The Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award in Pain
The Foundation has awarded annually two grants or more in the amount of $150,000 over three years to early-career investigators pursuing innovative research that focuses on basic science mechanisms of pain.
Applications for the 2025 Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award in Pain are OPEN through December 11, 2024.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award in Pain, the applicant must:
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Have received committed start-up funds and independent laboratory space from their institution. (This information must be clearly indicated in the Department Chair/Division Chief’s letter of support for the candidate.)
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Be within three years of the start date of a tenure track position or equivalent (senior postdocs and associate professors are not eligible.)*
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Conduct their research and be appointed at an institution in the United States or Canada.
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Demonstrate a commitment to the field of pain research.
*If extenuating circumstances slowed your tenure trajectory (e.g., home-schooling children during the COVID-19 pandemic, other caregiving responsibilities, etc.) please get in touch with USASP directly about your circumstance (admin@usasp.org). The determination of your eligibility will be at the discretion of the Rita Allen Foundation and the Award in Pain Selection Committee.
Research Topics
Proposed research projects should be directed toward investigating the molecular biology of pain and/or basic science topics related to developing new analgesics for managing pain. The entire award is made available to projects specifically chosen by the recipient; university overhead is not supported.
Key Dates and Deadlines
Applications will be open from October 16 - December 11, 2024. Completed applications must be submitted by 11:59 PM ET on December 11, 2024.
Grant awards will be announced in the summer of 2025. Grant funds will be awarded upon satisfactory execution of a grant agreement between the Rita Allen Foundation and the grant recipient’s institution.
Since 2009, the Rita Allen Foundation has provided a special award for early-career leaders in basic pain research whose work holds high potential for uncovering new pathways to improve the treatment of chronic pain.
The Foundation has awarded annually two grants or more in the amount of $150,000 over three years to early-career investigators pursuing innovative research that focuses on basic science mechanisms of pain.
Eligible candidates will have completed their training and provided persuasive evidence of distinguished achievement or extraordinary promise in basic research in pain. Candidates should be in the early stages of their career with an appointment at the faculty level.
Detailed Application Process
USASP Login/Sign-Up
If you are already a USASP member, you may log into the site using your USASP member credentials. If you are not a USASP member, please follow the new user prompt to gain prospective membership status to log into the site.
Applicant/PI Profile Information
If you are already a member of USASP, the majority of this section is populated from the USASP database. If there are fields that contain incorrect or missing information, the applicant should complete/update the requested information. All non-members will have to fill out each question accordingly (completing this section will save your credentials for the possibility of purchasing full membership access later). Please note that items marked with a red asterisk are required fields.
Application Submission Details
Please select the "Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award In Pain Grant Application" option. Then proceed to name your submission title following the example given: "John Doe - RAF 2025". Next, you will be prompted to write down the title of your intended research project. Finally, you will be asked to answer questions regarding your eligibility for the Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award in Pain. Please note that items marked with a red asterisk are required fields.
Lead Institution
The applicant should complete the requested information regarding their primary/lead institution. These details will involve the lead institution's name, address, phone number, and fax number. Please note that items marked with a red asterisk are required fields.
Organization Assurances
The applicant should complete the requested information regarding their proposed research project. These details will involve the type of research your project involves and/or approval status. Please note that items marked with a red asterisk are required fields.
Letters of Support
Completed applications will require three letters of support. These must include one letter from the candidate’s Department Chair/Division Chief that demonstrates strong support for the candidate’s proposed research and career development. The other two letters should come from the candidate’s Ph.D./fellowship advisor, influential advisor, or mentor who has impacted the candidate’s research. In this section, the applicant will provide contact information pertaining to each of the letter providers. Upon submission, these two individuals listed to provide letters of support will be contacted directly by a representative of USASP requesting that their letters be sent by December 13.
Attachments
The Applicant will upload all required documents as a single PDF in the following order:
1) Signed Signature pages,
2) Abstract,
3) Leadership/vision statement,
4) NIH Biosketch,
5) Research proposal narrative,
6) Letter of support from the Department Chair/Division Chief,
7) Summary of Current and Pending Funding
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Signed Signature Pages
All applications must be signed by the Applicant/PI and the Institutional Official responsible for submitting applications for extramural support. The signature page may either be printed out, signed and scanned, or electronic signatures may be used on the PDF.
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Abstract
The abstract should be limited to 300 words or up to 3,000 characters. Applicants are advised to check spelling, word, and character count before pasting their abstract within this section.
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Leadership in Pain Research
The applicant will provide a personal statement detailing his/her vision for a career in pain research and provide information and/or examples of leadership in pain-related activities. The statement should be limited to 300 words or up to 3,000 characters.
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NIH Biosketch
The applicant will provide an NIH Biosketch that should be no more than 5 pages long (see template)
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Research Proposal Narrative
The applicant will append a research proposal narrative that is limited to six pages in 11-point Arial font and 0.5-inch margins. A 7th page may be included for references.
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Letter of Support from a Department Chair/Division Chief
Completed applications will require one letter from the candidate’s Department Chair/Division Chief demonstrating strong support for the candidate’s proposed research and career development.
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Research Support
The applicant will provide information about all current and pending research support. The research plan should include something other than a project already funded or for consideration for funding elsewhere. If the applicant has received or has pending research support, the applicant should explain how the Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award in Pain will enhance the applicant’s pain research and how the project submitted for the Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award in Pain differs from other funded or pending projects.
Summary
It is necessary for applicants to review their completed application in this section. The summary function is a way to ensure that all of the required application fields are completed and accurate. Please review all questions and inputs before submitting.
Submit
The Applicant/PI can submit their completed application in this section.
Applications with missing sections, that do not meet eligibility requirements, or do not adhere to the application instructions, including required formats (font size and page lengths) and use of signature pages, are considered ineligible.
Review Criteria
Reviewers will assess the candidate’s past contributions and their future potential as a leader in the field of pain research, based on the research proposal, biosketch, letters of support, and impact statement.
Other
Applications are reviewed by a Selection Committee that includes past Scholars Award in Pain recipients and other leading pain researchers. At this time, the Selection Committee is, unfortunately, unable to provide feedback on unsuccessful applications. For information about additional programs for early-career researchers from the Rita Allen Foundation, please see the Scholars page of the Rita Allen Foundation’s website. For questions about eligibility or other program-related information, please get in touch with the Rita Allen Foundation at apply@ritaallen.org.
Assistance with Applications
For technical support (including questions about trouble logging in and technical issues in completing an application) or questions regarding eligibility, please contact admin@usasp.org (the office is open Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m. ET-5:00 p.m. ET). Emails received after hours and on weekends will be responded to on the next business day.
For questions about other program-related questions: Please contact the Rita Allen Foundation at apply@ritaallen.org.
2024
Kara Marshall
Baylor College of Medicine
Silent no more: Identifying mechanisms of internal mechanical pain
Katelyn Sandler
Center for Advanced Pain Studies, University of Texas at Dallas
Effects of antibiotics on nociceptive and analgesic circuits in the gut
2023
Victoria Abraira
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Context is key: how spinal cord neuromodulators scale the pain experience
Seungwon (Sebastian) Choi
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Spinal output neurons: Novel therapeutic substrates for treating neuropathic pain
In conjunction with Margaret and William R. Hearst III
Emerson Krock
McGill University
Painful fibromyalgia autoantibodies through molecular mimicry with gut microbiota
William Renthal
Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Harvard Medical School
Targeted gene delivery to trigeminal nociceptors
In conjunction with Margaret and William R. Hearst III
2022
Gregory Corder
University of Pennsylvania
Calibrating Nociceptive Dynamics in Midbrain Opioidergic Circuits
Gwendolyn Hoben
Medical College of Wisconsin
Targeted Muscle Reinnervation Effects on Pain and Spontaneous Afferent Activity
Aaron Mickle
University of Florida
Urothelial Cell to Sensory Neuron Signaling in Bladder Pain
Nicole Scheff
University of Pittsburgh
CGRP: the link between cancer pain and progression in oral squamous cell carcinoma
2020
Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
University of Pennsylvania
Discovering Behavioral Signatures of Pain at Millisecond Timescales
In conjunction with the Open Philanthropy Project
Geoffroy Laumet
Michigan State University
Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Remission and Relapse of Pain
Sarah Linnstaedt
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
FKBP51 Inhibition to Prevent Chronic Pain Following Traumatic Stress
In conjunction with the Open Philanthropy Project
Andrew J. Shepherd
The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Neuro-immune Interactions in Pain Associated with Cancer and Chemotherapy
2019
Michael Burton
University of Texas at Dallas
Novel Models to Assess Sufficiency of Single Cell Paradigms in CB1R-Analgesia
Meaghan Creed
Washington University in St. Louis
Synaptic Adaptations Underlying Affective Symptoms of Chronic Pain
Peter Grace
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Antibody Receptor Signaling via Astrocytes: A New Pathway for Neuropathic Pain
In conjunction with the Open Philanthropy Project
Jordan McCall
Washington University in St. Louis
Using Persistent Homology to Model and Predict Spontaneous Pain Behavior
In conjunction with the Open Philanthropy Project
Vivianne Tawfik
Stanford University
Engaging Pro-resolution Microglia to Block the Transition to Chronic Pain
In conjunction with the Open Philanthropy Project
Previous Winners
2018
Helen C. Lai
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Understanding the Molecular and Developmental Basis of Painlessness
Candice E. Paulsen
Yale University
Uncovering the Regulation of TRPA1 by Irritants, Cofactors, and Proteins
2017
Arkady Khoutorsky
McGill University
Extracellular Matrix-Mediated Spinal Cord Plasticity in Neuropathic Pain
Kyle Baumbauer
University of Kansas Medical Center
Targeting ASIC3 for Disruption of Nociceptor Sensitization following Spinal Cord Injury
2016
Steve Davidson
University of Cincinnati
Thalamo-limbic Circuit Control of Pain
Katherine Hanlon
Presbyterian College
DRG Macrophages: Function and Impact on Nociception
2015
Robert Sorge
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Immune System Modulation of Pain via Diet
Yi Ye
New York University
The Role of Schwann Cells in Neural Invasion and Associated Cancer Pain
2014
Gregory Scherrer
Stanford University
Molecular Mechanisms of Opioid-Induced Analgesia, Tolerance and Hyperalgesia
Tuan Trang
University of Calgary
The Spinal Determinants of Arthritis Pain: Role of Microglia and P2X7 Receptors
2013
Rebecca Seal
University of Pittsburgh
Mechanical Pain Circuits in the Dorsal Horn: A Role of VGLUT3
Reza Sharif Naeini
McGill University
Role of Parvalbumin Neurons in the Dorsal Horn Pain Circuits
2012
Sarah Ross
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Investigating the Neural Circuits of Itch and Pain
Michael Jankowski
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Molecular Mechanisms of Muscoloskeletal Pain after Ischemic Tissue Injury
2011
Edgar Romero-Sandoval
Wake Forest School of Medicine
Spinal Cord Mechanisms in the Resolution of Postoperative Pain
Yuan-Xiang Tao
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Discovery of a Large Native Non-Coding RNA and Its Involvement in Neuropathic Pain
2010
Diana Bautista
University of California, Berkeley
Molecular Mechanisms of Somatosensory Mechanotransduction
Seena Ajit
Drexel University College of Medicine
MicroRNA Regulation and Its Utility as Biomarkers in Neuropathic Pain
2009
Theodore J. Price
University of Texas at Dallas
Translations Regulation as a Novel Paradigm for Understanding Nociceptor Sensitization and Developing Analgesic Targets
Steven A. Prescott
University of Toronto
Pain Processing by Neural Networks: A Critical Link between the Molecular and Perceptual Changes
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