MTF Research Support Grant Program

Objectives

• Awards are granted to support high quality, independent research which contributes significantly and directly to the knowledge of massage therapy and/or its application. Basic, applied, and translational research studies which investigate massage therapy as a wellness, medical, or health/mental health treatment and/or prevention intervention are supported.

Funding Information

• Small research grants supporting up to $30,000 for 1 year.
• Awarded funds must be used for research expenses such as salary support (commensurate with current stipends or salaries), participant costs, equipment and supplies, dissemination expenses; travel and subsistence towards attending the American Massage Therapy Association convention to present project results (required). Any unspent funds must be returned to the Massage Therapy Foundation at the end of the grant period.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must demonstrate experience in the relevant field of research;
• The applicant must have access to the necessary resources (including the proposed patient population), facilities, and other resources. Letters of institutional support are required.
• Applicants outside the US are eligible to apply; however, payment of award funds must be accepted by the institution in US dollars.
• Applicants must be currently associated with or have secured the cooperation of a university, independent research organization, health center, or other institution (the “Sponsoring Organization”). A Sponsoring Organization must have sufficient facilities as well as human and informational and Institutional Review Board (IRB) resources available to support the proposed research project and to perform the proposed work and expected outcomes.
• Newer investigators without prior research experience must document support from an experienced investigator willing to act as a collaborator. Collaborators should be actively involved in the development and execution of the proposed research project and should be identified as such in the staffing plan.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Applicants who are the Principal Investigator on a currently-funded MTF are not eligible to apply.
• Research Grants are not awarded to individuals. Research Grants will not be awarded to Sponsoring Organizations which employ or otherwise have an ownership or contractual relationship with officers or trustees of the Massage Therapy Foundation, members of the Research Proposal Review Committee (“Review Committee”) or any spouses, domestic partners, children, descendant, spouses of descendants or any other individual related to any officers or trustees of the Massage Therapy Foundation or to members of the Review Committee.

For more information, visit MTF.