Mini-LAB Award Application Process

Mini LAB Award

The Washington University Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology will be accepting applications for Mini L.A.B. Awards on a rolling basis. The goal of these awards is to promote research by providing seed funds for eligible individuals in the Department who have no startup or extramural research funding. For Mini L.A.B. Awards, applicants may request funds for DCR assistance with data analysis. Mini L.A.B. Awards will fund projects with a project period of up to six months for up to $2,000.

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. Individuals who have received a full L.A.B. Award (>$2,000) are not eligible for a mini-L.A.B. Award. Individuals may only receive one mini-L.A.B. Award during the duration of their role (resident, fellow).

Applicants may reapply if they were not previously funded, unless they were informed the project was inappropriate for the scope of a Mini-LAB

Prior to Submission

All applicants must submit materials to the DCR Data Analyst, prior to submission. These should be submitted using the Data Team Request for Services form.

Materials to submit:

  • Applicant name, mentor name, project title
  • Data dictionary
    • Identify exact variables for inclusion/exclusion criteria and outcome(s)
  • Skeleton tables (use provided template)
  • Analysis plan (use provided template)
  • For studies comparing two groups, please specify the minimum clinically important difference (MCID)

The data analyst will review the materials and confirm it is appropriate for the mini L.A.B. Award. The data analyst will provide written time and budget estimates via email that will be submitted with your application. After you have received approval from the DCR Data Analyst, you will receive a REDCap link to submit your application materials.

Application (1-2 pages)

Some of the approach section and support materials are the same documents the DCR analyst will review prior to submission. Please include versions that have incorporated any feedback provided by the analyst.

  • Title
  • Summary Sentence
    • One sentence summarizing the primary research question.
  • Specific Aim(s)
    • There should be 1-2 specific aim(s) that are feasible for the funding and project period of the application.
  • Background & Innovation
    • One paragraph
  • Approach
    • Study population
      • Inclusion/exclusion criteria
      Data
      • Description of data source
      Outcomes
      • Primary
      • Secondary: please limit to 1-2
    • Analysis plan
      • Power calculation, including calculations for planned subgroup analyses
      • 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.
  • Description of planned work output
    • Describe if the findings are planned to be used for a conference abstract, manuscript, or application for external funding and the planned timeline for submission.

Support Materials (not included in 2-page limit):

  • Email from data analyst confirming containing time and budget estimates
  • Brief email/letter of support from faculty mentor for non-faculty applicants
    • Should confirm the faculty mentor is aware of the project and will support the applicant to achieve project goals. No formal letter of recommendation is necessary.
  • IRB approval for project (or non-human subjects research determination)
  • Data dictionary
  • Skeleton tables

Proposal Submission:

Applications should be submitted via the REDCap link sent to the applicants. Applications may be submitted on a rolling basis. On the 15th of every month, the cycle will close and funding decisions will be made for submitted applications by the end of the month. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

Review Criteria:

LAB Awards will undergo review by the L.A.B. Award committee according to the National Institutes of Health criteria (Significance, Innovation, and Approach) with emphasis on 1) relevance to reproductive 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).

Funded Applications:

A narrative final report will be due at the end of the project period.

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