Rita Allen Foundation LOI process now open
Applications for the 2025 Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award in Pain are open through December 11, 2024.
Since 2009, the Rita Allen Foundation has provided a special award for early-career leaders in basic pain research whose work holds high potential for uncovering new pathways to improve the treatment of chronic pain.
The Foundation has awarded annually two grants or more in the amount of $150,000 over three years to early-career investigators pursuing innovative research that focuses on basic science mechanisms of pain.
Eligible candidates will have completed their training and provided persuasive evidence of distinguished achievements or extraordinary promise in basic science research in pain. Candidates should be in the early stages of their career with an appointment at the faculty level.
More information about applying for this Award, offered in partnership with the U.S. Association for the Study of Pain (USASP), including a link to the application portal as well as detailed application guidelines and instructions, can be found on the USASP website: https://www.usasp.org/rita-allen-foundation-award-in-pain.
Research Topics
Proposed research projects should be directed toward investigating the molecular biology of pain and/or basic science topics related to developing new analgesics for managing pain. The entire award is made available to projects specifically chosen by the recipient; university overhead (i.e., in-direct costs) is not supported.
Timeline
A complete application must be submitted by the end of December 11, 2024 (11:59 p.m. ET). Grant awards will be announced in the summer of 2025.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award in Pain, the applicant must:
• Have received committed start-up funds and independent laboratory space from their institution. (This information must be clearly indicated in the Department Chair/Division Chief letter of support for the candidate.)
• Be within three years of the start date of a tenure track position or equivalent (senior postdocs and associate professors are not eligible.)*
• Conduct their research and be appointed at an institution in the United States or Canada.
• Demonstrate a commitment to the field of pain research.
*If extenuating circumstances slowed your tenure trajectory (e.g., home-schooling children during the COVID-19 pandemic, other caregiving responsibilities, etc.) please get in touch with USASP directly about your circumstance (admin@usasp.org). The determination of your eligibility will be at the discretion of the Rita Allen Foundation and the Award in Pain Selection Committee.
For further information, please visit http://ritaallen.org/pain-scholars.
For information about additional programs for early-career researchers sponsored by the Rita Allen Foundation, please visit the Scholars page of the Rita Allen Foundation’s website. For questions about eligibility or other program-related information, please get in touch with the Rita Allen Foundation at apply@ritaallen.org.
For specific questions related to the application, contact Dr. Brittany Knight, USASP Director of Operations, at admin@usasp.org