ÑÇÖÞÓ°Ôº

Spinal Cord Injury & Disease Research

The SCIDRP program will have a single annual proposal deadline each year. Some guidelines have changed recently, so please read the instructions carefully before submitting a proposal. If you have any questions, please contact us.

Who is eligible to apply:

The SCIDRP is a state-wide ÑÇÖÞÓ°Ôº funding program. While administratively associated with the UM System, all qualified investigators within ÑÇÖÞÓ°Ôº who are employees or staff members of any public or private educational, health care, voluntary health associations or research institutions are eligible to apply. This includes, but is not limited to, tenure-track and non-tenure track faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, engineers, physicians, nurses, physical therapists, and other types of health care workers.

General types of spinal cord research supported by the SCIDRP:

• studies of spinal cord injuries resulting from trauma
• research focusing on congenital, inherited, or acquired spinal cord diseases, such as Friedreich's ataxia, multiple sclerosis (MS), poliomyelitis, ALS, SMA, spinal stenosis, cervical spondylosis, spina bifida, scoliosis, Cobb syndrome, spinal AVMs, tumors and others.

Such research may focus on injury or disease mechanisms; injury or disease prevention; imaging technology; pharmacological, surgical or gene therapy; physical, occupational or vocational rehabilitation; clinical features (e.g. paralysis, loss of sensation, spasticity, autonomic dysfunction, pain, etc.); comorbidities (e.g. metabolic syndrome, sleep disorders); bioengineering approaches (e.g. BMI, biomaterials, etc.); and other scientific paradigms. Besides studies with humans, test subjects in past proposals have included mammals, lower vertebrates, invertebrates, and cell culture systems.

SCIDRP Research Grants:

One-year grants for up to $100,000 to investigate various aspects of spinal cord injuries and/or spinal cord diseases. It is expected that SCIDRP awardees will apply for additional funding from other sources, particularly external granting agencies.​

Proposal Deadlines:

The SCIDRP will accept proposals for Research Grants for one deadline during the year. When the due date falls on a weekend, the application deadline is automatically extended to the next business day. Awards and funding decisions will be announced following the Spring Board of Curators meeting, with an approximate project start date of March 1.

Budget:

Costs for overhead (i.e. indirect costs) are not allowed, and the research projects are to be conducted in their entirety within ÑÇÖÞÓ°Ôº. Budget expenses must be described and justified in detail and must be for the proposed research project only and not for non-research expenses.