Support 2-Year Clinical Research

Support 2-Year Clinical Research is sponsored by Summerfield G. Roberts Foundation. Supports two-year clinical research programs at institutions like UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.

Clinical Research Grants - Dravet Syndrome Foundation Clinical Research Grants are intended for established, experienced, independent investigators affiliated with a research or academic institution whose proposed projects have a clinical focus and investigate hypotheses directly related to Dravet syndrome.

Clinical Research Grant Application Guidelines Applications for the 2026 DSF Grant Application Cycle are due on Friday, August 21st Clinical Research Grants are intended for established, experienced, independent investigators affiliated with a research or academic institution whose proposed projects have a clinical focus and investigate hypotheses directly related to Dravet syndrome.

Proposals are scored according to NIH guidelines based on the quality of preliminary data, research design, feasibility, investigator’s qualifications, and overall impact. Grants are awarded for $250,000 over 2 years (beginning January 1 of each year), with indirect costs not to exceed 10% of the award.

Investigators applying for a research grant should ensure their proposed project addresses the needs of the Dravet syndrome community and DSF’s mission to support research toward better treatments and a cure for Dravet syndrome.

Eligibility: Applicants should be affiliated with a research or academic institution (excluding for-profit companies), may be US or foreign based, established in their field, and in good standing with their institution.

DSF Clinical Priority Areas include: Research that helps better characterize the natural history of Dravet syndrome across the patient lifetime, including identifying patient trends, characteristics, epidemiology, or other clinical aspects of Dravet syndrome and/or its comorbidities Research that develops or refines outcome measurements that can fully reflect meaningful improvements in patient symptoms and quality of life Research that helps to understand, predict, and prevent SUDEP Research that will encourage the development of novel therapies to prevent onset or halt the progression of the Dravet syndrome Applications are due Friday, August 21, 2026.

Please email DSF Chief Scientific Officer, Veronica Robbins-Hood, PhD with any questions. Applications which do not include the following materials and meet the specified page limitations will be returned unprocessed, or will be deferred until a subsequent granting cycle. Please use a size 11 font or larger with margins of at least 0.

5 inches. All documents should be submitted as PDFs. Each file name should include the lead investigator’s last name and the document section name (as listed below; i.e. “Jones_FacePage”).

Applications must be received by 11:59pm (US Pacific Time) on the specified due date. Fillable PDF form that must be signed by applicant and an institutional grants program official. If submitting a multi-PI grant, please include a Face Page for each PI.

If the PIs are all employed by the same institution, the signing official is only required to sign the lead-PI’s FacePage. Scientific Abstract and Lay abstract – 1 page Please include a single page including a scientific abstract and a lay abstract. The scientific abstract should convey the hypothesis, goals, importance, and impact of the research.

The lay abstract should convey the same information in language appropriate for someone without scientific training to understand clearly. The lay abstract is used in the Board of Director’s decision making process following scientific review and care should be taken that the description is clear, accurate, and emphasizes the realistic impacts of the project.

Often displayed as a table, the budget page should include a simple numeric breakdown of how grant funds will be utilized, including indirect costs and a final total of the funds being requested. Indirect costs of no more than 10% of the total award are permitted, and must be included within the $250,000 budget.

If the total budget for your project exceeds the amount you are requesting from DSF, your budget page must include a breakdown of how all funds, including those from other sources, will be used. Budget Justification – 1 page The budget justification page should provide an explanation and rationale of each line item of the budget including why specific personnel and/or supplies are critical to the proposed study.

Hypothesis and Specific Aims – 1 page Please use a single page to lay out the hypothesis and rationale for the proposal including the specific aims to be accomplished. This should include background, preliminary data, experimental approach, methods, expected outcomes and discussion of potential pitfalls and alternative approaches.

Impact Statement – ½ page A statement on how the research will impact the understanding, treatment or care of people with Dravet syndrome or related epilepsies. Bibliography – no page limit Please provide citations in NIH format (listing all authors). Please use NIH formatting (new or prior versions) or similar.

An example can be found here . For multi-PI applications, CV/Biosketch should be included for each investigator. Application Review Process Applications undergo a rigorous NIH-style scientific review process and final decisions are made by the DSF Board of Directors, ensuring projects funded by DSF meet high scientific standards and align with the most pressing needs of the patient community.

DSF takes integrity around our grant review process seriously, carefully avoiding conflicts of interest for scientific grant reviewers and panels and bringing in additional reviewers from relevant research fields when necessary to avoid conflicts of interest and ensure reviewers have the appropriate expertise to evaluate the submissions.

Applicants will be informed of the status of their application by late November , following scientific review and final decisions by DSF’s Board of Directors. Awardees are then announced publicly at the annual DSF Research Roundtable that is held just prior to the American Epilepsy Society Meeting.

Step 1: Download/fill out the editable PDF Below DSF Grant Application Face Page Step 2: Upload all required files as PDFs via the form below Note: the application fields will populate automatically after you select the grant category for which you are applying Which are you applying for?

(Required) Transformational Science Grant Postdoctoral Fellowship Grant Clinician Researcher Award This field is hidden when viewing the form Face Page Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB. Scientific Abstract & Lay Abstract Accepted file types: pdf, Max.

file size: 128 MB. Budget Page Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.

Budget Justification Page Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB. Hypothesis & Specific Aims Accepted file types: pdf, Max.

file size: 128 MB. Research Plan Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.

Impact Statement Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB. Bibliography Accepted file types: pdf, Max.

file size: 128 MB. CV/Biosketch Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.

Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB. This field is hidden when viewing the form Transformational Science Grant Face Page Accepted file types: pdf, Max.

file size: 128 MB. Scientific Abstract & Lay Abstract Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.

Budget Page Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB. Budget Justification Page Accepted file types: pdf, Max.

file size: 128 MB. Hypothesis & Specific Aims Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.

Research Plan Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB. Impact Statement Accepted file types: pdf, Max.

file size: 128 MB. Bibliography Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.

CV/Biosketch Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB. Accepted file types: pdf, Max.

file size: 128 MB. This field is hidden when viewing the form Face Page Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.

Scientific Abstract & Lay Abstract Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB. Budget Page Accepted file types: pdf, Max.

file size: 128 MB. Budget Justification Page Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.

Hypothesis & Specific Aims Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB. Research Plan Accepted file types: pdf, Max.

file size: 128 MB. Impact Statement Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.

Bibliography Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB. CV/Biosketch Accepted file types: pdf, Max.

file size: 128 MB. Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.

This field is hidden when viewing the form Postdoctoral Fellowship Grant Are you interested in being considered for the Elliot Meskis Award for an Exceptional Postdoctoral Fellow, which honors the achievements and potential of remarkable postdocs specializing in Dravet syndrome. Recipients are awarded $2,500 to support the career advancement.

If interested, your application will be shared with an external reviewer responsible for selecting an awardee. Postdoctoral Grant Application Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.

Letter of Support One (Mentor) Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB. Letter of Support Two Accepted file types: pdf, Max.

file size: 128 MB. CV/Biosketch- Postdoc Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.

CV/Biosketch- Mentor Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB. Budget Page Accepted file types: pdf, Max.

file size: 128 MB. Hypothesis & Specific Aims Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.

Research Plan Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB. Bibliography Accepted file types: pdf, Max.

file size: 128 MB. Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.

This field is hidden when viewing the form Clinician Researcher Award Clinician Researcher Application Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB. Letter of Support One- Mentor Accepted file types: pdf, Max.

file size: 128 MB. Letter of Support Two Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.

Residents/Fellows: Letter of Support Three- Program Director Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB. CV/Biosketch- Applicant Accepted file types: pdf, Max.

file size: 128 MB. CV/Biosketch- Mentor Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.

Budget Page Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB. Budget Justification Page Accepted file types: pdf, Max.

file size: 128 MB. Hypothesis & Specific Aims Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.

Research Plan Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB. Bibliography Accepted file types: pdf, Max.

file size: 128 MB. Accepted file types: pdf, Max. file size: 128 MB.

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