Pathway to Stop Diabetes® has a simple, yet revolutionary goal: to find scientists at the peak of their creativity and provide them with the flexibility and resources they need on the road to breakthrough discoveries. We attract and retain brilliant scientists in diabetes. Our three areas of focus—awarding research grants, providing access to scientific and career mentoring from leading diabetes researchers, and creating a diabetes think tank—are each key components of a unique formula to cultivate the next generation of leaders, whose discoveries will stop diabetes and its burdens once and for all.
To accelerate the research needed to stop this deadly disease, the American Diabetes Association’s bold transformational initiative, Pathway to Stop Diabetes®, is inspiring a new generation of diabetes researchers. Pathway provides crucial support to individuals focusing on innovative ideas and transformational approaches that will lead to ground-breaking discoveries in diabetes prevention, management, and cures. We are building a human pathway to tackle the toughest questions in diabetes by driving research innovations through 1:1 mentorship and the creation of a brain trust in diabetes.
This call for nominations will prioritize translational applications that move knowledge and discovery gained from basic research to its eventual translation into patient and population benefit. The ideal applicant will propose innovative research that will be an important step towards the eventual goal of improving the lives of people at risk of diabetes or living with the disease—and the pathway to this impact is clear. Our vision is to create a pathway to launch the next generation of trailblazers in diabetes research.
Starting in 2024, ADA will accept up to two (2) nominations per institution with one (1) nomination spanning basic through preclinical research and one (1) nomination spanning clinical through public health research.
Deadlines:
- Duke Internal: June 5, 2025
- Sponsor Deadline: July 23, 2025
Examples of basic through preclinical research studies (for nomination #1) include:
- Innovative mechanistic studies on fundamental or new aspects of biology
- Novel insights derived from data science using AI/Machine Learning
- Development of new technologies, devices, and/or experimental approaches
- Identification and validation of novel and unique therapeutic targets
Examples of clinical through public health research (for nomination #2) include:
- Clinical experimental medicine studies
- Identification and validation of novel biomarkers
- Health services research
- Behavioral research
- Population epidemiology
- Health economics research
- Patient preference / Quality of Life
- Dissemination and implementation science
- Health Care system-based interventions
Nominations are welcomed from all areas of diabetes and span prevention, management, and cure of all diabetes types (i.e. type 1, type 2 and gestational), diabetes-related disease states (obesity, prediabetes, and other insulin resistant states) and complications. The program intends to attract a broad range of expertise to the field of diabetes from various fields of science and technology, including medicine, biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics, and physics.
Initiator Award Applicant Eligibility: Eligible applicants must currently be in research training positions (post-doctoral fellow, research fellowship) and have no more than seven years of research training following terminal doctoral degree. Applicants cannot concurrently hold an NIH K99/R00 grant. Candidates must be identified through institutional nomination; applications will be accepted only from individuals with the appropriate institution support.
Accelerator Award Applicant Eligibility: Awards are available to early-career diabetes investigators proposing innovative and ambitious diabetes-related research programs. Applicants must hold faculty positions and have demonstrated independent productivity in diabetes research. Applicants may currently hold independent NIH funding (K, U or R awards, including an initial R01/U01) but must not have applied for (regardless of outcome), or received, an R01/U01 renewal or a second R01/U01 award. Candidates must be identified through institutional nomination; applications will be accepted only from individuals with the appropriate institution support.
Initiator Awards provide two distinct phases of research support: Phase 1 provides up to two (2) years of support for mentored training at a maximum of $100,000 USD per year (including 10% indirect costs). Phase 2 provides up to five (5) years of support for independent research at a maximum of $325,000 USD per year (including 30% indirect costs). The overall total combined support for Phase 1 and Phase 2 is $1,625,000 USD.
Accelerator Awards provide research support of up to $325,000 USD per year (including 30% indirect costs) over five (5) years for a maximum total of $1,625,000 USD.
Owing to the sponsor's restriction on the number of applications that may be submitted from Duke, anyone wishing to pursue nomination should submit the following materials as one PDF.
- NIH Biosketch
- Letter of support: for Initiator applications, from postdoc mentor; for Accelerator applications, from department chair
- Scientific abstract (250 word max)
- Specific aims (1 page max) – typically includes key background, relevance/significance, and Specific Aims
- Please identify which pathway (Initiator or Accelerator) you are applying to
- Please identify if your work is basic through pre-clinical OR clinical through public health
Please submit internal materials through My Research Proposal. (Code: ILN) https://www.grantinterface.com/sl/LsI18J
Instructions for creating an account (if needed) and submitting your materials: https://ctsi.duke.edu/about-myresearchproposal