Funding Opportunities
Research and Training Seed Grants
The New Jersey Autism Center of Excellence (NJACE) aims to support basic, applied, and translational research into the causes, diagnosis, early detection, prevention, and management of autism. Therefore, the NJACE is pleased to announce funding opportunities for two seed grants. One seed grant will support interdisciplinary research that will form the basis of a future federal center or multiple principal investigator grant. The second seed grant will support an interdisciplinary training grant that will form the basis of a future large federal interdisciplinary training grant. For additional information, please see the request for applications, budget form, and letter-of-intent template.
Connecting Persons with Autism with Researchers
The New Jersey Center of Excellence (NJACE) aims to advance autism research in New Jersey. The NJACE can assist autism researchers to connect with the following participant recruitment resources and, when appropriate, provide seed funding to help cover associated costs. Researchers who are awarded seed money from the current RFA can propose to use the funding to access these resources or to fund other activities that will help them identify and recruit potential participants for their research.
Deep 6 Software
Through an artificial intelligence (AI) powered software, Deep 6, the Rutgers Clinical Trials Office offers researchers the ability to electronically search the EPIC database from the Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health System for patients who may be appropriate for their research investigations. Researchers can input relevant demographic information (e.g., patients between 12 and 17 years of age with co-occurring diagnoses of ASD and Fragile-X syndrome), thereby identifying patients that appear to meet the relevant research criteria. The AI concepts of Deep 6 allows researchers to match patient characteristics to research criteria much more accurately and efficiently than through other methods. The size of the EPIC database from the Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health System allows researchers to identify many patients that may participate in and benefit from their research. Currently, the Rutgers Clinical Trials Office use the database primarily for researchers at Rutgers University. The Clinical Trials Office conducts the initial searches (i.e., feasibility assessments) for the number of patients who appear to meet the research criteria for free. This allows researchers to report these numbers in their grant application to help demonstrate the feasibility of the research project. However, they charge a fee for the next step in the process whereby the software is used to help connect the researcher and potential participants.
Meditech Medical Records Search
The Research Office at Children’s Specialized Hospital also assists autism researchers who wish to identify and recruit potential participants through their electronic medical records software, Meditech. This software allows the Research Office to input patient demographic data (e.g., diagnosis of autism, co-occurring diagnosis of ADHD, ages 6 to 10) to help identify patients who meet the study’s inclusion/exclusion criteria.
How to Apply
Please complete the following request form and submit to NJACE@childrens-specialized.org to be considered for funding.