Grants awarded through this request for applications (RFA) are intended to recharge and extend a consortium of researchers using rats as an experimental system to advance our understanding of the behavioral and circuit neuroscience mechanisms underlying autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD).
To maintain successful collaborations developed during the first phase of ARC, as well as to infuse the consortium with new ideas and membership, SFARI will offer two tracks within this RFA: Explorer and Collaboration. Applicants should select the track that best matches the maturity and goals of their research project, as review criteria will be appropriately adapted for each track. We encourage investigators to take advantage of the flexibility in budget and duration, tailoring the scope of the award as appropriate for their specific aims. Funds are expected to be expended as requested during each annual budget period.
Deadline: March 6, 2025
Applications may be submitted by domestic and foreign nonprofit organizations; public and private institutions, such as colleges, universities, hospitals, laboratories and units of state and local government; and eligible agencies of the federal government. There are no citizenship or country requirements.
The Explorer track is especially suited for those who have experience studying rat models but are new to studying autism/NDD and/or are focused on a functional domain or question that is not well represented in existing consortium projects. Explorer projects are meant to support individual labs or small collaborative groups. The total budget is $200,000, inclusive of 20 percent indirect costs, for each year of funding over a period of two (2) years, with the possibility of an additional two (2) years of funding for successful projects based on progress in the first two years. Allowable indirect costs to the primary institution for subcontracts are not included in the total budget threshold (see grant policies).
The Collaboration track is appropriate for multi-lab collaborative projects that are based on existing work in autism/NDD-relevant rat models. Each lab within a Collaboration project may request a maximum of $300,000, inclusive of 20 percent indirect costs, for each year of funding over a period of three (3) to four (4) years. The budget for Collaboration Projects, regardless of the number of labs included, may not exceed an annual maximum of $900,000 (and a four-year maximum of $3,600,000). Allowable indirect costs to the primary institution for subcontracts are not included in the total budget threshold (see grant policies).