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Sleep Research Society Foundation Small Research Grant Program

American Academy of Sleep Medicine

The AASM Foundation is partnering with the Sleep Research Society Foundation (SRS Foundation) to fund small research grants in sleep research. The Small Research Grant Program is designed to support the research of trainees and early career investigators who otherwise do not have the institutional resources to support new studies and/or do not have a sustained record of external funding. The SRS Foundation Small Research Grant Program is intended to provide seed funding to support training and research to ultimately allow individuals to successfully apply for or complete career development grants (e.g. K-awards).

Funding Information

The Small Research Grant Program is intended to provide seed funding to support training and research to ultimately allow individuals to successfully apply for or complete career development grants (e.g., K-awards).

Funds may be used to compensate participants (online or in-person), purchase supplies, purchase small equipment, run lab tests and assays, and/or pay research assistants. Funds may not be used for salary or travel to conferences, and no indirect costs will be granted to the awardee’s institution.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

Based on the expectations of a medical-specialty foundation plus what tends to work in sleep-medicine funding contexts, successful AASM applications typically show the following features:

1. Direct Relevance to Sleep Medicine / Sleep Disorders / Sleep Health

Projects must address a clear sleep-related question: e.g. sleep disorders (insomnia, apnea, circadian disorders, restless legs, narcolepsy), sleep’s effect on health (cardiovascular, neurocognitive, metabolism), diagnostics or therapeutics in sleep medicine, quality of care or access — not peripheral topics.

Clinical relevance or translational potential — bridging bench, clinic, or population — is strongly favored.

Predictor: The tighter and more explicit the sleep-medicine focus, the better.

2. Feasible, Well-Defined Aims (Given Limited / Pilot-Grant Funding)

Since many AASM Foundation grants are relatively small or intended as seed/pilot funding:

Proposals should have 1–3 focused aims (not overly ambitious).

Methodology should fit within the likely timeline (often 1–2 years) and funding level.

Deliverables should be clearly specified — e.g., pilot data, feasibility metrics, preliminary outcomes, groundwork for larger funding.

Predictor: Focused, realistic, achievable studies (rather than large, multi-aim projects) tend to score higher.

3. Potential for Future Impact or Further Funding

Because AASM-supported projects often serve as stepping stones, reviewers look for:

A clear explanation how the pilot or initial study could lead to larger trials or independent funding (NIH, larger grants)— i.e. a “pathway to sustainability.”

Translational value: potential for improved patient care, diagnostics, health-service interventions, or guiding larger epidemiological/clinical studies in sleep.

Predictor: Demonstrated future potential improves competitiveness.

4. Investigator Track Record, Institutional Support & (if Early Career) Mentorship / Training Plan

For early-career applicants, having a mentor, institutional resources (sleep lab, patient access, data infrastructure), and protected time helps.

For established investigators: prior relevant work, publications, or preliminary data add credibility.

The proposal should reflect that the lab or clinical site has capacity to execute the study (staff, IRB support, patient recruitment if needed, facilities).

Predictor: Strong institutional and investigator support increases feasibility and trust in delivery.

5. Clear Methodology & Rigor — Especially for Clinical or Translational Studies

Given the complexity of sleep research (sleep recordings, patient variability, comorbidities), applications should show rigorous design:

Appropriate sample size, inclusion/exclusion criteria, control groups (if relevant)

Validated measurement tools (questionnaires, polysomnography, actigraphy, biologic assays, etc.)

If human studies: clear plan for ethics, informed consent, safety, data protection

Realistic data analysis / statistical plan

Predictor: Methodologically sound, realistic design improves scoring; vague or poorly planned methods reduce chances.

6. Clarity, Professional Writing & Logic of Proposal (Significance → Aims → Methods → Impact)

Because many reviewers may come from clinical or mixed backgrounds, clarity in writing and structured proposals help.

Significance section should clearly articulate why the study matters for sleep medicine or public health.

Aims should follow logically from background.

Methods should match the aims.

Impact or future direction should be plausible, not vague.

Predictor: Well-written, logically coherent applications stand out — especially with limited funding competition.

7. For Pilot / Early-Career Grants: Realistic Budget & Efficient Use of Funds

Given modest budget caps, funds should be allocated efficiently — e.g., data collection, participant recruitment, analysis — not expensive equipment or over-ambitious resource requests.

Justify each budget line in context of deliverables.

Predictor: Lean, justified budgets aligned with scope tend to succeed; over-budget, under-justified proposals risk being rejected.

8. Relevance to Broader Sleep-Medicine Field or Public Health

Applications that:

Address major burden (e.g. sleep apnea, insomnia, sleep and chronic disease, underserved populations)

Offer potential for improved clinical guidelines, new diagnostics, better access, or public-health benefit

Include population-based, epidemiologic, or health-services research

often get prioritized over narrow “academic-only” basic science.

Predictor: Public-health relevance and scalability strengthens proposal value.

🎯 What This Means — If You Plan to Apply to AASM Foundation

If you plan to submit an application to AASM Foundation, you should:

Make sure your research question is directly about sleep medicine or sleep-related health.

Focus on realistic, modest-scope aims suitable for pilot/foundation funding.

Show how your project can lead to future work (clinical trials, larger studies, external funding).

Ensure you have institutional infrastructure and investigator support, facilities or patient access if needed.

Build a rigorous, clear methodological plan, with ethics in place if human subjects.

Use a lean, justified budget, aligned with expected deliverables.

Write a clear, logically structured proposal with compelling significance and potential impact.

Specialties

Sleep Medicine

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must be a member in good standing of the Sleep Research Society, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, or hold a dual membership. The applicant must also be:

- registered in an undergraduate or graduate program, OR
- within 10 years of obtaining a terminal degree (e.g., PhD, MD, DO) and being at the Assistant Professor level (or equivalent) or earlier career stage at the submission deadline. If the nominee is beyond 10 years of obtaining a terminal degree, a description of the circumstances (e.g., clinical training, maternity/paternity leave or care of dependents) under which the nominee took time away from research within 10 years of obtaining their terminal degree should be included.

These grants are available to all levels of trainees (undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs) and early career investigators and are intended to fund relatively inexpensive studies. These studies can support thesis development, collection of pilot data, proposals for early career extramural funding or completion of early career grants. The maximum that may be requested is $5,000.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: American Academy of Sleep Medicine

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 2510 North Frontage Road Darien, IL 60561 Phone: (630) 737-9700 Fax: (630) 737-9790 foundation@aasm.org

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