Department of Neuroscience launches 'Find a Friend' collaborative seed grants

The Department of Neuroscience is the frst university academic department in Australia dedicated to developing and providing solutions for patients with neurological conditions. Established in early 2018, the Department partners closely with Alfred Health.

In 2022, the Department will provide a collaborative seed grant for Early Career Researchers or PhD students in their fnal year. We are looking for applications from at least two staff/students from different research groups (at least one from the Department of Neuroscience). Co-applicants from other departments in the Central Clinical School (CCS) are allowed. Ideally, applicants should not have received major prior funding.

Successful awardees will gain skills in developing collaborative partnerships, building their career as an expert researcher in their feld, and providing an opportunity to obtain preliminary data to use and apply for larger funding grants. 

We are providing funding for two collaborative pilot (small sized) projects of $25,000 each. The project duration is to be 12 months (maximum). We are looking for projects that will enhance innovative and
collaborative research at the interdepartmental level within CCS. The round will open on Thursday 2 December 2021.

Eligibility

At least one applicant must be:

■ A PhD student within 12 months of their thesis submission,
OR
■ Level A, B academics who are within 10 years of their PhD being
awarded (all career disruptions are valid)

Employed or enrolled through Monash University or Alfred Health (this funding is not intended to support research that is primarily part of a PhD project).

Each co-applicant can only enter one application. The proposed research project must take place on the Alfred campus.

Funding must be awarded jointly to staff from two distinct research groups.

You must provide a budget for your project. The budget must be divided between the two applicants. Salary or stipends should not generally be requested. Computers (unless integral to a piece of equipment) and travel will not be funded. Ethical approval must be obtained before commencement of the project.

Grant payment will not be made without evidence of ethics approval.

The application

Your application should be one page only using an abstract style format including Title, Two CIs contact details, Roles in the project, Introduction (background including rationale), Research design/plan (objective, methodology), Budget, and Signifcance. 

All applications are to be submitted as a pdf file by Thursday 23 December (5pm) to loretta.piccenna@monash.edu. Late applications will not be considered. If you are unsure of what is required, please contact Loretta Piccenna for assistance. Results will be announced on 30 January 2022. 

Assessment

Applications will be assessed by at least two members of the Department’s Senior Leadership Group. The following criteria will be used to evaluate each application -

■ Quality and Signifcance of the research project - what knowledge will be gained from the project?
■ Feasible scope and budget division between the two applicants
■ Collaboration - how will the project bring together researchers

Reporting requirements

Outcomes of the project are required to be submitted on Wednesday 30 November 2022.

Contact

Dr Loretta Piccenna
Research Manager
T: 9903 0879
E: loretta.piccenna@monash.edu