The following individuals are eligible to apply:

• Individuals with the following education and training are eligible to apply:
  • Sleep scientists (MD, DO, DDS, DMD, DNP, DNSc, PharmD, PhD, or equivalent) who submitted at least one NIH grant proposal (or the equivalent in the VA or other federal system) during the past two years that was scored in the peer-review process but fell below (or is likely to fall below) the funding agency’s pay line.

Note: The proposal must have been for a grant suitable for a mid-career or senior investigator, such as an R01, VA Merit Review.

• Individuals may apply for multiple AASM Foundation grants however, the same proposal (i.e. projects with budgetary and scientific overlap) may not be submitted for multiple requests for applications in a given cycle.
• Individuals who are the Principal Investigator on an open or previous AASM Foundation research grant at the time of the application deadline are eligible to apply if they can demonstrate that there is no budgetary or scientific overlap between their open grant and the new project they are applying for funding. If there is budgetary and/or scientific overlap between projects, the applicant must indicate their plan to close their open grant in the event their new application is selected for funding (e.g. relinquish the current grant or complete the current grant to start the new grant).
• The unfunded application, summary statement and priority score (if available) reflecting that the application is unlikely to receive funding and a revision will be necessary, and reviewer critiques must be provided with the application
• Individuals who receive funding through the Bridge to Success mechanism must plan to resubmit their application within one year of receipt of initial funding from the AASM Foundation, and this timeline must be included within the application.
• Since these grants are intended as bridge support, if the NIH/VA or equivalent grant is received, the principal investigator must notify the AASM Foundation and the following would apply:
  • If external funds are received prior to distribution of AASM Foundation funds, AASM Foundation funds would not be released, and the grant would be closed out with the AASM Foundation.
  • If external funds are received after distribution of AASM Foundation funds, the principal investigator would be permitted to submit updated documents (i.e., a new budget, justification and project timeline) and would be allowed to retain the funds if the grant recipient can provide evidence for non-overlap.
• International individuals who meet all the eligibility criteria are eligible to apply; however, payment of grant funds must be accepted by the institution in US dollars.