Global Burden of Disease Fellowship Programme

Applications are invited from interested Project Supervisors for Seed Grant Funding under the Global Burden of Disease (GBOD) Research Trainee Fellowship program a new initiative of the International Child Neurology Association (ICNA).

The Award

The award consists of $ 2,000 for room and board for ~ 2-3 months plus up to $ 2,000 for roundtrip airfare.

Timeline

1. The deadline date for receipt of proposals on open competition from project supervisors is August 1.
2. The Scoring and Selection of Grants fulfilling Criteria by Research Task Force Committee (10 point scoring system) will be completed by September 1 and results announced on ICNApedia.
3. The deadline for applications from Prospective Research Trainees will be December 1

Proposal Guidelines

The Letter of Intent (2 pages maximum; 11 point font minimum and one inch page margins, word document) from project supervisor to include the following:

1. 1. PI/mentor role (also to append CV) and contact information. The mentor should be an ICNA member and have an accredited University and hospital appointment.
   2. Title of proposal
   3. Research Site and facilities for trainee
   4. Background and significance
   5. Rationale
   6. Hypothesis
   7. Objectives and specific aims
   8. Research Plan/epidemiologic study design and Methods
   9. Statistical Analysis
   10. Budget (including costs for study and room and board for fellow)
   11. The proposal should be submitted by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Practical considerations at local site which should be included in the Letter of Intent (LOI)

1. Assurance that approval by the research ethics board of the hosting institution will be in place prior to beginning of fellowship
2. Adequate population of relevant patient cohort at site (approximate estimate of numbers)
3. Ready access to patients and relevant clinical files with any local administrative costs covered
4. Affordable local room and board in place for research trainee within allotted budget
5. Project start date negotiated between supervisor and trainee to begin within one year of awarded seed grant.

Research trainee criteria

1. Must be a member of ICNA
2. Should have completed two years of an accredited child Neurology training program or be within 5 years of completion of their training program
3. Once the successful proposal(s) is posted on the ICNApedia website, research trainee applicants must provide the following to the project supervisor:
   1. CV
   2. Reference letters – from Program director or Division Head and two other direct supervisors
   3. Statement regarding motivation for project (300 words)
   4. Evidence of completion of certificate for ethical standards in clinical research or equivalent
   5. Potential times of availability for research elective

Applicant selection to be decided by project supervisor and contingent upon approval by the ICNA Research Task Force.

Final Report

1. Publication of the study will be due within 6 months of project completion and will be submitted to JICNA.
2. The study data will also be presented at the next upcoming International Child Neurology Congress.