• Review eligibility criteria and the instructions below.
• Submitting an application for a partner grant? Review award-specific eligibility, access the eligibility quiz and application links on the partner grant page. 
• Questions? Review FAQs.
• Contact us if your question is not answered in the FAQs. 

Eligibility

You will be required to pass an eligibility quiz to gain access to the application.

Note that if you have already submitted an LOI, you do not need to complete a second eligibility quiz. Review eligibility criteria.

Administrative Review

ATS Research Program staff will review your application. If there are any problems or if guidelines have not been followed, your proposal will be un-submitted. We cannot accept changes to LOIs or applications once they have been submitted.

Accessing the Application

Partner grants have unique applications links. Visit the partner grant page to access the application. You will be required to pass an eligibility quiz to gain access to the application. 

Unrestricted and diversity grant applications are by invitation only following LOI submission. Applicants will be notified of their LOI status in early November 2024, at which point they will gain access to the full application.

The Research Program uses Foundant Technologies for its LOI and applications. 

• Please add @grantinterface.com to your address book or contacts to ensure you receive communications regarding your LOI and application.

RESUBMISSION STATEMENT (10,000-character limit)

A resubmission is an application that was reviewed in a previous cycle but was not funded. Please note that an application is not considered a resubmission if it has major changes. Only fill out and upload this form if your application is a resubmission. Applications with resubmission statements that do not meet the requirements will be un-submitted.

In the resubmission statement you must:

1.         Explain how you addressed the scientific critiques of the original application.
2.         Explain how the application has been strengthened and modified since the original submission. 

KEY PERSONNEL AND BIOSKETCHES

Key personnel are individuals who have a large collaborative role on your project, including co-investigators, mentors, and other consultants.

Include:

1. Name
2. Title (e.g. professor of medicine)
3. Institution
4. Email address
5. Role (mentor, consultant, research technician, etc.)
6. Approximate percent effort that the person will contribute to the project
   
   Percent effort may be defined as the percent of participation on the project, salary support, or a combination of both. Make sure to clearly define total effort.

BIOSKETCHES (five-page limit)

All biosketches must use the template provided and not exceed the five-page limit. Applications with biosketches that do not meet the requirements will be un-submitted. The applicant is required to upload their biosketch and may submit biosketches for a mentor and two co-investigators. Download the biosketch template.

INSTITUTIONAL ASSURANCES

You will be required to provide information on whether your research involves clinical trials, human subjects and/or animals and the status of IRB and/or IACUC approvals.

LAY SUMMARY (2,000-character limit)

Using language a non-scientist can understand, briefly describe what you are investigating, the techniques you will use to support your hypothesis, how your project will contribute to the scientific understanding of your disease of interest and how it may lead to improvements in patient outcomes.

The lay summary will become public information; therefore, do not include proprietary/confidential information.

TECHNICAL SUMMARY (5,000-character limit)

Provide a technical summary of your proposal.

FUTURE PLANS (1,000-character limit)

Where would you take this research after funding ends, and how will this support contribute to your research career development?

HEALTHCARE EQUALITY (5,000 character limit)

How will your proposal promote healthcare equality?

For example, for clinical studies, please reflect how your patient recruitment strategy is likely to draw participants that reflect the burden of disease in the general population. Thus, for diseases like sarcoidosis, which affects mostly African Americans, the bulk of patients recruited should be African Americans, which will in turn help ensure that any therapeutic advances arising from the studies will be helpful to the ethnic/racial groups most affected.

The ATS encourages diversity and inclusion on all its committees and projects and has identified several groups that have been historically underrepresented. It may not be possible or needed to include all these groups on this project and there is no expected quota for diversity and inclusion. To facilitate the review of the proposal, please complete this summary of diversity and inclusion, indicating if your proposal includes the following groups: women, underrepresented populations in medicine (see definition here), international representatives, non-MD/DO representatives, patient/family, and early career representatives.

RESEARCH PLAN (10-page limit)

The research plan should include sufficient information needed for evaluation of the project. Be specific and informative and avoid redundancies. Use the format below to prepare this section. Applications with research plans that do not meet the requirements will be un-submitted.

FORMAT

Length: 10-page max, including pictures

Margins: .75 (right and left), .5 (top and bottom)

Font: Arial 11-point  

Spacing: Single line or more

A. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM AND SPECIFIC AIMS 
What do you intend to do?

State the problem concisely and describe the specific aims of the research proposal. What is the hypothesis you will test? What is the experimental paradigm?

B. BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE 
Why is the work important?

Briefly provide the scientific background leading to the present application. Critically evaluate existing knowledge and identify the scientific gaps that the project is intended to fill. If the aims of the proposal are accomplished, how will this affect the scientific field? Where will these studies lead in developing a larger research program?

C. WORK ACCOMPLISHED AND PRELIMINARY STUDIES 
What has already been done?

Provide an account of the principal investigator’s preliminary studies pertinent to this application. Preliminary data often aid the reviewers in assessing the likelihood of the success of the proposed project. List any publications, manuscripts accepted for publication, patents, or other printed materials that have resulted from preliminary studies.

D. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS 
How are you going to do the work? 
Describe the research design and methods that you will use in the proposed studies. Organize this section by the specific aims of the research proposal. Include how the data will be collected, and analyzed, and describe potential problems or limitations. Published or commonly used methods do not need to be described in detail. This section must be written so that reviewers can evaluate the scientific questions, the experimental design, and the likelihood that the experiments will produce interpretable results. Include a tentative timetable showing how you will prioritize the work. Clearly identify collaborations with other investigators at the same or other institutions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY/LITERATURE CITED

• No page limit
• List citations by number in the order in which they appear in the text.
• Use the format below (“New England Journal of Medicine” style in EndNote and “Annals of Internal Medicine” in Reference Manager).

1. Kajikawa O, Frevert CW, Lin SM, Goodman RB, Mongovin SM, Wong V, Ballman K, Daubeuf B, Elson G, Martin TR. Gene expression of toll-like receptor-2, toll-like receptor-4 and MD2 is differentially regulated in rabbits with Escherichia coli pneumonia. Gene 2005;3:193-202.

2. Altemeier WA, Matute-Bello G, Frevert CW, Kawata Y, Kajikawa O, Martin TR, Glenny RW. Mechanical ventilation with moderate tidal volumes synergistically increases lung cytokine response to systemic endotoxin. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2004;164:1949-1958.

BUDGET FORM

Complete the budget form available here and on the application form.

Within this document, answer the following (no page limit):

• Justify how you will use your funds to support expenses related to personnel.
• Specify how you will use your funds to support expenses for non-personnel direct costs.

Note: ATS grants do not support indirect costs unless stated otherwise. 

The Research Program works with the awardees on the grant start dates which may vary due to things such as ethics approval. The earliest grant start date would be July 2025. 

LAB RESOURCES AND EQUIPMENT (two-page limit)

List the resources available to you that will be needed to complete your project. Describe these resources and explain how each will contribute to the successful completion of your project.

This document should be divided into seven sections: 

1. Laboratory 
2. Clinical 
3. Animal 
4. Computer 
5. Office 
6. Major Equipment 
7. Other

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

Provide the name and email address of two references who can provide letters of recommendation.

These letters should highlight your accomplishments and describe your potential to become an independent investigator. Letters of recommendation are usually letters from someone not directly involved in the project but who can emphasize its importance.

Potential recommenders could be (but are not limited to) a mentor, division director, chair, or dean.

Once you enter the recommender's name and email address in the application, they will receive an email with a link and instructions on how to submit the letter, which must be completed on official institutional letterhead.

Note that:

• You do not have to supply your recommender with your password for them to be able to attach the letter to your application
• Your recommender will not be able to view your application
• You will be unable to view the letters
• Your recommender can still submit letters after you have submitted the rest of your application
• Letters must be on official institutional letterhead

Letters of recommendation are due at the full application deadline: 11:59 pm ET December 16, 2024.

LETTERS FROM COLLABORATOR (Optional)

You may submit a letter(s) from collaborator(s) or donor(s) who are providing expertise, or reagents needed to accomplish the work. You may submit as many of these letters as you feel are necessary. All letters should be included as one attachment in a single PDF file. 

DISCLOSURE OF CONFLICT OF INTERESTS

Many individuals have competing interests that may cause conflicts of interest. Disclosure and review of a potential "conflict of interest" (COI) that might affect an ATS research award doesn't imply that an "outside interest," or a person with such a relationship or interest, is wrong or inappropriate. Nor does it imply criticism of the character or actions of the individual, or of any commercial or non-commercial entities with which an individual may be involved. Rather, ATS COI policies and procedures exist to assure the public of appropriate levels of transparency of the outside interests of participants in official ATS activities, and that official ATS activities are managed in a manner that maintains scientific rigor and independence.

•          Disclosure of a real or potential COI will not automatically invalidate an application.

All personal financial relationships with commercial entities (such as pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers), and/or with non-commercial, non-governmental funders (such as private foundations), that are relevant to the application’s subject matter must be disclosed. Such involvement with relevant commercial entities (companies) includes employment or ownership; consultancy(ies); Board or advisory committee service; service on speakers' bureaus or other acceptance of lecture fees directly paid by the company; expert testimony on behalf of the company; research grants; patents received or pending; royalties; and stock ownership or options (excluding mutual funds unless a sector fund concentrated in an industry or industries relevant to the activity).

The ATS "Policy on Tobacco Relationships" requires that individuals with a current tobacco industry relationship not hold certain ATS roles, including that of research awardee. (Note: if the relationship is limited to personal holdings of tobacco stocks or options, divestiture of such holdings. See the policy for details

You are required to answer the following questions within the online application.

COI 1A: Have you within the past 12 months had a financial interest in a commercial entity (i.e., a “commercial interest”) that could be considered broadly relevant to the subject matter of this proposal, or do you expect to have one during the duration of the grant award period?

COI 1B: If yes, please provide the company name(s) and the type of relationship.

COI 2A: Have you within the past 12 months received financial support from a non-commercial, non-governmental source (such as a private foundation or other non-profit source) that could be perceived as a real or potential conflict of interest relevant to the subject matter of this proposal, and/or do you expect to receive such before the end of the grant award period?

COI 2B: If yes, please provide the organization name(s) and the type of relationship.

COI 3A: Have you within the past 12 months had any non-financial affiliation or interest (i.e., a personal, professional or other affiliation or interest) that might be perceived to be a real or potential conflict of interest relevant to the subject matter of this proposal, and/or do you expect to receive such before the end of the grant award period?

COI 3B: If yes, please provide the company or organization name(s) and the type of relationship.

COI 4A: Have you within the past 12 months had a professional relationship with a tobacco entity or expect to have one before the end of the grant award period?

COI 4B: If yes, please provide the company or organization name(s) and the type of relationship.

ASSURANCE & SIGNATURE FORM

Download the assurance & signature form here, which is also available within the application itself. Both the applicant and an institutional official must sign and date this form. Once complete, upload the form to your application.