Opportunities

An exciting research opportunity has become available for those interested in completing a master’s study and contributing towards the New Zealand MND research portfolio.

MND New Zealand is funding a study on the ‘’Prevalence of MND in New Zealand ‘’. This is a nationwide, point prevalence study of MND in New Zealand using capture-recapture methodology. It is anticipated that this project will take place over 12 months. The research team are pleased to be able to offer a master’s opportunity as part of this project. They are offering a $10000 stipend (tax free), plus domestic tuition fees for 1 year.  The start date is January – February 2022, but they are keen to appoint someone as soon as possible.

This is an exciting opportunity to kick start a research career and make a significant contribution to the rapidly evolving field of MND research. More information is available here.

The Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in partnership with ALS Finding a Cure® (ALSFAC) and FightMND is issuing a request for applications for the ALS Scholars in Therapeutics Program to empower young investigators to learn how to develop new treatments for people living with ALS.

This two-year program is designed to engage clinician-scientists and post-doctoral fellows to gain training and experience in therapy development for ALS at their home institution with an optional industry experience in year two. All ALS Scholars will be part of the broader ALS global community.

 Scope

• Projects that answer a stand-alone research question
• Projects that leverage a larger project by answering a separate and complementary question
• Equipment that can be used across several projects
• Projects and equipment must be in New Zealand

Award Details

• 2 years of funding to support a clinician-scientist or post-doctoral fellow working in the ALS field anywhere in the world.
• $150,000 USD award/funding year (inclusive of maximum 15% indirect costs)
• Recipient must commit at least 75% effort to the proposed ALS research plan

Eligibility

• Applications from clinician scientists and postdoctoral fellows focused on translational research are eligible.
• Candidates with Ph.D. or M.D. with a strong publication record. International applicants are encouraged to apply.
• The ALS focused proposal must have a strong scientific rationale and should be largely developed by the candidate with guidance from his/her mentor.
• Eligibility for this award is based on the date the candidate attained their degree/ qualification. For MDs, scholars will be considered if they have completed their specialist qualification (i.e., US Residency; Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, etc.) For PhDs they can be no more than 5 years post- degree.

Application due dates

Release of RFA: March 2, 2022
Applications Due: April 29, 2022
Notification of Award: June 2022
Initiation of Award: July 1, 2022 (flexible once contracts signed)

Click here for further information or contact HealeyCenterforALS@mgh.harvard.edu.

Neurological Foundation Small Project Grants offer up to $15,000. These grants are intended to encourage clinicians and scientists to undertake small-scale or pilot studies that may lead to a larger project. The grant can be used towards working expenses; equipment; salaries for post-doctoral fellows, research assistants and technicians.

Scope

• Projects that answer a stand-alone research question
• Projects that leverage a larger project by answering a separate and complementary question
• Equipment that can be used across several projects
• Projects and equipment must be in New Zealand

Eligibility

Applicants can be scientifically or medically qualified, and the research can be clinical or biomedical. This grant is open to PhD students; Post-doctoral research fellows; Clinicians; Continued academics

How to Apply

They are two funding rounds a year. Create an application on our online portal at https://grants.neurological.org.nz/ before the closing dates of April 1 and September 1.You will need to create a new account if you are a first-time user. Applicants will be advised of the outcome early in July or December.

The application must include NZ Standard CVs for all named investigators; Quotes for any items of equipment; Partial funding and ethics approval letters, as required. 

Further information on the Small Projects Grants can be found here. If you have any queries please contact the Foundation’s Research Manager for advice research@neurological.org.nz

Click here for details on previous funded projects.

Project Grants are the main avenue by which the Neurological Foundation sponsors research. Applicants are usually salaried by their institutions and a grant will typically cover salaries for technicians, scientists or clinicians, plus working expenses or equipment. There are two rounds each year and the Foundation funds approximately 15 project grants annually. 

Eligibility

Applicants can be scientifically or medically qualified, and the research can be clinical or biomedical.

Note: Only one resubmission of a declined Project application will be considered.  

The Senior Research Fellowships provide two years of personal support for outstanding researchers while they establish themselves as independent investigators at an institution in New Zealand.

Eligibility

Candidates for the Senior Research Fellowship will have submitted or been awarded a PhD within the eight years prior to the application closing date.  If a successful applicant is based overseas at the time of award, a single airfare to return to New Zealand will be included in the grant.

If you have any queries please contact the Foundation’s Research Manager for advice.
research@neurological.org.nz

The First Postdoctoral Fellowships provide two years of personal support for outstanding early career researchers so that they can complete their first post-doctoral fellowship under the close mentorship of an academic with a continuing position at an institution in New Zealand.

If you have any queries please contact the Foundation’s Research Manager for advice.
research@neurological.org.nz

These fellowships are intended to support non-medical health professionals to pursue a career in clinical research in New Zealand or overseas. This Fellowship will be awarded to a New Zealand registered non-medical health professional who is committed to a clinical research career with a major focus on treatment or care of those affected by brain disease or injury, including end of life care. It is intended to enhance their research skills and experience with at least 50% of the fellow’s time to be spent on research.

Eligibility

If you have any queries please contact the Foundation’s Research Manager for advice. research@neurological.org.nz

The Doctoral scholarships are intended to provide personal support for students undertaking a PhD in basic or clinical neuroscience. Applicants can apply for a tax-free stipend of $30,000 per year for 3 years of full-time enrolment; University fees; $5,000 towards the working expenses associated with the doctoral research.

Eligibility

If you have any queries please contact the Foundation’s Research Manager for advice. research@neurological.org.nz

The Senior Clinical Research Fellowships scholarships are intended to provide personal support for practising clinicians to carry out clinical research at a healthcare organisation in New Zealand. Funding is provided for clinical research up to two years duration and up to 50% salary support. 

Eligibility

If you have any queries please contact the Foundation’s Research Manager for advice. research@neurological.org.nz

These grants are intended to support international keynote speakers and early career researchers at neurology and neuroscience conferences in New Zealand, or facilitate early career researcher participation in advanced training courses in New Zealand or Australia.

Click here for more detail

Maurice and Phyllis Paykel Trust provides Project & Equipment Grants to support research projects in any field relevant to human health, including basic biomedical sciences. These grants normally provide funds for up to one year, although two year grants will be considered where justified.

1. Create an account – Your online account lets you create, submit and manage applications. You can also review previous applications, keep your profile and contact details up to date, and upload any reports arising from grants you have received.
2. Complete the application form – The online application form will require you to upload one or more documents in support of your application. Please refer to the Document guidelines below.
3. Provide required approvals – If you’re based in a university, you should check with the university research office to confirm local requirements before submitting an application. Note also that, if your application is successful, ethical approval must be finalised before funding can be made available.

Applications for Project & Equipment Grants are considered at meetings in April and November each year, and applications can be created and submitted online in the eight weeks or so prior to these dates:

• 1 March
  for the April meeting of the Trust Board
• 1 October
  for the November meeting

Click here for more information.

Maurice and Phyllis Paykel Trust provides grants to support scientific conferences in health related fields organised by academic institutions or professional organisations within New Zealand. Priority is given to conferences with an emphasis on research and research training.

1. Create an account – Your online account lets you create, submit and manage applications. You can also review previous applications, keep your profile and contact details up to date, and upload any reports arising from grants you have received.
2. Complete the application form – The online application form can be accessed by logging into your online account. The online application form will require you to upload one or more documents in support of your application. Please refer to the Document Guidelines below.
3. Provide required approvals – If you’re based in a university, you should check with the university research office to confirm local requirements before submitting an application. Note also that, if your application is successful, ethical approval must be finalised before funding can be made available.

Applications for Conference Support Grants are considered by the Trust Board three times a year. Applications can be created and submitted online in the eight weeks or so prior to these dates:

• 1 March
  for the April meeting of the Trust Board
• 1 June
  for the July meeting
• 1 October
  for the November meeting

Click here for more details.

The Marsden Fund was established by the government in 1994 to fund excellent fundamental research. It is a contestable fund administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand on behalf of the Marsden Fund Council. The Marsden Fund encourages New Zealand’s leading researchers to explore new ideas that may not be funded through other funding streams and fosters creativity and innovation within the research, science and technology system.

The primary objectives of the Marsden Fund are to:

• Enhance the quality of research in New Zealand by creating increased opportunity to undertake excellent investigator-initiated research; and
• Support the advancement of knowledge in New Zealand, and contribute to the global knowledge base.

The secondary objectives of the Marsden Fund are to:

• Contribute to the development of advanced skills in New Zealand including support for continuing training of post-doctoral level researchers, and support for the establishment of early careers of new and emerging researchers.
• Contribute in the long-term to economic, social, cultural, environmental, health or other impacts for New Zealand

The Marsden Fund supports research excellence in the following categories:

• Biomedical Sciences
• Cellular, Molecular and Physiological Biology
• Earth Sciences and Astronomy
• Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour
• Economics and Human and Behavioural Sciences
• Engineering and Interdisciplinary Sciences
• Humanities
• Mathematical and Information Sciences
• Physics, Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Social Sciences

There are three categories of proposals available for the Marsden Fund:

Fast-Start: For emerging researchers, capped at $120,000 per year for up to three years, or a maximum amount of $360,000 over 3 years. Two–stage process, with an Expression of Interest to be submitted by the February deadline. The EOI consists of a one-page abstract of proposed research, CVs plus supporting information. Assessed by discipline-based panels.

Standard: Open to all eligible researchers, amount of funding is flexible and is capped. These are larger than Fast-Start proposals. Funding can be sought for up to three years. Two-stage process, with an Expression of Interest to be submitted by the February deadline. The EOI consists of a one-page abstract of proposed research, CVs plus supporting information. Assessed by discipline-based panels.

Marsden Fund Council Award: Open to all eligible researchers. Larger than Standard grants, up to $1 million per year for up to 3 years, or a maximum amount of $3 million over 3 years. One-stage proposal process, with a full proposal to be submitted by the February deadline. Assessed in a two-stage process by the Marsden Fund Council. See separate guidelines for more details.

These guidelines pertain to Fast-Start and Standard proposals ONLY. Applicants wishing to submit a Marsden Fund Council Award proposal should consult the separate 2021 MFCA Guidelines for Applicants.

Click here for more details on the Marsden Fund and application process.

To view other funding opportunities available click here

• Partnership programme and Requests for Proposals
• Researcher-initiated Proposals
• Career Development Awards
• Māori Health Research
• Pacific Health Research

Despite the current pandemic still taking its toll in the UK, there is a lot of financial support available for international students looking to study in the UK. However finding and applying for lots of different options can start to get confusing, not to mention time consuming and it can be easy to lose track of deadlines or miss potential opportunities.

FindAPhD have compiled an international PhD funding calendar for 2022. They have listed some of the most important funding options, along with their deadlines, so you don’t miss out. Print it off or put the dates in your calendar and you’ll be ready to go!

To read the full post and view the key details and deadlines for some of the most important (and most generous) PhD funding options in the year ahead, please click here.

The MND Association is a world leader in funding cutting-edge MND research and facilitating international research collaboration. They support five different types of grants.  Find out about the research grants offered to international students and how these are selected below.

Types of Grants

Biomedical Research Projects

• Junior Non-Clinical – awards will be offered for 2 – 3 years
• Senior Non-Clinical – awards will be offered for 3 – 4 years

Fellowship awards may only be held at an institute in the UK and Ireland. At the time of application the prospective fellow may be based elsewhere

• Junior Non-Clinical – applicants must have 2 – 6 years post-doctoral experience at the time of commencement of the award. Exceptional final year PhD students may apply but should consult the Association prior to submitting a summary application.
• Senior Non-Clinical – applicants must have 4 – 10 years post-doctoral experience at the time of commencement of the award.

Applications will be accepted from mid March 2022 and close on 29 April 2022. 

Click here for more details on assessment criteria and budget information.

Project Description

TDP-43 is a RBP constituting key pathology observed in 97% of motor neurone disease and ~40% of Frontotemporal Dementia cases. We reported the first disease-causing RNA-binding deficient mutation which sparks renewed interest and leads to further discussion of the involvement of TDP-43-mediated RNA regulation and nuclear aggregation in disease development. This project will fill in the essential area investigating the mechanistic links between RNA-binding and neurodegeneration

Deadline

Applications are open now with an anticipated study start date October 2022

Eligibility

Students with, or expecting to gain, at least an upper second class honours degree, or equivalent, are invited to apply. The interdisciplinary nature of this programme means that we welcome applications from students with backgrounds in any biological, chemical, and/or physical science, or students with mathematical backgrounds who are interested in using their skills in addressing biological questions.

Funding

There is no funding attached to this project. Applicants need to have adequate funds to meet the costs of a self-funded research project including tuition fees and living expenses for the duration of the research programme.

Click here for more details.

Project Description

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a treatment that applies small electrical charges to a muscle that has become paralysed or weakened, due to damage in your brain or spinal cord. The electrical charge stimulates the muscle to make its usual movement. FES is a technique can help with swallowing, hand and arm function, and even breathing problems for pulmonary disease patients and for stroke patients. It has a number of potential future therapies uses to retrain voluntary motor functions such as grasping, reaching and walking. 

FES can be applied in a number of ways: transcutaneous, using electrodes which are placed on the skin; percutaneous, with electrodes inserted; through the skin to make direct contact with the motor nerves; or sub-cutaneous, where the stimulator is implanted and electrodes are attached either to the motor nerves directly, or to the nerve roots at the point where they emerge from the base of the spine. This method stimulates mainly the nerve fibres innervating of the muscle.
Current amplitude and duration of the pulsewidth describe the intensity (charge) which determines if a specific neuron is recruited. With low intensity pulses large low-threshold neurons and neurons close to the electrodes will be recruited at first. Smaller neurons with higher threshold and neurons located further away from the electrodes will be recruited with increasing charge per pulse. An electrical field is generated between the electrodes however very little is known of how the electric field propagate in term of magnitude and direction.

This PhD study will aim to answer this question by developing a model from the Maxwell equations and finite element methods of the electric field through the material (Skin and Muscle). A characterisation is needed to understand the level of penetration with respect to the electrodes sizes and polarity separation. An application will be to determine what configuration of transcutaneous stimulation electrodes gives a focal electrical field similar to the one obtained with epidural electrode stimulation.

Deadline

Applications will be reviewed until a suitable candidate is appointed.

Eligibility

Bachelors or Masters Degree (at least 2.1 or equivalent) with Mathematics, Numerical Methods and Electromagnetism as major subjects. Experience in modelling and programming in Matlab/Simulink techniques is highly desirable

Funding

There is no funding attached to this project.

Click here for more details.