FY24 Application period is closed.
FY24 Application Process
Overview: The Small Grants Program (SGP) is open to faculty and postdocs at WU. The SGP is designed to support promising new research projects within the WU systems neuroscience community. This program is intended to promote pilot projects, collaborative ventures and significant new research directions that are not readily supported by standard grant sources. The research should be highly responsive to the Systems Neuroscience Center’s newly clarified mission statement.
Eligibility: Applicants must be faculty or postdocs at WU. If the applicant is a postdoc, the application must include a letter of support from their mentor stating that they have permission to apply, that the project is driven by the postdoc and clarifying how the mentor will support this effort. If the applicant is a faculty member at the instructor stage or is on a non-tenure track (clinical or research track), the application must include a letter of support from the applicant’s Department Head stating the department’s commitment to the applicant’s research career development at WU.
Budget: Grants can be for 1-2 years, with a maximum budget of $50,000 per year, starting July 1 of the award year. The budget can include equipment, research supplies, and/or salary for personnel, including Postdoctoral Research Associates, but not for faculty. Funding for graduate students is allowed, but only with compelling justification and may not exceed 50% effort per year. Travel requests are not allowed, unless critical to the scientific goals of the project. Laptops/desktops/tablets are generally not allowed. A compelling justification and prior approval are required.
Usage: Funds must be used within WU and cannot be sent to other institutions. Funds are expected to be used within the time frame stated in the award. No-cost extension requests are considered on a case-by-case basis.
Review Criteria: The review committee favors proposals with evidence that the project will lead to new or expanded outside funding, projects that involve multiple WU investigators, and new collaborations. The application should make clear how the proposed research fits within the mission of the Systems Neuroscience Center. Priority is given to those applicants who have not been recently funded by either McDonnell Center.
Submission: FY24 SGP instructions and application form
Deadline: 5:00pm on March 28, 2023. Applications should be a single PDF sent to the Project Manager (Carmen Horn, horn_c@wustl.edu). Applications not meeting the eligibility criteria or following the application instructions may be returned without review. Decisions are typically made by June 1st.
For additional information, contact Carmen Horn.
Postdoc Applications FAQ