Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Research Grants Open for Application

JDRF is inviting applications to three of its research grant schemes which have been reopened following suspension of applications in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is an international organisation, based in the United States, that funds research in pursuit of its aim to prevent, treat and cure Type-1 diabetes.

After suspending applications to its grants and fellowships in 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic, JDRF has now reopened three of its research grant programmes – the Career Development AwardsEarly Career Patient-Orientated Diabetes Research Awards and Strategic Research Agreements – and is inviting applications for awards to commence in the 2022 financial year.

The Career Development Awards provide funding over a maximum period of five years to support clinical and basic research on a subject directly related to JDRF mission goals and research priorities. The awards are up to $150,000 per year (renewed annually) up to $750,000. The awards aim to attract qualified and promising scientists in the early stages of faculty careers and support their establishment in the field of Type-1 diabetes research.

Applicants must hold an MD, DMD, DVM, PhD, or equivalent, and have received their first faculty-level appointment less than three years before the submission date. The applicant must also hold a faculty-level position or equivalent at a college, university, medical school, or other research institution with strong, well-established research and training programmes for the chosen area of interest.

The Early Career Patient Oriented Diabetes Research Awards provide funding over a maximum of five years to support early-career clinical researchers who plan to pursue a career in diabetes-related clinical investigation. The awards are up to $150,000 per year (renewed annually) up to $750,000. Typically, the grant is made in the later stages of training, and includes the ability for recipients to transition to independent faculty or research appointments.

Applicants should possess an MD or MD-PhD, have received their first faculty-level appointment within five years of the application deadline date, and hold an appointment or joint appointment in a sub-speciality of clinical medicine. In exceptional circumstances, non-MD candidates will be considered if their work is likely to contribute significantly to a clinical outcome.

The Strategic Research Agreements (SRAs) provide funding for single or multiple researchers to address critical gaps, challenges and potential breakthroughs in Type-1 diabetes research. SRAs are partnerships between researchers and JDRF scientists and are designed to address challenges and accelerate JDRF’s mission by providing support for cutting-edge scientific investigation.

There are three tiers of SRA: Single Project, Multi-Project, and Clinical. Funding levels and durations are variable, subject to a maximum duration of three years.

Applicants must hold a MD, DMD, DVM, PhD, or equivalent, and hold a departmental position or equivalent at a college, university, medical school, or other research institution.

Researchers applying for JDRF funding may be based at domestic (US) and foreign profit and non-profit organisations (SRAs must be based at non-profit organisations), public and private, such as colleges, universities, hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local governments, and eligible agencies of the government. There are no citizenship requirements.

Applicants who have taken leave from their career (ie due to health, childcare or other dependent issues) or have experienced delays due to COVID shutdowns that put them outside of the timeframe for the awards may still be eligible and are advised to contact JDRF to check their eligibility.

Applications for this round will be very competitive and a limited number of awards will be made.

Applications for the Early-Career Patient-Orientated Diabetes Research Awards and Career Development Awards should be submitted by the deadline on 22 September 2021.

Applications for Strategic Research Agreements are a two-stage process: submission of a Project Concept, followed by a full application for selected applicants.

Project Concepts for Strategic Research Agreements should be submitted by the deadline 2 November 2021.