Grants awarded through this request for applications are intended to advance the understanding of autism spectrum disorder through analyses of human postmortem brain tissue donated to the Autism BrainNet collection.

The annual budget is between $300,000 and $1,000,000, inclusive of 20 percent indirect costs, for a period of two (2) years. We encourage proposals from multiple investigators only when such collaborations are well justified by the expected benefits to the proposal. For collaborative proposals, the annual budget can exceed the project cap stated above but should not exceed a total of $2,000,000 inclusive of 20 percent indirect costs.

Through this RFA, we encourage individual and collaborative applications that study and compare gene expression at the tissue and single-cell level. Such analyses could also include alternative splicing/isoform analysis, RNA editing, noncoding RNAs, epigenetic modifications and/or proteomics. We also welcome studies of cellular neuroanatomy and immunohistochemical research on identified transmitter systems. For all studies, there is a nonexclusive emphasis on the cortex.

All applicants and key collaborators must hold a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent degree and have a faculty position or the equivalent at a college, university, medical school or other research facility. Applications may be submitted by domestic and foreign nonprofit organizations; public and private institutions, such as colleges, universities, hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local government, and eligible agencies of the federal government.

Priority will be given to those efforts that will lead to the most comprehensive characterization of the tissue and generate large shareable data sets. Consideration will also be given to those proposals making use of both the frozen and fixed tissue, preferably from the same donor, with attention given to the ways in which these data sets can be harmonized to facilitate sharing.

Applications should include the following:

1. Narrative, not to exceed five pages (excluding references, figures and figure legends). Proposals should include specific aims, background relevant to the application, significance of the proposed studies, preliminary results, experimental design, pitfalls and alternative strategies, and a timeline with milestones.
2. Biosketches for Principal Investigator(s) and Key Collaborators.
3. Current and pending support for Principal Investigator(s) and Key Collaborators.
4. Budget - We expect to fund several awards in the $300,000 to $1,000,000 range (including indirect costs). Proposals should include a realistic budget with sufficient detail to evaluate the need for requested resources. SFARI will work closely with investigative teams with competitive applications to arrive at a suitable budget. Indirect costs are limited to 20 percent of the modified total direct costs (see SFARI policies).
5. The raw data (CRAM, VCF files) will be stored in the SFARI AWS repositories (the cost of this storage will be directly paid by SFARI) and will be accessed by researchers through their own AWS accounts for computation only. The same data will be available for downloading using Globus endpoint at Flatiron Institute. Applicants should detail a strategy and estimate a budget for computing costs (either cloud or academic computing facility).
6. Applications with multiple Principal Investigators from different institutions that would like to be paid separately must include a signed budget template and budget justification for each Principal Investigator's institution. Applications with subcontracts must include a budget and budget justification. The budget template and budget justification are available for download in the proposal attachments section of proposalCENTRAL's full application.
7. Research environment and resources. Investigators should demonstrate access to appropriate resources for high-capacity data analysis and computation.
8. Data-sharing plan - The plan should include the sharing of all raw data and relevant processed data, in addition to sharing any new algorithms/data visualization tools that are a direct result of this award. SFARI will work closely with awarded investigative teams to ensure that the plan includes timely dissemination of data.

Applications must be completed electronically and submitted using forms provided at proposalCENTRAL. Please log in as an applicant, scroll to Simons Foundation and click on the program. The deadline for full proposal submission is January 10, 2022. No extensions will be given.

Please contact frecerca.internacional@sjd.es