecular, cellular, circuit or behavioral mechanisms and set the stage for development of novel interventions. Please read more about SFARI’s scientific perspectives. We also strongly advise applicants to familiarize themselves with the current projects and other resources that SFARI supports and to think about how their proposals might complement existing efforts.
As we did last year, SFARI will be offering a separate call for Human Cognitive & Behavioral Science projects, which will open in February. Projects involving behavioral and/or cognitive assessments of human participants should be submitted to that request for applications (RFA) rather than the Pilot Award RFA. In addition, SFARI will launch a second iteration of the Genomics of ASD RFA. Projects that are a better fit for this RFA, e.g., those involving preclinical and/or clinical studies of gene-targeting therapeutic approaches, should be submitted when the 2022 Genomics of ASD RFA opens this summer. The Pilot Award RFA is appropriate for exploratory projects that are not otherwise better suited for the Human Cognitive & Behavioral Science or Genomics of ASD RFAs.
To get a better understanding of SFARI’s various funding initiatives in 2022 and whether the Pilot Award may be the best mechanism to support your project, please read our recent blog post, “Updates to SFARI’s 2022 requests for grant applications.” Investigators who are unsure of which of the RFAs planned in 2022 would be the best fit for their project can also contact sciencerfa@simonsfoundation.org for further information.
Level and Duration of Funding
The total budget of a Pilot Award is $300,000 or less, including 20 percent indirect costs, over a period of up to two (2) years. Allowable indirect costs to the primary institution for subcontracts are not included in the $300,000 total budget threshold (see grant policies). We encourage investigators to take advantage of the flexibility in budget and duration, tailoring the scope of the award as appropriate for their specific aims. Funds are expected to be expended as requested during each annual budget period. For projects that propose two years of research, progress will be critically evaluated at the end of year one before support for the remaining year will be approved. When provided with a compelling justification, we are willing to consider larger budgets for the Pilot Award. We strongly encourage investigators considering budgets that exceed our guidelines to consult SFARI before submission (please contact sfarigrants@simonsfoundation.org).
Eligibility
All applicants and key collaborators must hold a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent degree and have a faculty position or the equivalent at a college, university, medical school or other research facility.
Applications may be submitted by domestic and foreign nonprofit organizations; public and private institutions, such as colleges, universities, hospitals, laboratories, and units of state and local government; and eligible agencies of the federal government. There are no citizenship or country requirements.
Multiple Applications, Resubmissions, and Renewals
Unsuccessful applications submitted to previous SFARI RFAs may be resubmitted to this RFA, if relevant. For all resubmissions, we ask principal investigators (PIs) to submit a statement of changes describing substantive changes to the application since the previous submission. If the previous application was externally reviewed, this document should include point-by-point responses to the reviewers’ critiques. If the revised application does not include substantive changes, it is unlikely that the outcome will change. This is especially true for applications that were not externally reviewed, as this decision is often based on the relevance of the project to SFARI’s mission.
Investigators may submit multiple applications on different topics. However, it is highly unlikely that two awards will be made to the same PI within one RFA cycle.
Given the focus of this RFA on bold, imaginative new ideas, it is unlikely that a renewal of a currently funded project (either from SFARI or elsewhere) will be a good fit for this RFA. We encourage investigators to seek continuation support from outside funding sources. In exceptional cases where progress has been stellar, SFARI may provide continuation funding for projects of particularly high impact via a separate funding mechanism, at the discretion of the science team. Decisions on new proposals from current SFARI Investigators will include the evaluation of progress on previous or ongoing SFARI grants.
Instructions for Submission
Applications must be completed electronically and submitted using forms provided at proposalCENTRAL. Please note that this year there will not be a letter of intent (LOI) stage — all application materials must be submitted by the initial deadline. Please log in as an applicant, go to the “Grant Opportunities” tab, scroll to Simons Foundation and click “Apply Now” for the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative – Pilot Award program. For assistance, please call 800-875-2562 or email pcsupport@altum.com.
Details concerning application submission and requirements can be found in our instructions or on proposalCENTRAL. In case of remaining questions, please take a look at our extensive FAQ section.
The Simons Foundation uses an electronic grants submission process. All interested grant applicants must submit their applications online through proposalCENTRAL.
Over Two Years
$300,000
- Application Available
- Application Deadline
- Award Notification
- Award Start Date
Awards may begin as early as September 1, 2022, but we encourage PIs to select a project start date that best accommodates the needs of their project. Funds are expected to be expended as requested during each annual budget period. Note: Projects must begin on the first of the month.
- Administrative inquiries:
sfarigrants@simonsfoundation.org
646-654-0066 - Scientific inquiries:
sciencerfa@simonsfoundation.org
646-654-0066 - proposalCENTRAL:
pcsupport@altum.com
800-875-2562 - Simons Collections:
collections@sfari.org
646-654-0066
The submission deadline is Thursday, March 17, 2022, 5:00 PM Eastern Time
Accessing the Application in proposalCENTRAL:
Prospective applicants must submit an application via proposalCENTRAL (pC). To start an application in pC, users must first log in to their pC account.
If You Need to Create a New Account in pC
To create a new account, go to https://proposalcentral.com/ (pC) and click “Need an Account?” Fill in the required fields, check the boxes to agree to pC’s “Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy” and then click “Save.” For the next steps, see the “If You Have an Existing Account in pC” section below.
If You Have an Existing Account in pC
For all users with a pC account, log in under “Application Login” at https://proposalcentral.com/ and select “Create a New Proposal” or click on the “Grant Opportunities” tab. Scroll down to “Simons Foundation” and then click “Apply Now” for the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative-Pilot Award program in order to start the proposal and access the templates. After all sections are completed, you will be able to click on the “Submit” button.
Application Requirements and Submission Instructions
To submit an application, the following proposalCENTRAL sections must be completed:
- Title Page: Please provide the following information
- Project title
- Indicate use of Simons Collections biospecimens, data or participant recruitment.
- Select a primary category. Please note a secondary category is not required.
- Download Templates & Instructions: The following templates are available for download:
- 2022 Pilot RFA Application Instructions
- Simons Foundation Policies and Procedures
- 2022 Pilot RFA Request for Applications (RFA) Announcement
- Methodological and Statistical Considerations for SFARI Grant Proposals
- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Models of Autism: Experimental Design Considerations
- Pilot RFA Specific Aims Page Template
- Pilot RFA Proposal Narrative Template
- Investigational Compound Information Sheet
- Statement of Changes Template
- Biosketch Template
- Budget Justification Template
- Current and Pending Support Template
- Resources and Research Environment Template
- Renewable Reagents and Data Sharing Plan Template
- Detailed Budget Template for Subcontract
- Progress Report Template
- Enable Other Users to Access This Proposal: Complete this section to give administrators or collaborators access and to allow other users to submit the application on your behalf.
- Applicant/PI: The Principal Investigator (PI) should be listed here. For grants with multiple PIs, the contact PI should be listed here.
- Organization/Institution: Enter the lead institution. Contact information for the signing official and financial/fiscal officer from your institution is required; select the correct person or enter new names in this section.
- Key Personnel: Indicate key personnel, including but not limited to: principal investigators (not including the contact PI), co-investigators, consultants, postdoctoral research associates and others. In rare circumstances, the applicant organization may designate multiple individuals as PIs who share the authority and responsibility for leading and directing the project, intellectually and logistically. For more information on the responsibilities of PIs, please refer to the relevant questions in the FAQ section.
- Abstract: Enter as text in this section.
- Budget Period Detail: The following information is required for the “Budget Period Detail” section.
- Award start date: Awards may begin as early as September 1, 2022, but we encourage PIs to select a project start date that best accommodates the needs of their project. Funds are expected to be expended as requested during each annual budget period. Note: Projects must begin on the first of the month.
- Personnel: Please provide the name, role, appointment type, percent effort, institutional base salary, requested salary, fringe rate and requested fringe for all personnel.
- Other considerations: Please note there is no salary cap for PIs or other faculty on a Simons Foundation grant; however, the compensation is prorated according to the individual’s percent effort on the grant. There is no minimum percent effort required for PIs or other personnel on any SFARI award type, but it is expected that the PI will commit sufficient effort to this project to provide a leading intellectual and guiding role on the project. PIs committing less than 15 percent effort to their project should justify their effort level in detail. SFARI funds may be used only for personnel considered employees of the grantee institution who are eligible for benefits. Funds may not be used for stipend or benefit supplementation unless specifically authorized under the terms of the program from which funds are derived. The Simons Foundation reserves the right to modify budgets when an application has been selected for an award (see Simons Foundation policies).
- Indirect Costs (IDC): Indirect costs to the primary institution are limited to 20 percent of direct costs with the following exceptions: equipment, tuition and any portion of each subcontract in excess of $25,000. The primary institution may take indirect costs on the first $25,000 modified total direct costs of each subcontract. Indirect costs paid to a subcontractor may not exceed 20 percent of the modified total direct costs paid to the subcontractor.
- Equipment: The Simons Foundation will own equipment purchased with foundation grant funds with a unit cost of $50,000 or more. At the end of the grant-funding period or in case of grant termination for any reason, the foundation reserves the right to retain ownership or cede ownership to the PI’s institution. Equipment with a unit cost of $50,000 or less shall be the property of the institution.
- Biospecimens: If the proposal includes the use of Simons Collection biospecimens, i.e., from the Simons Simplex Collection (SSC) or Simons Searchlight, the Simons Foundation will review the estimated cost based on the price list on our website. Biospecimen costs will be considered separately from other project costs. Enter the projected figure in the field marked “Simons Collections Biospecimens (No IDC)” in the “Budget Period Detail” section, under “Other Expenses.” A description of use, including the number and type of biospecimens, should be included in the proposal narrative and budget justification (see the “Proposal Attachments” section below). Biospecimen costs must be excluded from the IDC cost calculation.
- Please do not use the field marked “For Internal Use Only-Estimated Cost for Simons Collections Biospecimens” below the “Indirect Costs” section in the “Budget Period Detail.”
- Investigators interested in recruiting human participants, including those from a Simons Collection must complete and submit a Human Participants Study Information Sheet.
- Multiple PIs:
- Please note that the applicant PI will be the designated contact PI for the project. The contact PI will be responsible for directing the project and will act as the main point of contact for the foundation by coordinating all administrative deliverables.
- Applications with multiple PIs from different institutions who would like to be paid separately must upload in the “Proposal Attachments” section:
- Signed signature page for each PI (available for download in the “Proposal Attachments” and “Download Templates & Instructions” sections).
- Budget template for each non-applicant PI (available for download in the “Proposal Attachments” and “Download Templates & Instructions” sections).
- Direct costs for all non-applicant PIs, which must be given in section 8 (“Budget Period Detail”) in the “Consortium & Contractual Direct” section. Indirect costs for all non-applicant PIs should be included in the “Indirect Costs” section. Please add a separate line for both direct costs and indirect costs for each non-applicant PI.
- Applications with multiple PIs from different institutions who will be paid directly by the contact PI’s institution are considered subcontractors. Please refer to the instructions in the Subcontracts section below.
- Applications with multiple PIs from the same institution do not need to submit additional materials. Additional non-applicant PIs should be listed as key personnel in section 6 (“Key Personnel”) and in section 8 (“Budget Period Detail”), and only one signature page is needed.
- Please see the chart below for a detailed breakdown of multiple PI requirements.
- Subcontracts:
- Applications with subcontracts (including PIs who will be paid directly by the contact PI’s institution) must submit:
- Subcontract Detailed Budget (available for download in the “Proposal Attachments” and “Download Templates & Instructions” sections) for each subcontract.
- Direct costs for all subcontract PIs, which must be given in section 8 (“Budget Period Detail”) in the “Consortium & Contractual Direct” section. Indirect costs for all subcontract PIs should be included in the “Indirect Costs” section. Please add a separate line for both direct costs and indirect costs for each subcontract PI.
- Please see the chart below for a detailed breakdown of subcontract requirements.
- Applications with subcontracts (including PIs who will be paid directly by the contact PI’s institution) must submit:
- Budget Summary: The “Budget Summary” will populate from the saved “Budget Period Detail” section.
- Organization Assurances: Indicate use of human participants or vertebrate animals in this section and status of approval from the Institutional Review Board or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. Grants cannot activate without current human participant and/or animal research ethical approval.
- Proposal Attachments: The following documents are to be uploaded in the “Proposal Attachments” section, where they are also available for download:
- Specific Aims Page: The Specific Aims Page should not exceed one (1) page and should be a summary of the proposed project focused on the research aims of the project, including a concise rationale for the hypothesis, description of preliminary data and experimental approach, and impact on autism research.
- Proposal Narrative: The Proposal Narrative should not exceed three (3) pages of single-spaced, size 11-point text, 0.5 margins. The Proposal Narrative should be considered an expanded version of the Specific Aims Page and used to provide more detail on the following:
- Relevant scientific background and relevance to autism
- Preliminary results when applicable
- Specific aims
- Experimental design
- Pitfalls and alternative strategies
- Future directions and implications for autism diagnosis, understanding or treatment
- Timeline and milestones
Figures, figure legends and references should follow the narrative text and will not count towards the page limit. References should be in Journal of Neuroscience format, including full author list, title and a link to PubMed. Figures are limited to 10, each fitting on a single page. Please attach them at the end of the three-page narrative in the same PDF file.
- Investigational Compound Information Sheet: Required only for investigators proposing to use investigational compounds or chemicals for which public information is not yet available.
- Statement of Changes Template: Required only for investigators who are resubmitting an application previously submitted to SFARI.
- Biographical Sketches of Key Personnel: Please refer to NIH guidelines.
- Budget Justification
- Budget Templates:
- Multiple PIs: Applications with multiple PIs from different institutions that would like to be paid separately must submit a signed budget template for each PI institution.
- Subcontract: Applications with subcontracts must submit a budget template.
- Progress Report: Investigators currently receiving SFARI funding on science relevant for the current proposal should include a progress report in two (2) pages or less.
- Research Environment and Resources
- Renewable Reagents and Data-Sharing Plan
- Current and Pending Support: Please upload current and pending support for all PIs and key personnel.
- 501(c)(3) determination or equivalency letter (foreign institutions only): Please upload, if available, a copy of your U.S. IRS 501(c)(3) determination or equivalency letter as part of the application. (See Simons Foundation policies.)
- Signed Signature Page: Applications with multiple PIs from different institutions that would like to be paid separately must submit a signed signature page from each PI institution.
- PI Data Sheet: Your professional profile will populate this section of the application. If revisions are required, select “Edit Professional Profile” and go to the “Personal Data for Applications” section. Please note that the contact PI’s ORCID identifier (“iD”) is required. Once the PI’s ORCID iD is provided, you will be able to sync a limited amount of data from your ORCID account with your pC account.
- Validate: You must click the “Validate” button below to check for any missing required information or files. All missing required information will be listed on the screen. Please correct any missing information before proceeding to the next step.
- Signature Page(s): The signed signature page is available for download in this section and must be signed by the signing official, then re-uploaded in the “Proposal Attachments” Applications with multiple PIs from different institutions that would like to be paid separately must submit a signed signature page for each PI institution.
- Submit: You will be unable to submit if you have not provided all the required information. Any missing information will be listed on the screen. If your submission is successful, you will receive a confirmation message on the screen and a confirmation email will be sent to the applicant.
Requirements | Multiple PIs (at different institutions that want to be paid separately) | Subcontracts (including subcontract PI) |
Signed signature page | Yes | No |
Detailed budget template for additional PIs at different institutions | Yes | No |
Detailed budget template for subcontracts | No | Yes |
Direct costs entered into the “Consortium & Contractual Direct” section of the “Budget Period Detail” | Yes | Yes |
Indirect costs entered into the “Indirect” section of the “Budget Period Detail” | Yes | Yes |
Key personnel biosketches | Yes | Yes |
Key personnel current and pending support | Yes | Yes |
Renewable reagents and data-sharing plan | No (contact PI to submit one overall document) | No |
Resources research and environment | No (contact PI to submit one overall document) | No |
Budget justification | No (a justification should be included in the budget template) | No (a justification should be included in the budget template) |
Please note that narratives exceeding the three (3)-page limit will not be reviewed. Figures (up to 10, fitting on one page each), figure legends and references (formatted in the Journal of Neuroscience style) are not included in the page limit.
Over Two Years
$300,000
- Application Available
- Application Deadline
- Award Notification
- Award Start Date
Awards may begin as early as September 1, 2022, but we encourage PIs to select a project start date that best accommodates the needs of their project. Funds are expected to be expended as requested during each annual budget period. Note: Projects must begin on the first of the month.
- Administrative inquiries:
sfarigrants@simonsfoundation.org
646-654-0066 - Scientific inquiries:
sciencerfa@simonsfoundation.org
646-654-0066 - proposalCENTRAL:
pcsupport@altum.com
800-875-2562 - Simons Collections:
collections@sfari.org
646-654-0066
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Eligibility
Am I eligible to be a principal investigator (PI) on a SFARI Pilot or Research Award?
All applicants and key collaborators must hold a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent degree and have a faculty position or the equivalent at a college, university, medical school or other research facility. Applications may be submitted by domestic and foreign nonprofit organizations; public and private institutions, such as colleges, universities, hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local government; and eligible agencies of the federal government. There are no citizenship or country requirements. See the Personnel FAQ section for more information on the responsibilities of a SFARI principal investigator.
Can postdoctoral associates apply as PIs?No, postdoctoral associates may not apply as PIs even if your institution is willing to submit an application on your behalf.
Senior postdoctoral research associates who are interested in pursuing an independent career in autism research are encouraged to apply for SFARI’s Bridge to Independence Award RFA.
Can foreign institutions apply for a grant?Yes, foreign institutions may apply. Please see Simons Foundation policies regarding international grants.
I am a recipient of the SFARI Bridge to Independence (BTI) Award. Am I eligible to apply as a PI to a SFARI Pilot Award?BTI awardees may not apply to be PIs on a SFARI Pilot Award application within two years of the BTI grant start date. However, BTI awardees may be named in other personnel roles, including co-investigator and consultant. After the two-year moratorium, BTI awardees may apply as a PI for any SFARI grant program. Note that this moratorium applies only to SFARI grants and no other grant award programs within the Simons Foundation, such as the Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain or the Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Awards.
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Personnel
- Applications with multiple PIs from different institutions that would like to be paid separately must upload the following items in the “Proposal Attachments” section:
- Signed signature page for each PI (available for download in the “Proposal Attachments” and “Download Templates & Instructions” sections).
- Budget template for each non-applicant PI (available for download in the “Proposal Attachments” and “Download Templates & Instructions” sections).
- The direct costs for all non-applicant PIs must be included in section 8 (“Budget Period Detail”) in the “Consortium & Contractual Direct” section, and indirect costs for all non-applicant PIs should be included in the “Indirect Costs” section. Please add a separate line for both direct costs and indirect costs for each non-applicant PI.
- Applications with multiple PIs from different institutions who will be paid directly by the contact PI’s institution are considered subcontracts. Subcontracts must submit:
- Subcontract Detailed Budget (available for download in the “Proposal Attachments” and “Download Templates & Instructions” sections) for each subcontract.
- Subcontract direct costs must be included in the “Consortium & Contractual Direct” section, and subcontract indirect costs should be included in the “Indirect Costs” section. Please add a separate line for both direct costs and indirect costs for each subcontract.
- Only one signature page from the institution of the applicant PI submitting the application is required.
- Applications with multiple PIs from the same institution do not need to submit additional materials. Additional non-applicant PIs should be listed as key personnel in section 6 (key personnel) and in section 8 (budget period detail), and only one signature page is needed.
What is the difference between a principal investigator (PI) and a co-investigator?Principal Investigator
The individual(s) judged by the applicant organization to have the appropriate level of authority and responsibility to direct the project or program supported by the grant. All PIs must hold a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent degree and have a faculty position or the equivalent at a college, university, medical school or other research facility. He or she is responsible and accountable to the applicant organization and SFARI for the proper conduct of the project or activity, including the submission of all required reports. He or she will act as the main point of contact for the foundation.Co-Investigator
An individual involved with the PI in the scientific development or execution of a project. The co-investigator must hold a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent and be employed by, or affiliated with, the applicant/grantee organization or another organization participating in the project under a consortium agreement. A co-investigator is considered key personnel, but the Simons Foundation does not require a minimum effort from the co-investigator. The designation of a co-investigator, if applicable, does not affect the PI’s roles and responsibilities, nor is it a role implying multiple PIs.Is there a minimum percent effort for PIs or co-investigators?We seek applications from independent investigators who can devote a substantial portion of time to this effort. There is no minimum percent effort required for any personnel, but we expect personnel, in particular PIs and co-investigators, to have efforts that reflect their roles in the project.
Can multiple PIs apply for a grant?When relevant, the applicant organization may designate multiple individuals as PIs who share the authority and responsibility for leading and directing the project, intellectually and logistically. Each PI is responsible and accountable to the applicant organization or, as appropriate, to a collaborating organization, for the proper conduct of the project or program, including the submission of all required reports. The presence of more than one identified PI on an application or award diminishes neither the responsibility nor the accountability of any individual PI.
The first PI listed, under whose name the application is submitted, will serve as the contact PI for administrative purposes. The contact PI must be affiliated with the institution submitting the application. The contact PI will be responsible for communication between SFARI and the rest of the leadership team.
The role type “Co-PI” will not be used by SFARI.
How do I designate multiple PIs on the application?As the contact PI, should I be listed as key personnel in the application on proposalCENTRAL (pC)?No. Please list only additional key personnel on the application (i.e., co-investigators, non-contact PI(s), postdoctoral research associates, etc.).
Where do I enter additional co-investigators and additional key personnel?You can save personnel details in the “Key Personnel” section on the application.
Can co-investigators and additional personnel be listed on multiple applications?Yes, co-investigators and additional personnel can be listed on multiple applications.
Does the Simons Foundation require letters of support or collaboration?We do not require letters of support or letters of collaboration from co-investigators. If a letter is prepared, it can be uploaded as “Appendix – In-press papers on related topics.”
- Applications with multiple PIs from different institutions that would like to be paid separately must upload the following items in the “Proposal Attachments” section:
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Submission
Where do I submit the proposal?
New users first need to register on proposalCENTRAL (pC). For all users, log in and select “Create a New Proposal” or click on the “Grant Opportunities” tab. The SFARI programs will be listed during the submission period. Click “Apply Now” to start the application and access the template. After all sections are completed and your application PDF is uploaded, you will be able to hit the “Submit” button to send the application.
How do I create a proposalCENTRAL user account?Go to https://proposalcentral.com/ and click “Need an Account?.” Fill in the required fields, check the boxes to agree to proposalCENTRAL’s “Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy” and then click “Save.”
Can I email or mail a proposal?No, the Simons Foundation accepts only applications submitted online through pC.
Can someone else (assistant, staff member, etc.) submit my application for me?Yes, you can add users with administrator access to the pC application so that someone other than the principal investigator (PI) can edit and submit the application.
Can I change the contact PI?Yes, linked instructions for how to change the contact PI can be found in the application.
The person who starts an application will be named as the PI on the Applicant/PI page. If the Applicant/PI section does not show the correct person (e.g., someone else started the online application and you are the PI, or you started the application and someone else is the PI), you must update this section before submitting.
Does the PI need to sign the signature page?No, only the signing official is required to sign the signature page.
Where is the “Submit” button?if you have not provided all the required information. If the submission deadline has not passed, use the “Validate” button to check for missing requirements. If the problem persists, please contact pcsupport@altum.com.
If the deadline has passed, the submission period has closed, and you will not be able to submit.
I get an error message citing a missing section when I try to submit.The “Validate” button reviews your application for missing sections. The submission instructions list the required sections and attachments. You must complete the missing sections listed. If you are still receiving error messages after completing and saving the indicated sections, please contact pcsupport@altum.com.
Are deadline times adjusted for time zones?No, please be advised that application deadlines on the application are in Eastern Time. We recommend registering early and submitting applications with ample time for corrections prior to the deadline hour. Site traffic can slow page-load times. The “Submit” button will not work after the deadline time has passed.
Is there a confirmation email when I submit?A confirmation email is sent upon submission of the application. Please contact pcsupport@altum.com if you submitted your application and have not received a confirmation email within 10 minutes. Make sure that spam filters allow emails from pcsupport@altum.com. The application will be in the “Submitted” tab when you next log in.
Can I make changes to the application once it has been submitted?Before you can make changes to your submitted application, you must first contact the Simons Foundation. Please email sfarigrants@simonsfoundation.org or call (646) 654-0066. Applications can only be changed prior to the deadline.
Is validating my proposal the same as submitting it?No. “Validating” the proposal checks for errors and omissions and will alert you to missing requirements of your application. If the application is complete, you must then click the “Submit” button. You will receive an email within 10 minutes and should contact pcsupport@altum.com if you do not receive confirmation and do not see your application in the “Submitted” tab or with the status changed to “Submitted.”
The funding notification date has passed, but I haven’t received a notification. What is the status of my proposal?You should receive notification within 24 hours of the deadline. Please check your spam filter settings if you have not received notification by then.
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Resubmissions and Renewals
Can PIs submit multiple applications for Pilot Awards?
Principal Investigators may submit multiple applications for funding, however SFARI is exceedingly unlikely to award more than one grant to a given PI in a single year.
Can PIs re-submit unfunded Pilot applications?Unsuccessful applications submitted to previous SFARI RFAs may be resubmitted in subsequent RFAs. For all resubmissions, we ask PIs to submit a statement of changes describing substantive changes to the application since the previous submission. If the previous application was externally reviewed, this document should include point-by-point responses to the reviewers’ critiques. This document will be used primarily by SFARI’s internal scientific staff, although in some cases portions of it may be shared with external reviewers at SFARI’s discretion. If the revised application does not include substantive changes, it is unlikely that the outcome will change. This is especially true for applications that were not externally reviewed, as this decision is often based on the relevance of the project to SFARI’s mission.
Can PIs submit applications for renewal of a previously funded SFARI award?Given the focus of the Pilot RFA on bold, imaginative new ideas, it is unlikely that a renewal of a currently funded project (either from SFARI or elsewhere) will be a good fit for this RFA. We encourage investigators to seek continuation support from outside funding sources. In exceptional cases where progress has been stellar, SFARI may provide continuation funding for projects of particularly high impact, at the discretion of the science team. Decisions on new proposals from current SFARI Investigators will include the evaluation of progress on previous or ongoing SFARI grants.
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Proposal
- Relevant scientific background and relevance to autism
- Preliminary results when applicable
- Specific aims
- Experimental design
- Pitfalls and alternative strategies
- Future directions and implications for autism diagnosis, understanding or treatment
- Timeline and milestones
- Induced pluripotent stem cell lines and controls to be used, and their availability
- Animal model strains/lines and their availability
- Patient cohorts used (including source of participants, sample size and availability of genetic data). Investigators should also complete the Human Participants Study Information Sheet.
- Datasets or biospecimen collections to be used (including SFARI resources) and their availability
- A brief statement of statistical power
- Investigators should refer to the Methodological and Statistical Considerations Sheet for further information on necessary experimental detail to include in the proposal narrative.
What should be included in the Specific Aims Page?The Specific Aims Page should be a summary of the proposed project focused on the research aims of the project, including a concise rationale for the hypothesis, description of preliminary data and experimental approach, and impact on autism research.
What is the page limit for the Specific Aims Page?The Specific Aims Page should not exceed one (1) page of single-spaced, size 11-point text, 0.5 margins.
What is the page limit for the Proposal Narrative?Pilot Award Proposal Narratives should not exceed three (3) pages single-spaced, size 11-point text, 0.5 margins. Figures, figure legends and references should follow the narrative text and will not count towards the page limit.
How should the Proposal Narrative be organized?The Proposal Narrative should be considered an expanded version of the Specific Aims Page and used to provide more detail on the following:
SFARI considers the following information crucial for the evaluation of a project and encourages including the following details (where relevant):
Are references, figures and figure legends included in the Proposal Narrative page limit? How should they be included?References, figures and figure legends are not included in the page limits for the Proposal Narrative, although we have a limit of 10 figures (each fitting on a single page). Please attach them at the end of the narrative in the same PDF file. The Simons Foundation’s preference is for figures to follow the narrative rather than be embedded in the text. References should be in Journal of Neuroscience format, including full author list, title and a link to PubMed.
What is a “statement of changes”?For all resubmissions, we ask PIs to submit a statement of changes describing substantive changes to the application since the previous submission. If the previous application was externally reviewed, this document should include point-by-point responses to the reviewers’ critiques. This document will be used primarily by SFARI’s internal scientific staff, although in some cases portions of it may be shared with external reviewers at SFARI’s discretion.
What can I include as an appendix?In-press papers can be included as appendices, as well as any papers that you consider essential for the work of the review committee. Include no more than three (3) papers. Any other material should be included, if possible, in the narrative. If you have video attachments for your proposal, please upload as an appendix (all file types are accepted).
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Budget
- Subcontract Detailed Budget (available for download in the “Proposal Subcontract Detailed Budget” and “Download Templates & Instructions” sections) for each subcontract.
- Subcontract direct costs must be included in the “Consortium & Contractual Direct” section, and subcontract indirect costs should be included in the “Indirect Costs” section. Please add a separate line for both direct costs and indirect costs for each subcontract.
What do I do if there is a subcontract on the application?Applications with a subcontract (including PIs who will be paid directly by the contact PI’s institution) must submit:
Are indirect costs included in the budget limits?Yes. The total limit for a Pilot Award is $300,000, which includes indirect costs, at 20 percent for up to two (2) years. Allowable indirect costs to the primary institution for subcontracts are not included in the $300,000 total budget threshold (see grant policies). Please note that indirect costs cannot be taken on equipment with a unit cost of more than $10,000 or on tuition or SSC and Simons Searchlight biospecimens.
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Accessing Simons Collection Resources (i.e., SSC, Simons Searchlight, SPARK and AIC)
How can I find out more about available data and biospecimens (where applicable) from the SSC, Simons Searchlight, SPARK and Autism Inpatient Collection (AIC)?
You can access and request information about the SSC, Simons Searchlight, SPARK, AIC and Autism BrainNet on SFARI Base. If you do not have SFARI Base account, you must create one. If you have problems with the login or have questions regarding the collections, please email collections@sfari.org.
How can I find out more about the data collected from SPARK participants?Please see the SPARK webpage for more information about the SPARK cohort and available data. You can access and request information about the data collected from SPARK via SFARI Base. If you do not have a SFARI Base account, you must create one. If you have problems with the login or have questions regarding the collections, please email collections@sfari.org.
Are biospecimens available from SPARK?No, but phenotypic and genetic data are currently available to approved researchers via SFARI Base.
How can I apply to recruit SPARK participants for my research studies?Researchers may submit an application on SFARI Base. The SPARK Participant Access Committee considers applications on a quarterly basis, but applications may be submitted at any time. Please refer to the SPARK Recruitment Process Document for more details and email collections@sfari.org with any questions.
Do budget limits include the cost of purchasing SSC and Simons Searchlight biospecimens?No, SSC, Simons Searchlight and AIC biospecimen costs are not included in the budget limit. Prices can be found on the price list on our website.
How can I apply to access human post-mortem brain tissue from Autism BrainNet?Researchers may submit an application through SFARI Base. Information on Autism BrainNet tissue and data are available in the Autism BrainNet tissue catalogue.
Elucidating how the autism risk gene CPEB4 regulates cortical neuron development
- Awarded: 2021
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 879074
- John Flanagan, Ph.D. Harvard Medical School
Fronto-striatal dopamine underlying behavioral inhibition in a mouse model of neurofibromatosis type 1
- Awarded: 2021
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 736504
- Adam Kepecs, Ph.D. Washington University in St. Louis
RNA-binding proteins in autism
- Awarded: 2021
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 877745
- Howard Lipshitz, Ph.D. University of Toronto
Neuromuscular mechanisms of motor impairments associated with autism
- Awarded: 2021
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 882985
- Lin Mei, M.D., Ph.D. Case Western Reserve University
Modeling deficiencies in the chromatin modifying enzyme EHMT1 during human neurogenesis using multipurpose degron alleles
- Awarded: 2021
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 875469
- Matthias Stadtfeld, Ph.D. Weill Cornell Medicine
Molecular signatures and reversibility in mouse models of Jordan’s syndrome
- Awarded: 2021
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 877875
- Stefan Strack, Ph.D. University of Iowa
High-throughput screening of Drosophila models to identify autism gene networks that disrupt sleep and circadian rhythms
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 735135
- Ravi Allada, M.D. Northwestern University
Understanding and manipulating cortex-wide neural dynamics across multiple mouse models of autism
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 670183
- Timothy Buschman, Ph.D. Princeton University
Cortical encoding of speech in autism
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 733070
- Edward F. Chang, M.D. University of California, San Francisco
Microbial-based interventions in rodent models of autism: An exploratory study
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 726259
- Mauro Costa-Mattioli, Ph.D. Baylor College of Medicine
Gut-intrinsic mechanisms of gastrointestinal dysmotility in zebrafish models of autism
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 719401
- Julia Dallman, Ph.D. University of Miami
Molecular and functional characterization of circuits underlying social motivation in mouse models of autism
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 673021
- Catherine Dulac, Ph.D. Harvard University
Enhancer-targeted correction of haploinsufficient autism risk genes
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 675474
- Daniel Geschwind, M.D., Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles
Cellular and molecular analysis of Setd2 function during cortical neurogenesis
- Awarded: 2020
- Award #: 736305
- Corey Harwell, Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco
Development of antisense oligonucleotides for SYNGAP1 haploinsufficiency associated with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 731581
- Richard Huganir, Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University
Investigating a novel link between ANK2 and SCN2A to control dendritic excitability
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 675594
- Paul Jenkins, Ph.D. University of Michigan
Identifying substrates of UBE3A-mediated ubiquitination in neural progenitor cells and cortical neurons
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 645756
- Hiroaki Kiyokawa, M.D., Ph.D. Northwestern University
Developmental and cell type-specific origin of autism pathology at single-cell resolution
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 724430
- Jürgen Knoblich, Ph.D. Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Defining the regulatory landscape of autism susceptibility genes in human neurons
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 735604
- Kasper Lage, Ph.D. Harvard Medical School
Assessing the role of predictive processing in autism using electrophysiological modeling of neural responses to natural speech
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 675250
- Edmund Lalor, Ph.D. University of Rochester
Integrative metabolomics of autism spectrum disorders
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 674423
- Jessica Ann Lasky-Su, M.S., D.Sc. Harvard Medical School
- Rachel Kelly, Ph.D. Harvard Medical School
How do neurexins promote presynaptic development?
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 724490
- Peri Kurshan, Ph.D. Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Investigating social communication and attachment deficits in prairie vole models of autism
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 736475
- Devanand Manoli, M.D., Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco
Regulation of cortical interneuron wiring in neurodevelopmental disorders
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 736666
- Oscar Marín, Ph.D. King's College London
- Beatriz Rico, Ph.D. King's College London
Elucidating early disruptions of brain activity in mouse models of autism
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 663966
- William J. Moody, Ph.D. University of Washington
Computerized assessment of motor imitation (CAMI): Advancing the validity and scalability of a promising phenotypic biomarker for autism
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 724867
- Stewart H. Mostofsky, M.D. Kennedy Krieger Institute
Investigating the contribution of peripheral sensory neuron dysfunction to gastrointestinal-related phenotypes in mouse models of autism
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 724817
- Lauren Orefice, Ph.D. Harvard Medical School
Mapping the common genetic architecture of fine and gross infant motor development in the context of autism
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 724306
- Angelica Ronald, Ph.D. University of London
- Mark Johnson, Ph.D. University of Cambridge
Elucidating the consequence of R-loop deregulation in autism spectrum disorders
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 670739
- Kavitha Sarma, Ph.D. The Wistar Institute
Mapping circuits and physiological mechanisms for disrupted behavioral imitation in a FoxP1 songbird model of autism
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 733903
- Todd Roberts, Ph.D. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Antisense gene therapy for dominant haploinsufficiencies associated with autism
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 674442
- Jonathan Sebat, Ph.D. University of California, San Diego
Exploring the integrated stress response as a driver of autism features
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 722987
- Peter Walter, Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco
Assembly of cortical microcircuit motifs in a mouse model of Arid1b haploinsufficiency
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 724187
- Jason Wester, Ph.D. Ohio State University
Inhibition of an RNA-binding protein as a treatment for fragile X syndrome
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 668241
- Gene Yeo, Ph.D. University of California, San Diego
Identification of cell-type-specific isoforms of autism risk genes expressed during neocortical development
- Awarded: 2020
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 615098
- Xiaochang Zhang, Ph.D. University of Chicago
A tRNA-based gene therapy approach for high-fidelity repair of SCN2A premature termination codons
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 646844
- Christopher Ahern, Ph.D. University of Iowa
Mobile genetic elements in autism spectrum disorder
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 608983
- Maria Chahrour, Ph.D. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Speeding up autism gene discovery via deep multitask learning of data from cohorts of comorbid neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 640935
- A. Ercüment Çiçek, Ph.D. Bilkent University
Linking neuroimmune dysfunction, sensory system deficits and behavioral phenotypes in a new mouse model of MEF2C haploinsufficiency syndrome
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 649452
- Christopher Cowan, Ph.D. Medical University of South Carolina
- Hainan Lang, M.D., Ph.D. Medical University of South Carolina
- Bärbel Rohrer, Ph.D. Medical University of South Carolina
Enhancement of neurexin-1 function in a genetic mouse model: A novel approach to restore synaptic pathways disrupted in autism
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 608066
- Ann Marie Craig, Ph.D. University of British Columbia
Integrated metagenomic analysis of the oral microbiome in autism spectrum disorders
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 648614
- Enrico Domenici, Ph.D. University of Trento
Gastrointestinal dysfunction and the gut-brain axis in a Chd8 mouse model of autism
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 645766
- Evan Elliott, Ph.D. Bar-Ilan University
Connectivity-based Bayesian nonparametric modeling of individual variability in autism
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 614379
- Joshua Hartshorne, Ph.D. Boston College
- Stefano Anzellotti, Ph.D. Boston College
Building phenotypic maps based on neuronal activity and transcriptional profiles in human cell models of syndromic forms of ASD
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 610264
- Nael Nadif Kasri, Ph.D. Radboud University Medical Centre
Dysregulation of the integrated stress response pathway in fragile X syndrome
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 611773
- Arkady Khoutorsky, D.V.M., Ph.D. McGill University
Role of the autism risk gene Scn2a in oligodendrocyte-mediated myelination and circuit development
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 609186
- Jun Hee Kim, Ph.D. UT Health San Antonio
Assessing signaling pathway- and brain region-specific alterations in Trio mouse models of autism
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 645379
- Anthony Koleske, Ph.D. Yale University
In vivo calcium dynamics in dendritic spines of Shank3 and Scn2a mutant mouse models of autism
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 611189
- Alex Kwan, Ph.D. Yale University
Augmentation of serotonergic signaling during development in a mouse model of autism: A mechanism to regulate choroid plexus function?
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 610670
- Maria Lehtinen, Ph.D. Boston Children's Hospital
Both overstimulated and understimulated: Gain control in children with autism
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 648277
- April R. Levin, M.D. Boston Children's Hospital
Elucidating the role of chromatin-modifying complexes in autism spectrum disorder
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 609562
- Pierre Mattar, Ph.D. Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Role of autism risk genes in prefrontal circuits underlying social processing in mice
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 610850
- Hirofumi Morishita, M.D., Ph.D. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Computationally modeling large-scale neural dynamics in autism using existing neuroimaging and transcriptomic datasets
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 614955
- John D. Murray, Ph.D. Yale University
- Alan Anticevic, Ph.D. Yale University
Disrupted stimulus offset responses in autism spectrum disorder
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 647415
- Scott O. Murray, Ph.D. University of Washington
- Sara Jane Webb, Ph.D. University of Washington
Network activity and homeostatic plasticity as endophenotypes for autism
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 648651
- Sacha Nelson, M.D., Ph.D. Brandeis University
Characterizing motor deficits and striatal circuit dynamics in rat models of autism
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 646706
- Bence Ölveczky, Ph.D. Harvard University
Integrating germline and mosaic mutations to uncover novel autism risk genes and biological mechanisms
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 644038
- Brian O’Roak, Ph.D. Oregon Health & Science University
Assessing the role of NOTCH2NL in autism
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 643417
- Sofie Salama, Ph.D. University of California, Santa Cruz
- David Haussler, Ph.D. University of California, Santa Cruz
Auditory hypersensitivity and circuit disruptions in a rat model of fragile X syndrome
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 611534
- Richard Salvi, Ph.D. State University of New York at Buffalo
Identification and manipulation of splicing variants that contribute to autism
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 647371
- Stephan Sanders, B.M.B.S., Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco
Impact of maternal serotonin levels on neurodevelopment
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 612911
- Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele, M.D. Columbia University
The influence of ASD risk genes on corticostriatal circuit development and reinforcement learning
- Awarded: 2019
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 613972
- Linda Wilbrecht, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley
Neurophysiological impact of abnormal sleep during infancy in 16p11.2 deletion mice
- Awarded: 2018
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 569466
- Mark S. Blumberg, Ph.D. University of Iowa
Assessment of involuntary eye movements as a measure of cognitive abilities in minimally verbal individuals with autism spectrum disorder
- Awarded: 2018
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 573840
- Yoram Bonneh, Ph.D. Bar-Ilan University
Neural mechanisms underlying sleep disturbances in Syngap1+/- mutant mice
- Awarded: 2018
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 572595
- Shinjae Chung, Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania
- Ted Abel, Ph.D. University of Iowa
Characterizing focal cortical dysplasias in individuals with autism spectrum disorders
- Awarded: 2018
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 572612
- Ruth Carper, Ph.D. San Diego State University
Striatal circuit dysfunction in a mouse model of the autism risk gene CACNA1D
- Awarded: 2018
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 572078
- Anis Contractor, Ph.D. Northwestern University
Subcortical multisensory integration in mouse models of autism spectrum disorder
- Awarded: 2018
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 574347
- Evan Feinberg, Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco
Sensory circuit development in a zebrafish model of fragile X syndrome
- Awarded: 2018
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 569051
- Geoffrey Goodhill, Ph.D. The University of Queensland
Assessing roles for autism-linked epigenetic factors in activity-dependent synapse elimination
- Awarded: 2018
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 575147
- Kimberly Huber, Ph.D. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
- Tae-Kyung Kim, Ph.D. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Tracing abnormal cortical neuron developmental trajectories in a mouse model of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome
- Awarded: 2018
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 571980
- Denis Jabaudon, M.D., Ph.D. University of Geneva
Elucidation of the bidirectional role of microglia in fragile X syndrome
- Awarded: 2018
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 574967
- Hye Young Lee, Ph.D. The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
A platform to identify circuit defects in autism mouse models
- Awarded: 2018
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 572955
- Markus Meister, Ph.D. California Institute of Technology
Linking placental dysfunction, cerebellar white matter alterations and social behavior deficits in a novel mouse model
- Awarded: 2018
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 572832
- Anna A. Penn, M.D., Ph.D. Children’s National Health System
Exploring deficits in lineage-dependent neocortical circuit assembly in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome
- Awarded: 2018
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 567854
- Song-Hai Shi, Ph.D. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Disentangling autism heterogeneity through multivariate genetic analyses
- Awarded: 2018
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 514787
- Beate St Pourcain, Ph.D. Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
Establishment of specific cortico-basal ganglia circuits by autism-linked protocadherins
- Awarded: 2018
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 568285
- Hisashi Umemori, M.D., Ph.D. Boston Children's Hospital
Exacerbation of Chd8+/- phenotypes with a suspected environmental risk factor
- Awarded: 2018
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 572984
- Mark Zylka, Ph.D. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Cellular and circuit effects of SCN2A haploinsufficiency
- Awarded: 2017
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 513133
- Kevin Bender, Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco
Restoration of a splicing regulatory network commonly disrupted in autism
- Awarded: 2017
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 513581
- Benjamin Blencowe, Ph.D. University of Toronto
Delineating neural circuits underlying maternal immune activated autism-like behaviors in mice
- Awarded: 2017
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 513633
- Gloria B. Choi, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Assessing BKCa channel openers for the treatment of sensory hypersensitivity in ASD
- Awarded: 2017
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 402454
- Andreas Frick, Ph.D. Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale-ADR-Bordeaux
Exploring disruption of DNA methylation in autism spectrum disorders
- Awarded: 2017
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 508034
- Harrison Gabel, Ph.D. Washington University School of Medicine
Mitochondrial DNA mutations in autism spectrum disorder
- Awarded: 2017
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 514517
- Zhenglong Gu, Ph.D. Cornell University
Uncovering Trio’s role in autism spectrum disorder
- Awarded: 2017
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 503736
- Bruce E. Herring, Ph.D. University of Southern California
Modulation of mitochondrial efficiency to treat fragile X syndrome
- Awarded: 2017
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 513123
- Elizabeth A. Jonas, M.D. Yale University
Molecular mechanisms of sensory transduction in the gut
- Awarded: 2017
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 514791
- David Julius, Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco
Investigating cell type-specific molecular pathology in autism
- Awarded: 2017
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 515488
- Arnold Kriegstein, M.D., Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco
Cellular and molecular mechanisms of sex bias in maternal immune activation-induced autism
- Awarded: 2017
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 515305
- John Lukens, Ph.D. University of Virginia
- Eli Zunder, Ph.D. University of Virginia
Associative circuitry in Bcl11a/Ctip1 ASD mice: Growth cone proteomes and RNA
- Awarded: 2017
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 515376
- Jeffrey Macklis, M.D. Harvard University
Delineating neurodevelopmental causal paths to autism symptoms in infancy
- Awarded: 2017
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 511504
- Emma Meaburn, Ph.D. Birkbeck College, University of London
- Emily Jones, Ph.D. Birkbeck College, University of London
Uncovering convergent autism synaptic endophenotypes and candidate drug treatments
- Awarded: 2017
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 514630
- Philippe Mourrain, Ph.D. Stanford University
Testing the stability of neural responses to tactile stimuli in fragile-X syndrome mice
- Awarded: 2017
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 513155
- Cian O’Donnell, Ph.D. University of Bristol
- Carlos Portera-Cailliau, M.D., Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles
Elucidating the signaling pathways involved in autism spectrum disorder
- Awarded: 2017
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 507047
- Kassandra Ori-McKenney, Ph.D. University of California, Davis
Misregulation of striatal neuronal development in autism
- Awarded: 2017
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 514813
- David Sulzer, Ph.D. Columbia University
Cerebellar contributions to autism-related behaviors
- Awarded: 2017
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 515441
- Peter Tsai, M.D., Ph.D. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Contributions of rare biallelic recessive mutations in autism
- Awarded: 2017
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 515232
- Timothy Yu, M.D., Ph.D. Boston Children's Hospital
Novel technology for behavioral phenotyping of autism mouse models
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 401141
- David Anderson, Ph.D. California Institute of Technology
Development of corticothalamic circuits of prefrontal cortex in mouse models of autism
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 401358
- Chinfei Chen, M.D., Ph.D. Boston Children's Hospital
Mechanisms that connect autism with homeostatic synaptic plasticity
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 401636
- Graeme Davis, Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco
Regulation of KCC2 as a target for the treatment of autism
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 402013
- Yves De Koninck, Ph.D. Laval University
- Melanie Woodin, Ph.D. University of Toronto
Does astrocyte dysfunction contribute to synaptic pathologies in autism?
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 400729
- Cagla Eroglu, Ph.D. Duke University
Neural circuitry linking oxytocin deficiency and social impairment in autism
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 401457
- Daniel Geschwind, M.D., Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles
Dissecting phenotypic heterogeneity associated with 16p12.1 deletion
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 399894
- Santhosh Girirajan, M.B.B.S., Ph.D. Pennsylvania State University
Neurobiological basis of connectivity deficits in autism
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 400101
- Alessandro Gozzi, Ph.D. Italian Institute of Technology
Mapping 3D genomic architecture in human developing neurons to assess the contribution of noncoding risk variants for autism
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 401625
- Fulai Jin, Ph.D. Case Western Reserve University
- Guo-Li Ming, M.D., Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University
Restoring GABA inhibition in a Rett syndrome mouse model by tuning a kinase-regulated Cl- rheostat
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 400947
- Kristopher Kahle, M.D., Ph.D. Yale University
FOXP1 orchestration of neuronal function in the striatum
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 401220
- Genevieve Konopka, Ph.D. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
- Jay Gibson, Ph.D. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
A somatic mechanism for autism phenotypic heterogeneity
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 402213
- Kenneth Kwan, Ph.D. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Amniotic and cerebrospinal fluid-based signaling in a mouse model of autism
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 402089
- Maria Lehtinen, Ph.D. Boston Children's Hospital
Exploring sex differences in autism via the NRXN1 knockout rat
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 402378
- Margaret McCarthy, Ph.D. University of Maryland
Assessing the functional effects of enhancer mutations identified in the Simons Simplex Collection via mouse models
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 402344
- Alex Nord, Ph.D. University of California, Davis
Probing the development and reversibility of autism-related phenotypes in SETD5 conditional knockout mice
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 401299
- Gaia Novarino, Ph.D. Institute of Science and Technology
Probing perception and sensorimotor coupling in mouse models of autism
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 402506
- Sandeep Robert Datta, M.D., Ph.D. Harvard Medical School
Functional and behavioral analysis of zebrafish models of autism
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 399432
- Ethan Scott, Ph.D. The University of Queensland
Do VIP interneurons drive abnormal prefrontal circuit function in autism?
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 399853
- Vikaas Sohal, M.D., Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco
Autophagy pathway alterations in lymphocytes: Potential biomarkers for autism?
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 402220
- David Sulzer, Ph.D. Columbia University
- Guomei Tang, Ph.D. Columbia University
- Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele, M.D. Columbia University
Assessing thalamocortical circuit function in TSC1 and NHE6 mouse models
- Awarded: 2016
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 402531
- Brian Theyel, M.D., Ph.D. Brown University
- Barry Connors, Ph.D. Brown University
Identifying autism-associated signaling pathways regulated by CHD8 in vivo
- Awarded: 2015
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 344763
- M. Albert Basson, Ph.D. King's College London
Parameterizing neural habituation in autism with sensory overresponsivity
- Awarded: 2015
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 345389
- Susan Bookheimer, Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles
Use of high-throughput splicing assays to prioritize autism gene candidates
- Awarded: 2015
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 342705
- William Fairbrother, Ph.D. Brown University
Comparison of cortical circuit dysfunction in autism model mice
- Awarded: 2015
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 342096
- Dan Feldman, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley
Understanding somatosensory deficits in autism spectrum disorder
- Awarded: 2015
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 345690
- David Ginty, Ph.D. Harvard University
Randomized controlled pilot trial of pregnenolone in autism
- Awarded: 2015
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 345949
- Antonio Hardan, M.D. Stanford University
High-throughput drug discovery in zebrafish models of autism risk genes
- Awarded: 2015
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 345993
- Ellen Hoffman, M.D., Ph.D. Yale University
The intersection between habit and anxiety in a genetic model of autism
- Awarded: 2015
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 344904
- Bo Li, Ph.D. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Dysregulation of mTOR/TSC in 22q11.2 deletion autism mouse model
- Awarded: 2015
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 342005
- Thomas Maynard, Ph.D. George Washington University
Role of the hippocampal CA2 region in autism
- Awarded: 2015
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 344522
- Steven Siegelbaum, Ph.D. Columbia University
Visualizing neural circuits of social sensory processing
- Awarded: 2015
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 342154
- Garret Stuber, Ph.D. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Neuronal translation in TSC2+/- and FMR1-/y mutant autism mouse models
- Awarded: 2015
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 345915
- David Sulzer, Ph.D. Columbia University
- Guomei Tang, Ph.D. Columbia University
Illuminating the role of glia in a zebrafish model of Rett syndrome
- Awarded: 2015
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 346154
- David Traver, Ph.D. University of California, San Diego
A new nonhuman primate model for studying communicative behaviors
- Awarded: 2015
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 346068
- Xiaoqin Wang, Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
How do autism-related mutations affect basal ganglia function?
- Awarded: 2014
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 307866
- Helen Bateup, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley
Validation of a diffusion imaging biomarker of autism
- Awarded: 2014
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 307098
- Steven Chance, Ph.D. University of Oxford
CHD8 and beta-catenin signaling in autism
- Awarded: 2014
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 306312
- Anjen Chenn, M.D., Ph.D. University of Illinois at Chicago
Sexually dimorphic gene expression and regulation to evaluate autism sex bias
- Awarded: 2014
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 307705
- Stephan Sanders, B.M.B.S., Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco
Development of a blood-based biomarker for autism
- Awarded: 2014
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 309212
- Elliott Sherr, M.D., Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco
MAGEL2, a candidate gene for autism and Prader-Willi syndrome
- Awarded: 2014
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 304216
- Rachel Wevrick, Ph.D. University of Alberta
Environment-wide association study of autism
- Awarded: 2014
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 307280
A functional near-infrared spectroscopy study of first signs of autism
- Awarded: 2013
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 274396
- Naama Barnea-Goraly, M.D. Stanford University
Reliability of sensory-evoked activity in autism
- Awarded: 2013
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 74635, 274635
- Marlene Behrmann, Ph.D. Carnegie Mellon University
- David Heeger, Ph.D. New York University
Role of GABA interneurons in a genetic model of autism
- Awarded: 2013
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 273504
- Jessica Cardin, Ph.D. Yale University
Genome-wide analysis of cis-regulatory elements in autism
- Awarded: 2013
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 275579
- Joseph Corbo, M.D., Ph.D. Washington University in St. Louis
The role of UBE3A in autism: Is there a critical window for social development?
- Awarded: 2013
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 275234
- Ype Elgersma, Ph.D. Erasmus University Medical Center
Hippocampal mechanisms of social learning in animal models of autism
- Awarded: 2013
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 273886
- Daoyun Ji, Ph.D. Baylor College of Medicine
Cortico-striatal dysfunction in the eIF4E transgenic mouse model of autism
- Awarded: 2013
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 274864
- Eric Klann, Ph.D. New York University
Role of LIN28/let-7 axis in autism
- Awarded: 2013
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 275171
- Mollie Meffert, M.D., Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Biomarker discovery for low sociability: A monkey model
- Awarded: 2013
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 274472
- Karen Parker, Ph.D. Stanford University
Characterizing 22q11.2 abnormalities
- Awarded: 2013
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 275687
Pathogenic roles of paternal-age-associated mutations in autism
- Awarded: 2013
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 274941
- Marco Seandel, M.D., Ph.D. Weill Cornell Medicine
CNTNAP2 regulates production, migration and organization of cortical neurons
- Awarded: 2013
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 274336
- Song-Hai Shi, Ph.D. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Unreliability of neuronal responses in mouse models of autism
- Awarded: 2013
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 274741
- Nathan Urban, Ph.D. Carnegie Mellon University
Linking genetic mosaicism, neural circuit abnormalities and behavior
- Awarded: 2013
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 275701
- Mark Zervas, Ph.D. Brown University
Perinatal choline supplementation as a treatment for autism
- Awarded: 2011
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 206764
- Tiffany Mellott, Ph.D. Boston University
Effect of abnormal calcium influx on social behavior in autism
- Awarded: 2011
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 206734
- Vikaas Sohal, M.D., Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco
Genetics and gene-environment interactions in a Korean epidemiological sample of autism
- Awarded: 2009
- Award Type: Pilot
- Award #: 137032
- Young Shin Kim, M.D., Ph.D. Yale University