Request for Applications: Emerging Research Grant Program (United States)

HHF Emerging Research Grants are intended primarily for promising researchers who are in the early stages of their careers and focusing on hearing loss, hearing restoration and hearing and balance related conditions. Senior investigators are also eligible for grants in specific hearing and balance topics.

Topics

• Elizabeth M. Keithley, Ph.D. Early Stage Investigator Awards
  • Formerly “General Hearing Health.” Under this grant opportunity, HHF welcomes proposals on any topic in hearing or balance research, including but not limited to:
    • Age-related hearing loss
    • Auditory and vestibular implants; hearing aids
    • Central Auditory Processing Disorder
    • Diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of hearing loss and balance disturbance
    • Epidemiology of auditory and vestibular disorders
    • Hearing loss in children and pediatric hearing disorders
    • Human genetics and mouse models of peripheral and central auditory/balance dysfunction
    • Human otopathology
    • Hyperacusis
    • Innovation in cellular and molecular therapies
    • Ménière’s disease
    • Physiology of hearing and balance
    • Tinnitus
    • Usher syndrome
    • Vestibular disorders

Funding Information

• A grant cannot exceed $50,000 for one Project Year or $100,000 for one Project Period.
• Grants are approved for a period of one year.

Eligibility Criteria

• For all applicants:
  • Applicants should demonstrate experience and strong research training as well as sufficient institutional support (facilities and time as well as mentorship, if applicable) to carry out the proposed work.
  • Applicants must hold an M.D., Ph.D., Au.D. or equivalent degree.
  • The applicant must hold an appointment at a non-profit educational, governmental or research institution within the United States. Appointments for this purpose may include faculty, postdoctoral fellow, or clinical/research fellow. Otolaryngology residents are eligible to apply. Other medical residents and graduate students are not eligible to apply.
  • The proposed research must address one of the hearing and balance topics advertised in the ERG Request for Applications. In the application, the applicant must provide justification for the relevance of the proposed research to the designated ERG topic area.
  • PIs in early stages of independent research careers are especially encouraged to apply.
• Eligibility for “Elizabeth M. Keithley, Ph.D. Early Stage Investigator Awards” only (Limited to Early Stage Investigators):
  • PIs should be in the early stages of independent research careers (within 10 years of completing a terminal degree).
  • If the applicant is a postdoctoral fellow, it is expected that the applicant will be at the senior level (e.g., 3 or more years of postdoctoral training).
  • Further, the applicant must demonstrate a pathway to professional independence in the application. Specifically, the applicant should indicate how the Grant will help with the applicant’s transition toward independence from the mentor, including how the proposed research is distinct from the mentor’s research program.
  • Applicants cannot be a current or prior PI on a major independent research award (e.g., R00, R03, R21, R01, K Award, VA Merit, DoD, or equivalent) at the time of initial application. Prior appointment on fellowship or training grants, or prior service as a PI on a mentored career development award, is allowable.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Individuals employed or otherwise conducting research at institutions outside of the United States are not eligible to apply. Applications for research continuation or bridge funding should not be submitted. Applications from Early Stage Investigators with R00, R01, R03, R21 or equivalent funding at the time of initial application will not be considered for Elizabeth M. Keithley, Ph.D. Early Stage Investigator Awards.

For more information, visit HHF.