2012 CURE Taking Flight Award Submission Guidelines
(for invited investigators)

REQUIRED COMPONENTS

• Completed Cover Page (print from website and include with proposal). A completed cover page is required for each investigator.

• Table of Contents

• Scientific Abstract (do not exceed 500 words). Describe the research proposed in the application for the reviewers of your application.

• Lay Abstract (do not exceed 500 words). Describe the proposed research such that a nonscientific reader can understand the goals of the project. Be certain to include how this project addresses CURE’s mission—“no seizures, no side effects.”

• Main Body of Proposal (do not exceed 10 pages). Include a project outline and research plan. Describe the project background, hypothesis and specific aims of the research, preliminary data, expected outcomes, and interpretations for objectives of this grant program.

• Rationale for Model System: Discuss the rationale for the cell culture, animal model, or human subjects you propose to use in your research project.
  
  Include one paragraph detailing how the proposed research addresses the mission “no seizures, no side effects” and specifically how the research will lead to a better understanding of the mechanism(s) of epilepsy and will lead to a cure.
  
  Include one paragraph describing how this avenue of research is independent from your mentor’s research, and how it will lead to a path of independent epilepsy research.

• Budget and Budget Justification This should include a detailed, itemized list of how funds will be used (i.e. materials, equipment, animals, salary, fringe benefits, disposables, maintenance, travel*) as well as a budget justification. The total budget can not exceed $100,000.  Please note that institutional overhead is not provided. All expenses must be converted to U.S. dollars. Please use the budget form provided on CURE’s website.
  
  *Please note that there is a travel cap of $1,500 for international applicants and $1,000 for U.S. applicants. If awarded funds, CURE encourages all grantees to attend the annual AES meeting. Additional funds outside the grant award will not be given to attend this event.

• Bibliography (literature cited in the body of your proposal) (no page limit).

• Curriculum Vitae Please use the NIH Biosketch format found at:
  http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/biosketch.doc

• Letters of Support/Recommendation (required) All individuals are required to submit two letters of support; one letter of support from the direct supervisor/mentor and one letter of support from another senior investigator/clinician familiar with the individual’s expertise and experience.

• Facilities/Institutional Assurances (do not exceed ½ page). If an institution does not have an official assurance document, please provide in writing assurances from the department chairman or practice colleagues confirming the applicant’s time, facilities, and future position if research is funded.

• Proof of application to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for approval of human studies (or international equivalent) and/or proof of application to the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) for approval of animal studies (or international equivalent) must accompany the application.

APPLICATION FORMATTING
Applications must conform to the following guidelines:

• Type font: 12 point, 10 pitch

• Type density: No more than 15 characters per inch (including spaces). For proportional spacing, the average for any representative section of text should not exceed either 15 characters per inch or 114 characters per line.

• Spacing: Single-spaced between lines of text, no more than five lines of type within a vertical inch.

• Margins: Minimum of 0.5-inch top, bottom, right, and 1-inch left.

• Headers: Type title of project in the upper right-hand corner of all pages to be submitted with application.

• Page Numbers: Place page numbers in the lower right-hand corner of all pages to be submitted with application.

• Color, resolution, and multimedia objects: Proposals may include color, high resolution, or multimedia objects (e.g., MPEG, WAV, or AVI files) embedded in the PDF files; however these objects must not exceed 15 seconds in length and a size of 10 megabytes (MB). If you are including black and white printed copies of a color file, applicants may wish to include text in the proposal directing the reviewer to the electronic file for parts of the proposal that may be difficult to interpret when printed in black and white. Photographs and illustrations, etc. must be submitted in JPEG format only (no bitmaps or TIFF).

The full application including cover page is to be submitted on one CD/DVD in PDF or Microsoft Word format as a single document. The CD/DVD must be labeled with the following contact information in case the disc is unreadable: organization’s and PI’s names, the email address and phone number for a point-of-contact. All application components must be complete and included on discs and hardcopy at time of submission. Please mail two (2) CD/DVDs, along with two (2) full sets of the application to:

CURE RESEARCH AWARDS
c/o Danielle Davis
223 W. Erie, Suite 2SW
Chicago, Illinois 60654

Application Deadline: November 8, 2011 for January 1, 2012 award. This is not a postmark deadline. Please direct questions regarding this RFP to danielle.davis@CUREepilepsy.org or 312.255-1801.