CHEST/ALA Guideline Implementation Research Grant for COPD Management

• CHEST membership is required at the time of application.
• Applicants at all career stages may apply, with special consideration given to young investigators and applicants in early stages of their career (completed training within the past seven years).
• Teams are encouraged to apply but must have a representative to serve as the Principal Investigator (PI) who will apply as an individual, be responsible for the award, and receive recognition, if awarded.
• Investigators at not-for-profit organizations and institutions are eligible to apply.

The following individuals are not eligible to apply for CHEST-supported grants:

• Active CHEST and ALA grantees, including those with active no cost extension (NCE) requests
• Members of the CHEST Board of Regents or Board of Advisors, as well as their family members.

• Applications and application components (including attachments) must be submitted in English.
• Applications and all required documents must be submitted prior to the deadline via the Grants Management System for consideration.
• No emailed or mailed proposals will be accepted.
• Current members of the CHEST Board of Regents or Board of Advisors are not permitted to write letters of support.

Application components to be addressed within the Grants Management System:

• Research plan (≤750 words for each question and component below)
  • Importance/Innovation
  • Goals/Aims
  • Research Approach – include study design, implementation strategies, implementation outcomes, analysis plan, and sustainability plan for after funding period has ended
  • Team/Individual Expertise and Resources
  • Anticipated Challenges and Solutions
• Community impact (≤750 words for each question and component below)
  • Community Identity
  • Community Needs
  • Community Impact
• Project timeline (≤750 words)
• Lay abstract (≤300 words) – do not include any proprietary or use confidential information, as this may be used for promotional purposes

Required document uploads:

• Bibliography supporting project research
• Budget (download the budget template)
• Current curriculum vitae (CV) for all key personnel – National Institutes of Health (NIH) biosketch or general CV accepted
• Three support letters
  • Note: Current members of the CHEST Board of Regents or Board of Advisors are not permitted to write letters of support.
  • Two from your institution
  • Young Investigator or Early Career – One from your supervisor or mentor, including a mentorship plan relevant to the project
    • “Young Investigator” and “Early Career” are defined as residents/fellows/other health care researchers with relevant experience or practicing physicians who have completed their postgraduate training within the last seven years.
  • Later career stages – One from senior staff to whom you report
• Human subjects involvement
  • Institutional Review Board (IRB) status – IRB approval must be submitted prior to receipt of first grant payment.
    • CHEST may rescind award if grantee does not receive IRB approval within three months of award.
• Current W9 for your institution

• Only direct costs will be allowed. Indirect costs are not allowed.
  • PI salaries will not be supported. For a complete list of budget allowances, please see the FAQs.
• It is viewed favorably for the application to indicate institutional commitment to the project and to include fiscal support in addition to the grant funds being sought.

Peer Review: Applications determined by administrative review to be eligible for funding will go through a rigorous external peer-review process. Factors considered when reviewing applications include:

• Significance and Community Impact
• Innovation
• Approach and Feasibility
• Investigators and Team
• Timeline
• Budget and Resource Allocation

Tobacco Use: ALA will not provide research or other funding to investigators who have received direct funding or funding from agencies of the tobacco and e‐cigarette industry.

Financial Disclosure: ALA applicants/awardees must comply with the provisions of the US Department of Health and Human Services regulations on financial conflicts of interest (42 CFR part 50, subpart F) to the same extent as each would were the research funded by NIH. In general, the purpose of the conflict of interest policy is to ensure that there is no possibility that an applicant or their family will receive financial gain as a result of ALA-supported research.

• Provide interim progress reports on key activities, milestones, and expenditures with the following cadence:
  • Six months after the start of the grant period
  • 12 months after the start of the grant period 
  • 24 months after the start of the grant period 
  • Additional progress reports may be requested
• Provide final written report on the project addressing research and results 90 days after programs end (December of that calendar year)
• Provide final budget reconciliation of project funds .
• Return any unspent funds to CHEST and ALA
• Submit the results from your project to the CHEST Annual Meeting for presentation within a year following grant completion
• Submit full project results to the CHEST^® journal
• Maintain CHEST membership for the duration of the grant project, including NCE requests
• Become active in supporting CHEST's and ALA’s philanthropic efforts, from sharing your story to help attract future grant applications, to volunteering your time to support CHEST activities