Application Process

Request for Application: The Washington University Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology is soliciting applications for 2023 Cycle 2 of the L.A.B. Award internal pilot grants. The goal of this program is to promote research and grantsmanship by providing pilot funding for residents, clinical fellows, postdoctoral research fellows and associates, and junior faculty in the Department who have no startup or extramural research funding. Projects should be for clinical or translational research in women’s health that are not eligible for Just-in-Time funding through the Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences affiliated cores. The L.A.B. award will fund one-year pilot grants for up to $10,000 for all applicants.

Eligibility: Applicants must be a resident, clinical or postdoctoral fellow/associate, or faculty at the instructor or assistant professor level within the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Faculty must have no startup research package or extramural research funding. Non-faculty must have an OB/GYN faculty sponsor and may identify a second faculty sponsor from any department (second sponsor is not required). Two trainees may apply as co-PIs. Applicants may only be the recipient of one L.A.B. Award per academic year, and they may only submit one application each cycle.

Timeline & Deadline:

An email with your intent to submit is due Monday, September 18^th, 2023 at 5pm
Applications are due by Monday, October 2nd, 2023 at 5pm

Award Mechanisms

For the first time this year, we will award both LAB Awards ($2,000-10,000) and mini-LAB Awards (≤$2,000—see Box), for statistical analysis of existing datasets and/or assistance with chart reviews. Both awards have a 12-month project period and eligibility criteria is the same for both mechanisms.

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Prior to Submission

Mini LAB Awards

Inquiries for mini-LAB awards must be made at least 4 weeks prior to the application deadline.

For statistical analysis applications, please contact Fan Zhang, MD, MS (fzhang@wustl.edu). Include a copy of your dataset and codebook (if data is in REDCap) along with your analysis plan. For chart review applications, please contact Jaime Strickland, MA (jaime.strickland@wustl.edu. Include a case report form (i.e. structured variable list) and standard operating procedure that will be used for data extraction from charts (examples available upon request).

The inquiries will be reviewed and an estimated number of hours/budget to complete the project will be sent to the applicant within 2 weeks of the inquiry. Projects estimated to cost ≤$2,000 (~33 hours) will be eligible to apply for a mini-LAB award. Projects that require a larger amount of time must complete the full application.

LAB Awards

For requests related to IRB submissions, budgets, or data management, please contact the appropriate DCR staff in early September, or earlier if possible. Requests made after September 8^th may not be accommodated.

For a review of your drafted statistical plan, please contact Fan Zhang, MD, MS (fzhang@wustl.edu). Additionally, you may consult with Scientific Editor, Deborah Frank, PhD, (dfrank22@wustl.edu) for advice and, if time allows, editing before submission. Applications should be thoroughly reviewed by mentors before submission.

Intent to Submit

An email indicating your intent to submit should be set to Rachel Paul (paulr@wustl.edu) and include the name of the applicant(s), faculty mentor (if applicable), and tentative project title. A formal letter of intent is not necessary.

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Application:

For the first time this year, we will award both LAB Awards ($2,000-10,000) and mini-LAB Awards (≤$2,000—see Box), for statistical analysis of existing datasets and/or assistance with chart reviews.

LAB Award

The body of the application is limited to 3 pages using Arial 11-point font and ½ inch margins and should include: 

• Title
• Specific Aim(s)
  • There should be 1-3 specific aims that are feasible for the funding and project period of the application.
• Significance
• Innovation
• Approach
  • The approach should specifically outline the study population(s), inclusion and exclusion criteria, recruitment and enrollment strategies (if applicable), data collection plan, and primary and secondary outcomes.
    • If an existing data source will be used for analyses, a description of the data source should be included.
  • Database development and data management & cleaning procedures should be clearly outlined, if applicable.
  • A section on statistical analyses should include a power calculation (including calculations for any subgroup analyses), and a detailed statistical analysis plan. Studies may be descriptive in nature but, if no power calculation will be undertaken, there should be a justification as to why this is the case. 
• Plan to address the social determinants of health (when applicable)

Binding

The applications will be reviewed using a double-blinded review process. Applicants will not know the identity of reviewers, and reviewers will not know the identity of the applicants or faculty mentors. The only component of the application that should include the applicant and mentor’s names is the faculty letter of support. This will be reviewed by the L.A.B. Award Program officer

Appendices

You may attach survey drafts or data collection forms as appendices at the end of your approach. The appendices do not count towards the 3 page limit.

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Support Materials:

These supplemental documents should be submitted, and are not included in the 3-page limit:

1. A budget (must use L.A.B. Award Budget Template)
   • Please contact DCR Manager Jaime Strickland, MA, (jaime.strickland@wustl.edu), to determine appropriate budget estimates for research assistant/coordinator time and Fan Zhang, MD, MS (fzhang@wustl.edu) for statistical support budget estimates.
   • Budgets
   • Salary support for the applicant and mentor (if applicable) should be in-kind
   • You may not request funding for conference travel and registration
2. Budget Justification
   • Roles and responsibilities for each team member, including the applicant and faculty mentor (if applicable), should be clearly described. Refer to team members by their roles, and not by name.
     • For applications with co-PIs, roles, and responsibilities for each should be clearly delineated.
   • The justification for additional supplies, equipment, participant incentives, etc should be itemized (explain the need for each item separately, not as “supplies”).
3. Bibliography, using AMA formatting
4. Letter of support from faculty sponsor for non-faculty applicants
5. If the application is a resubmission, a ½-1 page summary of how the reviewer comments were addressed and changes that have been made to the application.

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Document Format:

Please submit the documents in Microsoft Word or PDF format. You may submit as one document or each component separately.

Proposal Submission:

Applications should be submitted via email to Rachel Paul (paulr@wustl.edu). Applications are due Monday, October 2^nd, 2023 at 5pm. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

Review Criteria:

Mini LAB Awards will be reviewed by the LAB Award Committee.

Full LAB Awards will undergo peer review by a committee according to the National Institutes of Health criteria (Significance, Innovation, and Approach) with emphasis on 1) relevance to women’s health, 2) the feasibility of the scope of work as it pertains to the funding amount, project period, and existing obligations of the applicant, and 3) likelihood of leading to a deliverable work output (manuscript, subsequent internal or external funding).

Interest in Reviewing Applications:

If you are interested in participating in a L.A.B. Award study section as a reviewer, please contact Rachel Paul, MPH, (paulr@wustl.edu). Faculty, clinical fellows, and postdoctoral fellows and associates, and residents are encouraged to participate.

Funded Applications:

A narrative final report will be due at the end of the project period. Recipients of full LAB Awards will be asked to present their findings at a departmental meeting after the project period has concluded.

Questions:

Please direct questions to Rachel Paul, MPH, (paulr@wustl.edu).