TDRA Seed Fund Competition 2024

Background

The Toronto Dementia Research Alliance (TDRA) is pleased to announce a seed fund competition for 2024. These awards – valued at up to $70,000 – will be granted to collaborative projects that advance scientific knowledge in the field of dementia. There will be up to three seed funds available for projects that focus on neurodegenerative disease/dementia in general.

Timeline for 2024 Competition

• Letter of intent (LOI) deadline:                 June 14, 2024
• Invitation to submit a full application:    June 28, 2024
• Deadline for full application:                     September 6, 2024
• Notification of award:                                 Week of November 18, 2024
• Release of funds:                                         Starting January 1, 2025
• Research Progress Report:                      90 days after receipt of funds, then annually

THE DEADLINE FOR LOI SUBMISSIONS HAS NOW PASSED. THANK YOU TO ALL APPLICANTS.

Objectives and Scope

• The project proposal need to focus on neurodegenerative disease/dementia
• These seed funds provide support for investigators during the critical period between the initiation of research and the receipt of sustained funding
• The funding will be for collaborative projects that bring together investigators across TDRA sites
• The more novel and innovative the project, the more competitive the application

Eligibility

Proposals will be deemed eligible based on the following:

• Principal Investigators must have a scientific appointment at one of the TDRA partner sites: University of Toronto, Baycrest, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Unity Health Toronto, or the University Health Network
• Collaborative Projects: Two Principal Investigators (PIs) are required for projects to be considered collaborative; the PIs must be from two different TDRA sites, OR have a combination of pre-clinical and clinical research focus
• Previous award winners of the Temerty-Tanz-TDRA Seed Fund are not eligible to reapply as principal applicants
• Women and members of under-represented groups are strongly encouraged to apply
• Projects that focus on issues in traditionally underrepresented groups, such as Black, First Nations, Inuit, or Métis communities are strongly encouraged to be submitted

• Successful applicants must agree to:
  • Provide progress reports to TDRA (three months, then yearly), and present at an annual research day
  • Make any new data collected as a part of this application available to other researchers after an agreed-upon period of time

For further details on the Letter of Interest, the Full Application Submission process, and other pertinent aspects of this  competition, please download the full document here.

For the application form, please click here.