New Investigator Award FAQ

Yes; completion of the LOI form on the NIA submission portal is required. LOI will be subject to disciplinary review and evaluated based on the proposed objectives, aims and outcomes (please see the 2024 NIA Evaluation Criteria for more information.) Top scoring LOI will be considered by the NIA Review Committee to determine those LOI which will be invited to submit full proposals using scores, reviewer comments, and the disciplinary and research mix of the applicant pool. Only full proposals that were invited to submit following the LOI will be reviewed.

LOIs and applications must be submitted through the online submission portal. A link to the portal can be found on the AACP NIA website when the application cycle opens in September 2023. Applications will not be accepted on the submission portal until after LOI have been reviewed and invitations for full proposal submission received. Before proceeding, please carefully read the NIA Application Instructions webpage. If you have any further questions, please contact us at NIA@aacp.org.

Yes; you may revise your application as many times as you wish until the deadline, before you click the "Submit" button. After the application deadline, no revisions or corrections will be accepted. To submit a revised application prior to the deadline, please delete all previously uploaded applications, leaving only your final application in the submission portal. Please be sure to check your uploaded file to ensure its accuracy and completeness.

No; only qualified new faculty investigators from ACPE accredited colleges or schools of pharmacy with Accredited or Candidate status are eligible to apply.

No; only faculty investigators from U.S. colleges and schools of pharmacy that are regular institutional members are eligible to apply.

No; the AACP NIA is open only for an early career faculty investigator who is attempting to secure his or her first extramural grant award as a PI.

Yes; your total years of employment at colleges or schools of pharmacy as an assistant professor would count towards your five-year eligibility as a new investigator. The period of time in which you were not employed in an academic position does not count towards your eligibility window.

Yes; your eligibility window begins upon your initial appointment as an assistant professor.

No; only extramural PI grants awarded to you while you are a faculty investigator will disqualify you.

It all depends on the nature of your appointment. If you have a full-time University appointment, your salary support covers your research endeavors as proposed in the NIA application, and your college is committed to your faculty development plan including research scholarship, then you are eligible. However, if you are a faculty paid 100% by a senior faculty’s research grant, then you are ineligible to apply for the NIA because you are supposed to work full-time on your sponsor’s research project. If you are a University-affiliated hospital pharmacist/faculty whose full responsibility is to provide clinical service and teach students and your research time is not covered by your college, then you are ineligible. For a Research (or Clinical) Assistant Professor to apply, we require the submission of an appointment letter describing how your job requirements are allocated in terms of %FTE and how they are funded. We also require a letter from your Department Chair or Dean indicating that your research time is protected and paid by university funds for you to pursue an independent research project.

An experienced researcher is required to serve as a mentor to you but is not a PI on your project. The applicant must initiate a totally independent project (your idea, not someone else’s). You may collaborate with another eligible new investigator as a Co-PI on a joint research project; however, the combined maximum budget is still $11,000. Be sure to specify the individual roles that the PI and Co-PI play in the application and an agreement letter should be submitted by the Co-PI. If funded, the PI will be the contact person for correspondence, for receiving the entire award, and for submitting the final project and financial report. The PI’s institution is responsible for making financial arrangement between the PI and Co-PI through contract agreement. Furthermore, if the submitted NIA proposal is funded, the Co-PI may not be eligible for future NIA application.

This is the biographic sketch of the applicant, so you should only list the publications that you have produced as an author or co-author. If your list is long, then list only those relevant to this application. Other references that you cite to support your research project should be included in the Research Narrative Section.

No; please provide only the information requested on the application forms. Do not submit an NIH biosketch as part of your full application package.

No; the NIA does not allow any type of monetary compensation for the PI. Any request for major budgetary reallocation after the award is funded requires AACP approval.

No; all budget items should be directly associated with the specific project aims and research data collection as proposed in the application.

No; only travel associated with data collection or analysis or to present the NIA research findings at the AACP Annual Meeting (up to $1,000) may be included in the budget. The PI should plan to attend and present the research findings at the following year’s AACP Annual Meeting when the project is completed, final project and financial reports are submitted, and a poster abstract is submitted before the deadline. 

No; basic computer and electronic devices that are required for your job performance, including those used for research, should be provided by your university.

Yes; NIA funds may be used for the purchase of software that is required for collection or analysis of data.

Yes; you may do so, but you must include that information on your budget plan in the application so that reviewers will not question on how you are able to complete the project, if the proposed project aims and budget do not match.

Yes; be sure to indicate your submission is a resubmission in your LOI. In addition, please include a page at the beginning of the Research Narrative labeled Introduction in your application that clearly describes how you addressed the shortfalls of the previous application and how you revised the new submission.

No; submission of additional materials (figures, tables, surveys, publications) as appendices is not permitted. Applications containing materials submitted beyond the 6-page narrative will not be reviewed. A copy of detailed survey questionnaires is unnecessary; key information contained in the survey may be described in the Methods section with appropriate references.

Yes; references cited must be included in the 6-page limit. Cite only the most relevant references related to your proposed project. 

No; preliminary data are not required. However, it is highly encouraged that you include preliminary data if you have them.

Describe your methods in enough detail to show reviewers that you fully understand the procedures that you intend to use. If a method has already been published, simply give the reference.

Yes; allocating the narrative space and order according to the evaluation criteria would be helpful. Evaluation criteria can be found on the AACP NIA website for reference.

A dean’s letter is required only if the applicant is a full-time research- or clinical-track faculty (see eligibility section above). It is optional but highly encouraged for a mentor to provide a letter describing the mentoring plans for the applicant.

No; final IRB/IACUC approval is not needed by the application deadline.  However, your research protocol must be submitted to your IRB/IACUC by the application deadline. An electronic copy of your IRB/IACUC submission cover letter must be included with your application package. An electronic copy of the final IRB/IACUC approval letter must be received by AACP prior to any award being made (email to NIA@aacp.org). If your proposal is chosen for an award, but the required approval letters have not been received, the proposal may be removed from consideration or funding may be delayed.

Yes; as of 2019, electronic signatures are accepted in addition to wet signatures. The approval signatures certify that all of the information contained in the application is truthful and accurate, and that the proposed research is aligned with your institution’s mission.

To some degree, yes; the title and content in the LOI may be modified for improvement, but not to the extent that it is a totally different project. A significant change may cause a delay in reviewing your proposal or it may be reviewed by someone who is qualified to review your project based on the LOI but not your changed project.