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PSR Postdoctoral Fellowships

Craig H. Neilsen Foundation

Overview:

This funding is for postdoctoral training in psychosocial methods and specialization in the field of SCI to prepare the applicant (Fellow) to move into an independent research position. Fellowships directly support the Fellow while they are mentored (or co-mentored) by an investigator experienced in psychosocial research as it pertains to SCI. The proposal should be written by the Fellow, with input from the mentor(s).

Key criteria include how the training and environment provided by the mentor(s) will enhance the Fellow’s research career and qualifications, as well as the scientific merit of the proposal and its relevance to the Neilsen Foundation’s mission. A full and current review of relevant literature should be presented as rationale for the proposed study. Activities such as focus groups should be justified based on a demonstrated gap in current literature.

Funding for the two-year Fellowship is up to $100,000/year for a maximum total cost of $200,000.

Details for PSR Postdoctoral Fellowships Funding Category:

• Fellows should have attained their doctoral degree or an equivalent terminal professional degree by no later than two months after the FGA submission deadline. o If the degree is expected within two months after the FGA submission date, a letter from the thesis advisor addressing the likelihood of degree completion is required. This letter should be uploaded as a separate PDF file in the "Proposal Narrative & Other Attachments" section in ProposalCentral.

• Fellows cannot have held their terminal professional degree longer than five years prior to the FGA submission deadline. For Fellows with a MD degree, the five-year period begins after completion of their residency program. Unique circumstances related to this criterion must be communicated to the Neilsen Foundation for approval prior to submission.

• Training Plan: A two-page Training Plan is required when submitting a FGA (see instructions in ProposalCentral). For LOIs, it is strongly recommended that a brief description of training and mentorship be included.

• Postdoctoral Fellowships are intended to directly support the Fellow. The proposal should be written by the Fellow with input from the mentor(s). Allowable budget categories include:

• Personnel Costs: Fellowship budgets should cover 100% of the Fellow’s salary plus fringe benefits up to 50% of salary. No funding for other personnel (e.g., technical staff) is allowed.

• Non-Personnel Costs: These costs should support the advancement of the Fellow’s career in SCI research. The Neilsen Foundation will allow up to $35,000 over the course of the two-year grant for non-personnel costs, provided the Fellow’s salary and fringe (as noted above) are fully covered and total costs do not exceed $100,000 per year. It is expected that the mentor(s) will make available necessary general office equipment and supplies; however, funds for travel, publication costs, supplies, and/or equipment can be expended in the categories listed below.

o Travel: Support for conference travel is limited to $6,000 during the grant term. Adequate justification is required for additional professional development-related travel for the Fellow. Travel for other personnel is not allowed.

o Training/Education: Appropriate educational expenses for the Fellow, such as relevant coursework and SCI professional memberships, can be included.

o Publications: Publication costs are allowed where the Fellow is a contributing author. Allowable costs include open-access fees; all publications resulting from Neilsen Foundation grant funding should be publicly available.

o Supplies: All items other than those described below in Equipment are allowed. A computing device or computer software is considered a supply if the acquisition cost is less than $5,000, regardless of the length of its useful life.

o Equipment: An item having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit is considered equipment. Requests should not exceed $10,000 for the two-year grant term. All requests must be justified and include a description of how the equipment will support the advancement of the Fellow’s career.

o Other Costs: Refer to Budget instructions in ProposalCentral and list under “Other.”

 Childcare costs are allowable up to $2,500 per year.

 Budget may include accommodations for a Fellow with a disability, which are not subject to the limit on non-personnel costs.

• Indirect Costs: The Neilsen Foundation does not allow indirect costs (i.e., administrative, overhead, per capita infrastructure costs, etc.) on its Postdoctoral Fellowships.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

The Foundation does not publicly publish a formal “success predictor score”, but the following factors are clear from application guides and program descriptions:

🧩 Mission Fit

Proposals must clearly align with the Foundation’s funding priorities, such as translational SCI research, psychosocial impact, independence programs, or clinical training.

🧬 Scientific & Programmatic Merit

Especially for SCIRTS and PSR research, proposals are reviewed for:

Scientific rigor and innovation

Translational potential (for research)

Feasibility and research design

Clear anticipated impact on SCI care or quality of life

🤝 Organizational Capacity

Applicants must demonstrate the capacity to administer funds effectively, operate the proposed program, or conduct the research competently.

👩‍🔬 Expert Peer Review

Full applications are typically reviewed by panels of external experts and Foundation staff, emphasizing quality and relevance.

🗓 Competitive Timeline

The review process can be lengthy (often 6–8 months from LOI to award). Preparation timing and responsiveness to guidelines can influence competitiveness.

📌 Summary

The Craig H. Neilsen Foundation funds spinal cord injury research and programs across diverse portfolios through a competitive LOI→FGA review process.

Success predictors are not formally published as scoring rubrics, but strong alignment with mission, scientific merit, organizational capacity, and expert review outcomes are key drivers of funding decisions.

Applicants must be registered nonprofits in the U.S. or Canada, and most reviews involve external scientific and programmatic evaluation.

Specialties

Psychology

Eligibility Requirements

The following applies to all funding categories:

• Applicants must have a doctoral degree or equivalent professional degree (e.g., PhD, MD, DVM). Postdoctoral applicants should follow instructions in the "PSR POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS” section regarding degree completion.

 Non-fellowship applicants must demonstrate appropriate experience to serve as an independent PI. The Neilsen Foundation encourages eligible PIs who represent a wide range of disciplines to apply; however, it is required that relevant SCI and psychosocial expertise be represented on the proposed research team.

• The grantee organization must be a nonprofit academic/research institution or rehabilitation facility located in the United States or Canada with the capability to conduct grant-funded research.

 The Applicant named in a grant application must be employed by and deemed eligible by the grantee organization to apply for a grant and is expected to be responsible for conduct of the research. The Applicant is not required to be a citizen of the United States or Canada.

 Each application must include the appropriate endorsement of an institutional official who is responsible for the administration of grant funds (hereafter known as the “Grants Administrator”).

• Neilsen Foundation grants are not awarded to individuals, private foundations, or non-functionally integrated Type III supporting organizations.

• A PI may submit only one application in each cycle in this portfolio (see PART 3, Section A., Concurrent Grants Across Neilsen Foundation Portfolios).

• The Neilsen Foundation does not recognize Co-Principal Investigators—if two or more investigators are working together on a research project, name only one as the Applicant; the other(s) should be listed as collaborator(s). Collaborators and/or consultants do not need to be affiliated with the same institution as the PI; a subcontract may be used to support a domestic or international collaborator or consultant.

• Multiple PIs from an institution may submit concurrent, independent applications in a given grant cycle. In such cases, each must be distinct, with non-overlapping Aims.

• The Neilsen Foundation discourages Postdoctoral Fellows and their mentor(s) from submitting concurrent applications with overlapping Aims to multiple funding categories within this portfolio.

• It may not be necessary to provide preliminary data. Neilsen Foundation funding may be sought to allow the Applicant to obtain data to establish a line of research if the proposal provides strong rationale (i.e., support from the literature or use in an indication other than SCI) that justifies testing the hypotheses with the proposed experimental design. However, if feasibility issues add an unacceptable risk of failure, reviewers may note that preliminary data to address this risk should have been provided. OTHER REQUIREMENTS AND CONSIDERATIONS

• All application materials and communications (including IRB/IACUC approvals) must be in English, and budgets must be in U.S. dollars.

• The Neilsen Foundation values inclusion and accessibility to foster equitable opportunities and diverse points of view, and encourages grantees to promote them within their organization and the communities they serve.

• Applicants should carefully review each funding category to ensure they meet the requirements before submitting a Letter of Intent (LOI).

• Annual funding for multi-year awards is contingent on acceptance of annual progress and expenditure reports. Acceptance of final research and final expenditure reports is required at the end of the grant term to receive final payment.

• Perceived or real conflicts of interest (e.g., company shareholder providing a device for a study or program) must be disclosed in both the LOI and FGA.

• The grantee organization retains title to Intellectual Property developed with this funding

• Human interventional studies funded by the Neilsen Foundation must be registered on ClinicalTrials.gov.

• Rigor, transparency, and reproducibility in research are fundamental to scientific progress. Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate how the proposed experimental design, methodology, and analysis ensure well-controlled and unbiased results (see Appendix 5). Applicants should address the rigor of the research upon which the proposed study is based.

 The Neilsen Foundation strongly encourages data sharing consistent with FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-useable) Data Principles (https://www.go-fair.org/fairprinciples/) and open access (see PART 2, Section C., Publication and Data Sharing). Grantees should describe plans to make all reports and datasets openly accessible no later than one year after publication and will be required in any future applications to provide links to all reports and datasets from funded studies.

• Childcare cost reimbursement should adhere to the Grantee’s institutional guidelines or, in the absence of such guidance, may include expenses for the care of children up to age 13, or children up to age 18 who are physically or mentally incapable of self-care. The Neilsen Foundation does not review the eligibility of dependents or caregivers.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: Craig H. Neilsen Foundation

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 18653 Ventura Blvd. #753 Tarzana, CA 91356

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