APPLY FOR A 2025 UNDERGRAD SUMMER RESEARCH AWARD

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RFA Released: February 3, 2025

Applications Due: March 2, 2025 5:00 PM EST

Notification of Awards: late March 2025

The Autism Science Foundation Canada invites applications from highly qualified undergraduates interested in pursuing basic and clinical research relevant to autism spectrum disorders during the summer.  

The proposed research must be scientifically linked to autism.  Autism Science Foundation Canada will consider all areas of related basic and clinical research including but not limited to: human behavior across the lifespan (language, learning, communication, social function, epilepsy, sleep, self-injurious behavior, catatonia), neurobiology (anatomy, development, neuro-imaging), pharmacology, neuropathology, human genetics, genomics, epigenetics, epigenomics, immunology, molecular and cellular mechanisms, studies employing model organisms and systems, and studies of treatment, service delivery, policy and employment.  We encourage studies that focus on profound autism and/or include participants with profound autism.  Priority will be given to students from underrepresented groups OR to studies that focus on understanding and narrowing the diagnosis and services gap across different races, ethnicities or socioeconomic status levels.  All applicants will be asked about their race and ethnicity in the application process.

The Autism Science Foundation Canada will make a number of Awards determined by its available financial resources. Research must be conducted in a university-based laboratory or in the field under the supervision of a highly qualified mentor for a period of no less than 8 weeks.  

Awards of $4000 CAD will be made directly to the university sponsoring the research. Of this, the university must pay $3500 CAD directly to the student as a stipend; $500 CAD shall be used for lab expenses and indirect university costs. This award cannot be used to directly cover tuition payments. The sponsoring university is responsible for withholding any taxes required by law. 

Applicants for summer undergraduate research awards must be currently enrolled undergraduates in good standing in a program leading to a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree (or equivalent). Candidates may not have a BA or BS (or equivalent) at the time the award is started. The summer research may take place at a university other than the one where the student is enrolled as an undergraduate. The mentor should be faculty at the university where the research will take place. The research itself may take place on or off campus (i.e. in a school, at a job site employing individuals with autism, at a summer camp, etc.) as long as it is supervised by an experienced mentor and/or advisor and a plan on how this will occur is included in the application.  

The proposed mentor must hold a tenured or tenure-track faculty appointment (or equivalent) at an accredited institution of higher education or health/medical/research institution, and must be an established and active investigator in some aspect of autism research.  Each mentor may support only one candidate per summer.

Inclusion of an advisor other than the mentor is encouraged, but not required.  As examples, this could include a more senior person in the lab who will be working closely with the student, or someone who provides scientific guidance or advice on research recruitment, or the conduct of research in underserved communities. It is highly suggested that applicants interested in studying underserved communities (including profound autism) involve someone as an advisor who has previously worked with these communities if their mentor has limited experience in this area.   

Proposals using post-mortem tissue for research must provide documentation that the necessary tissue is or will be available at the research site at the time of the award.  Proposals without proper documentation will be returned without review.   

Animal models of neurodevelopmental disorders including autism are critical to both understanding of underlying biology and etiology, as well as pre-clinical interventions and treatments.  However, they can be misunderstood or misinterpreted.  A list of recommendations on how to best utilize animal models can be found here:  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gbb.12803

ASF Canada encourages applicants to use any and all scientific and medical terminology necessary to describe autism, autistic people and the day-to-day realities of life of people with autism and it should be based on the preference of the audience you are studying.  For further guidance, you may refer to:  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aur.2876

Proposals will include the following. 

• Title Page:  Include title of the project, name of applicant and mentor as well as mailing address and email address of applicant and mentor.  Also include race and ethnicity on the title page.
• Project Abstract (1000 characters max)
• Research Plan:
  1. Project title
  2. Description of research to be conducted over the summer - 6000 characters max, approximately 1000-1750 words, no references are required.
  3. Summary of activities and opportunities that the applicant will engage in (for example, weekly lab meetings, home visits, etc.), how the mentor and the advisor will participate in the project and training - 6000 characters maximum
  4. Timeline of activities.  These activities may occur beyond the summer funding period.   
  5. Applicant’s Personal Statement -  The applicant should describe their interest in autism research and how it came about. - 5000 characters max

• Applicant’s Transcript (unofficial transcripts are acceptable)
• CV  of applicant
• CV of Mentor (NIH or CIHR biosketch format is acceptable)
• Letter of Recommendation from Mentor: A letter of recommendation should be provided by the proposed mentor evaluating the applicant’s qualifications. The mentor should describe the lab environment and resources available to the student over the summer, including opportunities for the student to meet and work with other summer student researchers, and role of the advisor (if applicable) even if outside the field of autism. Please let your mentor know you will need a letter ASAP so that they can provide it by the deadline. 
• Human Subjects and Animal Welfare Certifications: Before an award is made, we must have a copy of an official letter of approval which identifies the student and mentor by name, project title and date of project approval, and is signed by the Review Committee Chair or equivalent responsible institutional/government official. Please be aware of this and begin the process ASAP.   IRB and IACUC certifications are NOT required to submit an application, but are required if necessary before an award will be made.  The project should start no later than July 8, 2025

ASF Canada requires open source publication of articles, including open access as well as depositing of manuscripts in PubMed Central.  ASF Canada maintains a resource to allow open sharing of peer-reviewed manuscripts and highly encourages awardees to use them.  ASF also requires that all awardees register with ORCID for an ORCID ID.  

All documents and files EXCEPT THE LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION should be compiled into a single PDF file and sent to grants@autismsciencefoundation.org.  The Letter of Recommendation should be sent to grants@autismsciencefoundation.org in a different email with the name of the student in the subject line.  Please send a PDF of the signed letter.

Successful electronic submission will be confirmed by email notification to the sender.

*Proposals, including letter of recommendation, are due on or before March 2nd, 2025 5:00PM Eastern Time*

Award notifications will be made in March of 2025. Awards must start between May 1, 2025 and July 8, 2025. While the work should be completed in the summer, a full year contract will be made to offset costs of academic and training activities outside the 8 week period.  

Awards will be paid directly to the university sponsoring the research at the start of the award period.  Payment will be contingent upon acceptance (by an official authorized to act for the institution receiving the award) of the Autism Science Foundation Canada award terms and conditions without amendment (provided at the time of the award) and receipt by ASF of all required certifications. An award cannot be transferred to another investigator, laboratory or sponsoring institution without prior written approval from the Autism Science Foundation Canada. Similarly, awardees cannot change mentors or advisors without prior written approval from Autism Science Foundation Canada. 

Though the grant term will be defined as one year in the contract, students must submit an outcomes report at the end of the summer research period and no later than September 29, 2025. A template will be provided by the Autism Science Foundation Canada for this purpose. 

Proposals will be reviewed by members of Autism Science Foundation Scientific Advisory Board and the Autism Science Foundation Canada Board of Directors as well as active and experienced investigators recruited from the scientific community for their expertise in the research areas of the proposals. 

Questions about proposal submission, proposal content and review, or applicant eligibility should be addressed to Katie Madgett, Science Associate, Autism Science Foundation. (kmadgett@autismsciencefoundation.org)