Next Deadline:
5:00p.m. Central Time, Thursday, August 15, 2024
Grant Period:
January 1 – December 31, 2025
View the grant application guidelines.
Note: Discovery Grants formerly were called “Regular Grants.”
About the Grant:
Each year AHRF typically funds four to ten Discovery Grants for studies that investigate various aspects of hearing and balance disorders related to the inner ear. Applicants may request up to $50,000 for one year of research. Grants are paid in one lump sum in January in the year after the application deadline. Priority is given to investigators early in their careers who need seed funds to generate results and data that can be used to support applications for larger grants (i.e., NIH grants) in the future.
The Discovery Grant now encompasses the Foundation’s special interests of Causes of Sudden Hearing Loss and Meniere’s Disease. As a result, funding opportunities for these special interest topics are the same as AHRF funding for other hearing and balance topics.
Grant funds may only be used for direct costs, including salaries of technical and supporting staff, equipment related to the research, and supplies. Note that the cost for salaries plus fringe benefits cannot be more than 80% of the direct costs. Funding may not be used for the salary of the principal investigator, travel, conference attendance, educational costs, or indirect costs.
Depending on funds available, grant amounts occasionally may be adjusted at the discretion of AHRF. Our goal is to fund as many promising, novel projects as feasible.
Eligibility Requirements for AHRF Regular Grants:
Applicants must hold an MD, PhD, AuD, or equivalent degree(s) and be associated with a university or hospital in the United States.
Research Topics:
Proposals should relate to the hearing or balance functions of the ear. Both basic and clinical studies may be proposed that investigate aspects of the auditory and vestibular systems including but not limited to genetics, neurotology, anatomy, auditory processing, molecular and cellular biology, therapeutic studies, and investigations of current or experimental devices (i.e., cochlear implants).
AHRF donors have given special support for research that explores Meniere’s disease (mechanisms, causes, or treatments) and the causes or mechanisms of sudden hearing loss. Proposals that address these areas of interest will receive special consideration during the review process.
Application, Review, and Reporting:
Proposals are reviewed by the AHRF Research Committee in October and by the AHRF Board in November; applicants are notified of the status of their grants soon in late November. Proposals are evaluated based on criteria including novelty, significance, relevance to the mission of AHRF, feasibility, investigator’s prior work, approach, statistical analysis/outcome measures, and budget justification. Comments are not provided to applicants.
Grant recipients need to submit progress reports by the end of each April of the year the grant was awarded. Reports may be included on the AHRF website and/or in its Soundings newsletter. Recipients also must notify AHRF in advance of any publication of their research funded by the Foundation. Recipients should notify AHRF if any aspect of their funded research is reported in the media. It is our goal to highlight the results of your funded investigations.
Recipients are required to submit a final report of their research by the end of January after the completion of their funded year of research.
No-cost extensions of research past the funded year may be granted based on approval of the Research Committee.