Cure JM Research Grants

Request for Proposals

The Cure JM Foundation (Cure JM) announces its Request for Proposals for 2021 for advancing research to improve medical treatment and work towards a cure for Juvenile Myositis.

Cure JM is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 2003. The mission of Cure JM is to find better treatments and a cure for Juvenile Myositis, and improve the lives of families affected by JM. Approximately 2 to 4 children in a million in the United States are diagnosed with JM each year.

In 2021, Cure JM has committed to fund new research grants up to $75K/year for up to 2 years with preference for individuals who have at least 25% protected research time from their institution.

Grant Application Process

A one-page letter of intent (LOI) is required 30 days before the deadline for full application and must contain the project title, a brief description of the proposed research, the name, address and email address of the Principal Investigators, and any persons who might have a conflict of interest in reviewing the proposal. The LOI should be submitted electronically to: . The LOI is only to allow organization of the review process, and all projects submitting an LOI will be permitted to submit a full application. Grant applications can be submitted any time after March 30, when the RFP process opens.

Proposals should be submitted electronically as one single PDF file to: and must be received by the submission deadline for applications stated in the research announcement timeline. See Grant Application for specific information.

DOWNLOAD GRANT APPLICATION IN PDF FORMAT

Timeline

Request for Proposals Begins	March 30, 2021
Letter of Intent Deadline	May 14, 2021
Application Deadline	June 15, 2021
Review of Submitted Applications Completed	September, 2021
Anticipated Date for Notification of Awards	October, 2021
Anticipated Funding Start Date	November 1, 2021

The proposal is up to 4 pages long maximum, and the following are also required but do NOT count toward page limits:

A lay summary no longer than one page written at the 8th grade reading level
A curriculum vitae/biosketch in NIH format
A letter of support is required from either a division head/department chair/supervisor at your institution
A letter of collaboration submitted by each and all investigators involved in the grant proposal
If samples (blood, muscle, skin, etc.) are to be studied and they were not obtained with an IRB approved informed consent by the PI, then a letter of collaboration is needed from the investigator who did obtain those samples, citing the IRB #

Eligibility

Applicants must hold a PhD or MD degree or equivalent and work in an accredited medical school, university, hospital or research institute which must agree to supply the clinical and/or laboratory facilities. The foundation strongly encourages collaborations from two or more institutions that bring together a spectrum of expertise. Grant applications are called for in the field of innovative approaches in the treatment of juvenile myositis. Perinent, but not exhaustive, list of priorities includes:

Conducting analyses on samples and/or data available from innovative treatment clinical studies.
Collaboration with pharma companies or other research organizations that are developing new therapies that may have utility in the treatment of juvenile myositis. The collaboration may comprise generation of clinical protocols for new treatments and a defined route to funding a clinical study. Such proposals should include solid evidence of access to the therapy being proposed for investigation.
Clinical protocols for repurposed drugs for the treatment of juvenile myositis. Such proposals should include solid evidence of access to the therapy being proposed for investigation and a defined route to funding a clinical study.
Investigations of in vitro or in vivo models of juvenile myositis with the objective of development of new therapies.

Grants Review

Research proposals are reviewed by selected members of the Cure JM Scientific Review Committee utilizing the NIH Grant Application Scoring System. The proposal scores along with feedback from the reviewers will be shared with the Cure JM Research Committee for evaluation. The Research Committee will make recommendations for funding to the Cure JM Board for a final funding decision. Applicants will be notified by the Cure JM Chief Scientific Officer when a decision is made.

Reports and Payments

Annual or semi-annual progress reports are required to be submitted by the Principal Investigator and shall be due no later than 30 days after a reporting schedule to be detailed in the grant agreement. A Final Report including a full financial report and progress report is required within 60 days after the end of the grant period. Both annual and final reports are required to include an expenditure report detailing how the award has been spent. A layperson summary (200-300 words) of major accomplishments and relevance to JM patients shall accompany each Progress report and the final report. Award payments will be made at the beginning of the project year and at 12 months after receipt of the annual progress report.

Budget

A detailed budget should provide itemized detail for each major category of the budget report included in the application. The award does not provide for indirect costs. Award funding may be used for salary support, consumable supplies, equipment, travel (< $1500) and other items necessary to conduct the proposed research.

Data Sharing

All successful grantees are encouraged to share data. The CureJM Foundation does not anticipate that researchers will share all scientific data generated in a study. Grantees should indicate which scientific data will be shared based on ethical, legal, and technical factors and provide the rationale for these decisions. The foundation encourages researchers to make scientific data available for as long as they anticipate it being useful for the larger research community, institutions, and/ or the broader public.

Proprietary Information

All Cure JM funded proposals must contain a lay person abstract for Cure JM's use in press releases. Cure JM Foundation must be acknowledged in all dissemination materials (e.g. publications, scientific exhibit, scientific presentation, press release, etc.) related to research supported in full or in part using this grant and one copy of any published reports must be sent to Cure JM within 30 days of final production.

A stipulation of award acceptance is to present research outcomes, upon invitation, at either a virtual or in-person Cure JM medical conference and/or Cure JM annual family conference following receipt of the award. Due to COVID-19 considerations, should Cure JM be unable to hold its family conference, award recipients agree to present research outcomes virtually at a Cure JM Town Hall webinar.

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