ROTRF Grant Awards
The ROTRF supports important and innovative research projects relevant to organ transplantation, particularly where there is an unmet medical need.
Our priority is to support clinically oriented research projects, such as observational clinical studies or studies that use human transplant samples for laboratory examinations, and focusing on understanding the pathogenesis and prevention of human transplantation diseases, including organ injury and rejection, viral infection, and late graft deterioration. Furthermore, the ROTRF may consider funding research that addresses related clinical issues in non-transplant patients, including hepatitis C infection and other viral infections, and inflammatory processes relevant to human organ transplantation. These related clinical issues should demonstrate their relevance to disease phenotypes in organ transplant patients. The Trustees will also consider funding studies that investigate transplant populations, ethics, organ preservation and allocation, and healthcare delivery. Moreover, the ROTRF will welcome research in new emerging technologies that examine the pathogenesis of human disease states in organ transplantation. If animal models are used to complement the clinical research, a higher priority will be given to those that simulate pathological states and mechanisms operating in human organ transplantation.
ROTRF Grant Award Programme_printable poster
Go to Letter of Intent submission
Project Proposals
Project proposals submitted to the ROTRF should include work with clinical transplant material or with organ transplant patients, e.g. in human organ preservation, human transplant pathology, or other human transplant areas, and should be focused on issues relevant to clinical organ transplantation. If animal models are used to complement the clinical research, a higher priority will be given to those that simulate pathological states and mechanisms operating in human organ transplantation. To be considered for a grant award, applications should demonstrate practical applicability to human organ transplantation in the near term.
Please note that the ROTRF cannot fund interventional clinical trials and projects involving interventions that would add risk to the patient or alter patient management. However, the Trustees may consider funding non-invasive scientific studies that complement an ongoing, approved clinical trial or projects proposing diagnostic clinical examinations posing minimal risk to the patients, e.g. laboratory investigations with a biopsy core obtained as an additional sample during biopsy procedures performed as standard of care. The Trustees will evaluate the clinical risk and take the final decision on the suitability of the project for ROTRF funding.
Research Areas Funded by the ROTRF
 |
Improvement of long-term graft survival and prevention of chronic organ dysfunction |
|
|
Relevant immune recognition, regulation and effector mechanisms |
|
|
Histocompatibility |
|
|
Inflammation and tissue injury in transplantation |
|
|
Development of new agents for use in transplantation |
|
|
Prospective and specific analysis of human organ transplant populations |
|
|
Induction of antigen-specific unresponsiveness |
|
|
New clinical trial methods and surrogate endpoints |
|
|
Tissue injury and organ preservation relevant to transplantation |
|
|
Cell or tissue transplantation relevant to organ transplantation |
|
|
While the ROTRF does not support operating costs for registries, it will consider providing limited support for unique initiatives such as international databases of general interest to transplant researchers. |
* OF NOTE:
Research in human cloning is not considered for funding.
Applications for funding of research into transplantation of organs that are not yet transplanted in the clinic will not be considered.
Eligibility
The ROTRF provides funding to established faculty members of academic staff at universities, transplant centres and research institutes around the world.
The Grant
The maximum amount awarded per grant is 300,000 Swiss Francs distributed over 3 years. Depending upon the decision of the Board of Trustees and the SAC progressive, innovative and promising projects of high risk may be supported as proof-of-concept studies. Grants are awarded biannually.
Although the ROTRF prefers that no overhead costs are charged to the project, Institution and Applicant may use a maximum of ten percent (10%) of the grant award from ROTRF for Project overhead costs (indirect costs).
Application Procedure and Submission Deadlines
2-step procedure:
|
|
Submission of a Letters of Intent (LOI) at one of our deadlines, 1 April and 1 October of each year. Letter of Intent: brief information on CV and project budget, project abstract (about 100 words) and short project descripition (about 500 words). |
|
|
Applicants who submitted a top-ranking LOI will be invited to submit a Full Paper Application (FPA). The applicants will have about 6-7 weeks for the preparation and submission of the FPA. Applicants submitting a Full Paper Application will have approximately a 50% chance of success to receiving funds. |
Exemple of a ROTRF Letter of Intent
Exemple of a ROTRF Letter of Intent (for information only) PDF
Check List for ROTRF Full Paper Applications
Checklist for a clinical ROTRF organ transplantation research project PDF
Evaluation
Applications are evaluated by the 3-4 Members of the ROTRF Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) and/or ad hoc reviewers for:
|
|
Relevance to clinical organ transplantation |
|
|
Scientific excellence |
|
|
Originality |
|
|
Realistic potential for near term clinical application |
Grant Awards
The ROTRF Board of Trustees takes the final decision on the number and size of the grants based on the overall evaluation of the SAC. The decision is taken approximately 6 months after the submission deadline of the LOI.
Agreement for ROTRF Grant Awards
Awardees will receive an official copy of the Agreement signed by ROTRF Trustees. Please make sure that your institution has been familiarized with the Agreement. Please note that ROTRF RESERVES THE RIGHT TO DEDUCT FROM THE GRANT ANY EXCESSIVE GRANT NEGOTIATION COSTS.
 |
Agreement for ROTRF Grant Awards PDF |
(C) 2010, ROTRF, All rights reserved