Diversity Supplement Grant Program (United States)

The Diversity Supplement Grant provides an opportunity for sleep and circadian science investigators, who have a funded research program, to support mentored sleep and circadian research training of promising students, post-doctoral fellows and clinical fellows who are members of minority groups traditionally underrepresented in US science to participate in sleep and circadian science research projects.

Funding Information

• The Diversity Supplement Grant provides funds for 8 weeks to 3 years, depending on the duration of an active parent research grant, and can be for up to 20% of the parent grant (maximum of $50,000).

Deliverables

• As such, the following deliverables are required:
  • The applicant must address the specific aims and any major modification requires AASM Foundation Board of Directors or Executive Committee approval.
  • The AASM Foundation expects that the research funded by this grant will lead to the publication of original research in peer-reviewed journals, such as the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, and submission of an abstract to the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS) for presentation at the annual SLEEP meeting, with the opportunity for the candidate to be the lead author. The plan and costs for these deliverables must be stated in the application.
  • The applicant must submit progress and final reports during the project period and set deadlines, describing project activities and results, as outlined below. Failure to submit reports per the established schedule will result in withholding grant payments from the sponsoring organization and the grant recipient becoming ineligible to apply for future AASM Foundation funding until all outstanding reporting is up to date.

Eligibility Criteria

• The following individuals are eligible to apply:
  • Principal investigators with an active sleep and circadian science research grant from a US federal agency or US-based non-profit organization.
  • The following candidates are eligible to be supported by the grant:
    • Candidates who are directly supported by the Diversity Supplement Grant must be one the following:
    • Students who are enrolled in an undergraduate, graduate, or health professional degree-granting program.
    • Individuals who are enrolled in a post-baccalaureate program.
    • Individuals who are within one year of completing bachelors, masters or doctoral degree and taking a gap year in their education.
    • Clinical residents, post-doctoral fellows, or clinical fellows.
  • Candidates who are directly supported by the Diversity Supplement Grant must be from one of the groups identified as underrepresented in the extramural U.S. biomedical, clinical, behavioral and social sciences workforce
  • Candidates must be citizens or non-citizen nationals of the United States or individuals who have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States

Ineligibility Criteria

• The following individuals are not eligible to apply:
  • Due to varying definitions of underrepresented groups across countries, international investigators are not eligible to apply.
  • Current AASM and AASM Foundation Board of Directors members are not eligible to apply and cannot be listed as a principal investigator, key personnel, mentor (paid or unpaid) or paid consultant during their term on the Board and for one year after their term ends.
  • Individuals and organizations located in, or operating from, countries subject to U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions are not eligible to receive AASM Foundation funding.

Review Criteria

• A grant review committee, appointed by the AASM Foundation Executive Committee, will evaluate and score all submitted applications. Factors that will be taken into consideration include:
  • Research Plan and Goals: Research plan is tailored to the academic level of the candidate and includes goals, milestones, and objectives of the proposed research. The proposed research must contribute significantly to the research career development of the candidate.
  • Mentoring and Training Plan: Plan for training includes opportunities to acquire new research, presentation, and publication skills; training also includes protections for human subjects or animal care. Plan for mentorship includes experiences to increase candidate’s knowledge, skillset, and abilities.
  • Candidate Statement: Candidate’s career goals, educational achievement and interest in science will be bolstered through this new research experience. Appointment of candidate will promote diversity in the sleep research field.

For more information, visit AASM Foundation.