Research and Education Fund

Application Period: August 15, 2024 – October 15, 2024

The Research and Education Fund was created to support education, assessment, treatment, research and awareness of the dissociative disorders. The fund was established to address the lack of education and research in the area of complex trauma and recovery. The ISSTD Research and Education Fund offers up to $10,000 USD to facilitate innovative research aligned with the mission of ISSTD.

All research must be relevant to our understanding, treatment and/or prevention of complex trauma and
dissociation. Trauma-related pathological dissociation must be a central focus of the research. Proposals that only address complex trauma will not be considered. We support a full range of methodological approaches including but not limited to biological/neurobiological/physiological mechanistic studies, survey-based methodologies, clinical trials, focus groups, qualitative/quantitative methodologies, and secondary data analysis.

The ISSTD Research and Education Grant is likely not sufficient to support, for example, expensive large
sample human subject studies as a stand-alone grant, but it may be used as supplemental funding for a project that is already underway and funded by other means or as funding for a pilot study to generate preliminary data for a subsequent federal grant submission.

Reviewers are members of ISSTD and volunteer their time to evaluate applications; therefore, no feedback can be provided to applicants.

Grant Requirements

• ISSTD welcomes diversity with grant applications including gender, race, ethnicity and culture of the
  applicant, and geographic location for their proposed work.
• Applicants must have a terminal degree for their field (e.g., masters or doctoral level degree) and already be employed in a research staff, postdoctoral or faculty position. Students are not eligible for this award.
• Funding is for one year and is up to $10,000 USD. Funding of institutional overhead at an 10% indirect cost rate (excluding equipment) is allowed, and overhead must be included within the $10,000 award. Equipment, supplies, salary, technical support, and participant payments are typical and acceptable budget requests, but ISSTD wishes applicants to identify requirements specific to their research and setting.
• One year after receiving the award – supply a 1-page progress report (requirements outlined below)
• Acknowledge ISSTD in research publications, presentations, press releases and other public statements that result from this research using verbiage such as: “This research was supported by the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation Research and Education Fund.”
  

Application Requirements

Applications must be submitted online by October 15, 2024 (11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time). Applicants must first complete the online form, and then upload the application in a single PDF document. Each section must be on a separate page. Please follow the order of the application as follows and adhere to the maximum number of pages allowed for each section indicated in parentheses. Label each section with a bolded heading and include applicant’s name in the upper right header of each page. Please follow National Institute of Health (NIH) format guidelines: Arial, Helvetica, Palatino Linotype, or Georgia fonts with a font size of 11 or larger with minimum of 1⁄2 inch page margins.

1. Face Sheet (online) – ISSTD seeks to advance clinical, scientific, and societal understanding about the prevalence and consequences of complex trauma and dissociation. A 250-word statement must be provided on how your proposal and study population fit the ISSTD mission.
2. Abstract (200 words) – a summary of the research project written in lay terms, including the mental
   health implications of the work. Please also include up to 5 key words (not included in word limit). If
   the proposal is funded, this material may be used in the ISSTD’s announcements and website.
3. Applicant CV (5 pages)
4. Proposal (2 pages, no appendices) – a concise proposal that addresses your research strategy. Figures, tables, diagrams etc. are not required, but if included they must be included within the 2-page limit. Please include the following information with these bolded headings, in this order:
   • Significance – explain the importance of the problem or critical barrier to progress that the
     proposed project addresses; describe the scientific premise for the proposed project; explain how the proposed project will address the aforementioned problem/barrier. Be sure to explicitly state how the research is relevant to our understanding, treatment and/or prevention of complex trauma and dissociation.
   • Specific Aim – state in a sentence or two the objective of the research proposed (e.g., to test a
     stated hypothesis, create a novel design, solve a specific problem, challenge an existing paradigm or clinical practice, address a critical barrier to progress in the field, or develop new technology).
   • Approach – describe the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses used to accomplish the
     specific aim of the project. Include the sample size and address the feasibility of the proposed
     approach. Pilot data is encouraged but not required.
   • Implications – describe the impact that the results of the proposed research will have on our
     understanding, treatment and/or prevention of complex trauma and dissociation.
5. References (1 page, optional) – a listing of up to ten bibliographical references may be included.
6. Institutional Assurance Letter (1 page) – which includes the applicant’s institutional signature (i.e.,
   Grants & Contracts/Sponsored Research Office), thereby signifying the institution’s acceptance and
   acknowledgment of these guidelines – in particular the Research and Education Grant policies on
   institutional overhead 10% allowed indirect cost rate.

Note

• Institutional Review Board (IRB) or equivalent ethics board approval for human subjects must be verified at the time of the Grant award (do not include IRB approval with application).
• In fairness to all applicants, supplemental material (i.e., appendices, letters of support) will NOT be considered in the review process. Applications not following the guidelines will be administratively rejected.
• Funds will be granted to universities, institutions or medical research centers operating in the United States, Canada, or any foreign country. All international applicants are welcome to apply. Researchers do not need to be US citizens.

Post Submission

Grant approval notifications will be emailed in November 2024. It is the ISSTD’s policy to provide no
feedback on applications, other than funding notification. The earliest grant start date is December 1, 2024.

Research Performance Progress Report due one year from award date (2 pages): a concise summary of
what was accomplished under the goals of the proposed research. Please follow National Institute of Health (NIH) format guidelines: Arial, Helvetica, Palatino Linotype, or Georgia fonts with a font size of
11 or larger with minimum of 1⁄2 inch page margins. Please include the following information with
these bolded headings, in this order:

1. Major Activities
   • Publications – list full citation for publications or manuscripts accepted for publication
     in a journal or other publication (e.g., book, one-time publication, monograph, preprint)
     resulting from the award.
   • Grants – list grants you applied for leveraging research funded by the ISSTD
     Research and Education Grant
   • Conference Talks – list conference talks that included research supported by the
     award
   • Poster Presentations – list poster presentations that included research supported
     by the award
2. Significant Results – summarize key scientific result(s) from the proposed research, including
   major findings, developments, or conclusions (both positive and negative) – formatted similar to
   an abstract or series of abstracts for a scientific publication.
3. Additional Key Outcomes – summarize the other key outcomes or achievements accomplished
   beyond the scientific results.

Please complete the online Face Sheet. Once this is complete, create a .zip file with the other required documents listed above and upload these materials here and ensure that your first and last name are included in the file name. Any applications which are incomplete or not submitted according to instructions will be ineligible.