Grants Availability Announcement
INTRODUCTION
The Association for Surgical Education Foundation was established by the Association for Surgical Education (ASE) as a non-profit foundation in 1993. Its mission is to raise and disseminate funds to support innovative research and education projects and programs which will advance surgical education in North America. The Association and the ASE Foundation are separately incorporated organizations.
2025 CESERT PYRAMID RESEARCH GRANT PROGRAM
Application process to open on November 1st, 2024.
Application acceptance to close on February 1st, 2025.
2025 ASE FOUNDATION CESERT PYRAMIND RESEARCH GRANT PROGRAM
The Association for Surgical Education Foundation (ASEF) is pleased to offer a series of education research grants to start July 1, 2025.
The Gold, Diamond, Platinum and Giant Robotic grants are described below:
Gold level grants are between $500- $1,000 USD each and ideally suited to fund small surgery education projects such as survey research projects. The timeline for these projects should be within one academic year.
Diamond-level grants, $2,500, are well-suited for mixed methods surgery education projects. The timeline for these projects should be within one to two academic years.
The Platinum level grant, $10,000, is designed to support multi-institutional research projects. The timeline for these projects should be two academic years.
Two Giant Robot grants sponsored by Intuitive will be funded as grants of $25,000 USD each. It is designed to support research projects that focus on robotic surgery research questions including curriculum design, training programs, assessment metrics, and patient outcomes. The timeline for these projects should be two academic years. The $25,000 grant will be distributed in two payments (July 2025, and January 2026).
For all grants funds must be used for direct costs or to support a research assistant, statistician, or other study staff. Funds cannot be used for indirect costs, administrative or travel costs, publication costs, or salary support for the Principal Investigator, Co-PIs, or collaborators.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Application acceptance opens on November 1st, 2024. All applications are due on February 1, 2025 and must be formatted in Arial or Times New Roman font of at least 11 font size, single-spaced, and at least half-inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right) for all pages. Initial applications will be reviewed by members of the ASEF Grant Research Committee, and all awards will be announced at the 2025 Surgical Education Week.
All applications must include the following components (please assemble into a single pdf document):
- Cover/Title page (download:) 2025 Grant Application Title Page-Rev
- Research plan (2 pages maximum)
- Background and Aims
- Research strategy with a summary of the proposed analytic strategy
- 12- 24 month timetable depending on grant level (Projected start date is July 1, 2025) Please create a time table with dates and tasks.
- References (ICMJE formatting, no limit)
- Budget (1 page)
- Grant monies can be used for salary support of research assistants or other study staff.
- Please note that the budget cannot be used for indirect costs, administrative or travel costs, publication costs, or salary support for the Principal Investigator, Co-PIs, or collaborators.
- NIH-formatted biographical sketch
- Please attach NIH-formatted biographical sketches for the Principal Investigator (PI) and any co-Principal Investigators
- Please note that the PI must be an ASE member in good standing.
- Letters of Support
- For multiple sites, all research sites should have one designated champion with a corresponding letter of support from the champion’s institution.
- Please include a letter of support from your institution.
- Please also provide one letter of support from any applicable groups that will be studied in this project (i.e., medical student clerkship or residency program director).
- Appendices (no limit)
- Please use this section to attach any research or survey instruments that will be used in the proposed study.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Applicants must be an MD/DO, Masters or Doctorate (PhD) with a full-time clinical or research position and affiliated with a training program or a society with the opportunity to gain approval from an IRB. If the applicant is currently in residency training, they must obtain a sponsor letter from an Active ASE member at their primary research institution.
DELIVERABLES
Progress reports (technical and financial) are due to the ASEF Research Committee at quarterly intervals and final reports are due one month after completion of the project. The ASEF Research Committee will pass along all summary details of the research projects to the ASE Foundation and Executive Board at its regular meetings. Two-year grant awardees may be asked to present their progress to the ASE Foundation directly. Further details on reporting requirements and templates will be sent to the PI once awarded. Failure to submit the reports on-time may result in forfeiture of a portion of the research grant. All projects funded with this ASE Grant must be submitted for presentation at the ASE Annual Meeting.
SPECIAL SITUATIONS/CIRCUMSTANCES
No-cost extensions: Six months to one-year no-cost extensions may be given for unexpected situations. Written requests for extensions must be received ninety (90) days before the expiration of the original grant period and are subject to approval by the Chair of the ASEF Grant Research Committee and the ASEF Executive Board.
Additional Funding: The Principal Investigator is encouraged to apply for additional funding from other sources besides this ASEF Grant.
Transferring Institutions: This grant is NOT transferable to another individual within the Institution and NOT transferable to another institution OR to operating funds. If the Principal Investigator leaves their Institution, all unused funds MUST be returned.
Budget Changes: A certain degree of latitude may be given to revise the original budget to meet any unexpected needs. All budget revisions must be submitted in writing to the Chair of ASEF Grant Research Committee and are subject to approval by the ASEF.
DEADLINE
Grants must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on or before February 1st, 2025. No late submissions will be accepted. Corrections of oversights/errors discovered after the deadline will not be allowed. Please contact Dr. Sarah Jung or Suzanne Quon at [email protected] with any questions.
MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS
Applicants may submit more than one grant application as principal investigators if they are substantially different projects. Only one research project may be funded.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- How do we determine our “designated champion?”
- The designated champion role is required for multi-site research projects to ensure the research is done correctly at each site. If the designated champion is a resident physician, then they must get a letter from their program director supporting this study. Unfortunately, medical students cannot be in the designated champion role.
- Can a resident physician be the PI on our project?
- Residents or Fellows may serve as PI’s or Co-PI’s if they have a faculty member partner/co-PI who attests that they will be able to complete the grant as proposed.
- Are medical students able to be co-PI’s?
- Medical students may be included as collaborators on an application, but may not serve as PI or co-PI.
- Can I apply for a CESERT Pyramid grant if I have applied for an ASE or APDS grant?
- You are welcome to also apply for the CESERT grant. Please respond “yes” to this question on the cover page. Only one grant will be awarded if applying to both.
- May my research assistant submit the grant application on my behalf? No, grant applications must be submitted by the PI or Co-PI.