Simons Foundation | Autism Rat Models Consortium 2.0
Event details
| Date | 06.03.2025 |
| Category | Call for proposal |
Aim: 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).
Proposals are expected to utilize SFARI rat models (additional rat models generated elsewhere may be added if relevant to autism/NDD) to conduct in-depth behavioral and/or circuit analyses to further understand mechanisms underlying autism and NDD. Competitive applications will utilize the rat’s advantages as a highly trainable species innately capable of expressing varied, complex behavior. Simons also encourages proposals that incorporate recent advances in high-resolution behavioral phenotyping (e.g. refs 1 and 12) as well as neural imaging and analysis.
SFARI is interested in a diversity of relevant functional domains—from sensorimotor to cognitive, sleep to social/affective functioning and beyond. Applicants should familiarize themselves with relevant phenotypes in humans with variants in the genes that are disrupted in rats. Applicants are also encouraged to note findings from other species with disruptions in the same gene(s) in thinking about which functional domains to focus on and which rat model(s) to study. Proposals directly comparing phenotypes across rats and other species with mutations in the same genes are within scope for this RFA. SFARI encourages applicants to utilize resources such as SFARI Gene and Simons Searchlight as starting points for their literature review.
Two tracks are available:
1) Explorer track: 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.
2) Collaboration track: 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).
Duration: Max. 4 years
Funding: Max. $300,000/year
Eligibility: All applicants and key collaborators must hold a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent degree and have a faculty position or the equivalent at a college, university, medical school or other research facility. 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.
How to Apply: Applications must be submitted via the Simons Award Manager (SAM). Please click on the Funding Opportunities icon and navigate to the 2025 Autism Research – Autism Rat Models Consortium call. Click the Create Application button to begin. Applications should be started and submitted under the applicant’s own account in SAM.
Deadline: 06 March 2025
Further information
Proposals are expected to utilize SFARI rat models (additional rat models generated elsewhere may be added if relevant to autism/NDD) to conduct in-depth behavioral and/or circuit analyses to further understand mechanisms underlying autism and NDD. Competitive applications will utilize the rat’s advantages as a highly trainable species innately capable of expressing varied, complex behavior. Simons also encourages proposals that incorporate recent advances in high-resolution behavioral phenotyping (e.g. refs 1 and 12) as well as neural imaging and analysis.
SFARI is interested in a diversity of relevant functional domains—from sensorimotor to cognitive, sleep to social/affective functioning and beyond. Applicants should familiarize themselves with relevant phenotypes in humans with variants in the genes that are disrupted in rats. Applicants are also encouraged to note findings from other species with disruptions in the same gene(s) in thinking about which functional domains to focus on and which rat model(s) to study. Proposals directly comparing phenotypes across rats and other species with mutations in the same genes are within scope for this RFA. SFARI encourages applicants to utilize resources such as SFARI Gene and Simons Searchlight as starting points for their literature review.
Two tracks are available:
1) Explorer track: 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.
2) Collaboration track: 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).
Duration: Max. 4 years
Funding: Max. $300,000/year
Eligibility: All applicants and key collaborators must hold a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent degree and have a faculty position or the equivalent at a college, university, medical school or other research facility. 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.
How to Apply: Applications must be submitted via the Simons Award Manager (SAM). Please click on the Funding Opportunities icon and navigate to the 2025 Autism Research – Autism Rat Models Consortium call. Click the Create Application button to begin. Applications should be started and submitted under the applicant’s own account in SAM.
Deadline: 06 March 2025
Further information
- Informational Zoom Meeting on 23 January, 12pm US ET; registration here
- More information about the program is available here
- Application portal can be found here
- For any other questions, please contact the Research Office.
Practical information
- General public
- Free
Contact
- research@epfl.ch