Summer Research Internship Grant

Please review the grant criteria and award policies carefully. Please note that once you begin the application, it must be completed in the same sitting. You will not be able to save your work and continue at a later time

Proposal Components 

1. Laboratory or Research Program overview (500 words maximum): describe briefly the research focus of the lab or practice.  Include any history of supporting internships or similar training programs.
2. PI and mentor biosketches: Provide using the NIH-style format that is appropriate to the career stage. If co-mentors are proposed, include a biosketch for each co-mentor.
3. Research and Training Plan (1,000 words maximum): Please succinctly describe the research project and training plan in which the intern will be engaged.  Reference the program criteria to assure the project description addresses the application evaluation criteria. 
4. Recruitment plan: describe the plan for recruiting and selecting interns from among those historically underrepresented in the specialty
   • Budget: Complete a summary budget for the program using the template provided in the application.
     
   • Commitment:  complete the check boxes affirming commitment to allow the intern to devote 100% of their time to the proposed project and related training, to assure the intern is available to participate in weekly AES webinars, to commit to participate in the webinar planning call and to attend at least 50% of the scheduled webinars, to commit the minimum one hour per week for one-on-one time for the intern with their mentor, and to support and facilitate intern participation in the AES Annual Meeting.

Applicants must:

• Have a defined plan for engaging a summer intern in a meaningful research project related to causes, treatment, and consequences of epilepsy, seizures, and related disorders and access to institutional resources to conduct the proposed project and support the intern.
• Have the expertise to supervise and provide guidance to the intern on the specific aspects of the epilepsy-related research targeted in the proposal.
• Have a plan for, or have an existing program that has established, a mechanism for successfully identifying and recruiting interns who come from among those historically underrepresented in the specialty. 

Applicant Lab

• Has the laboratory provided a clear statement of interest supporting participation in this program?
• Has the lab or institution demonstrated experience with similar programs and with recruiting participants from underrepresented groups and/or sufficiently described their plans for successful recruitment?

Mentor

• Is the mentor’s research qualifications and available resources appropriate?
• Is there evidence of demonstrated ability and commitment of the mentor to help the mentee intern to achieve the proposed training goals?
• Is there evidence that the mentor will meet at least one hour per week with the intern?

Training Plan

• Will the proposed research project and training plan provide mentoring and experiences that will benefit the intern’s career development in terms of scientific knowledge and research and professional skills?
• Does the proposed project and training plan address basic, clinical, or translational topics related to addressing the causes, treatment, and/or consequences of epilepsy, seizures, or related disorders?
• Does the proposal provide a clear description of the project to be assigned and the specific skills that the intern will be trained in or exposed to?  Is there a commitment for the intern to participate in the weekly AES webinars?
• Is there a specific plan for the applicant to attend and participate in the American Epilepsy Society annual meeting, including support for submission of a poster related to the internship research project?  To participate in other appropriate networking activities?

Environment

• Are the research facilities, resources, and training opportunities adequate and appropriate, including a mentor with the time and support to successfully support the intern?
• Is the environment for scientific and professional development of the intern of high quality?

Acceptance Form

A signed and completed acceptance form must be returned to AES by the date indicated in your grant notification letter. Grant payments will be transferred electronically (preferred) or mailed to your institution at the address indicated on the acceptance form. Please complete and return the payment acceptance form in full. No funds can be paid until the acceptance form is completed and returned. AES’s obligation for the grant will begin upon receipt of the completed acceptance form and not before May 1 of the project year. 

Personal Photo

To aid in efforts to promote epilepsy research and the projects and investigators supported by AES, we ask that you provide a recent photo of yourself and of your intern, individually or together, preferably in the lab/work setting, for publication. If you provide a photo, please also sign and return the photo release form. This is not a requirement. 

Use of Human Subjects/Tissues in Research

When human subjects or tissues are to be used in a research project the intern will work on, it is the responsibility of the grantee to ensure that the project receives approval from his/her Institutional Review Board.  A copy of the Board’s current approval notice and a copy of the patient informed consent form should be submitted at least two weeks prior to the start date of the internship.  

Use of Animals in Research

When animals and/or animal tissues will be used, it is the responsibility of the grantee to ensure that the project receives approval from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. A copy of these documents should be submitted at least two weeks prior to the start date of the internship.  

Use of Funds

These grant funds are designed to support a summer internship experience for first- or second-year medical students or undergraduates from among those historically underrepresented in the specialty to encourage their interest in epilepsy as a field of study and in basic, clinical, and translational research generally. Funds can only be used as stipulated in the program guidelines (see below).  

Successful applicants receive a grant which may be used over the summer internship and award period which may run from May 1 – December 31.  Funds are required to support in full or in part a stipend for the intern, commensurate with stipends for similar programs at your institution, and may also be used to cover associated travel to participate in the internship, housing, and other program expenses specific to the internship experience.  Interns are expected to devote 100% of their time to work in the laboratory and associated education and mentorship activities. Support also includes one year of complimentary membership to the AES, complimentary submission of an abstract to the AES Annual Meeting, and complimentary registration to attend the AES Annual Meeting.  A single payment is made to the institution for the direct expense of the fellow (stipend/salary and any associated benefits) and related travel, housing, and other direct expenses of the internship ONLY, to be distributed to the intern according to the procedures of the host institution. Travel associated with the internship must be conducted during the funding period. $1,500 of the grant is to be designated to cover intern travel and housing at the AES Annual Meeting, which may be supplemented by any remaining funds from this grant.  No indirect costs are provided.  

Change in Status

It is your responsibility to notify AES in writing if the status of the intern or your role at the institution changes during your grant period, or if there are any significant changes in the project as approved. Any proposed revisions in the project budget or project timeframe must be submitted to and approved by AES before being implemented. Refer to the terms below regarding policies on support from other sources and requests to extend the term of the grant.  

Support from Other Sources

Supplementation of this grant with other grants or by the internship institution is permissible. If similar grants are obtained for the AE DEI internship during the period covered by this grant, the applicant/recipient must inform AES in writing so that a decision can be made about the continuation of the grant. 

Requests to Extend Grant Term

Requests to extend the term of this grant must be submitted to AES in writing for approval as follows: 

Written requests must be submitted to AES at least 30 days prior to the end of the grant period and should provide an explanation of the need for an extension, plans for completing the internship-related projects within the extended period, and a budget summary for the use of unobligated funds. Unexpended funds at the end of a project term are not justification for an NCE. Interns must remain at the original institution throughout the revised grant term unless a transfer has also been requested and approved in writing. 

Patent and Copyright Policy

The recipient may develop inventions, products, publications, processes, know-how, formulae, and the like, from the research funded by the grant, whether or not capable of protection under copyright, trade secret or patent protections (the “Research Products”). Neither the AES nor any Contributing Partners will have rights in or to the Research Products that are conceived or reduced to practice in the performance of the grant or internship, regardless of whether the invention is patented or copyrighted.  

Manuscripts

All manuscripts (including meeting abstracts and research articles) that result from this research project are to be submitted to the AES once accepted for publication. Publications should acknowledge AES support with the phrase: Supported by a grant from the American Epilepsy Society Sergievsky Fund for Epilepsy Health Equity and Diversity. If a funding partner is acknowledged on the acceptance form, publications should acknowledge the support of both organizations (e.g. Supported by a grant from the American Epilepsy Society and [insert funder names]). 

Final Reports

Submission of final project and financial reports is a requirement of this grant.

• A final project report is due 90 days after the end of the project term. A template format will be provided. 
• Final financial report is due 90 days after the end of the project term. Unexpended funds in excess of $100 remaining at the end of the grant term must be returned to AES.