Application Process
Please prepare a single PDF file (a Microsoft Word document is acceptable if you cannot prepare a PDF) containing the following elements in the order shown:
The application should be sent as an e-mail attachment to the following e-mail address:
upload.Applica.7hli5zc0j0@u.box.com
Applications must be received no later than Tuesday, October 1, 2013. Until the deadline, applications can be revised by e-mailing a new application with the identical file name. Receipt of your application will be acknowledged immediately by a return e-mail. In addition, following the receipt deadline all applicants will receive notification that their application has been received and is being processed. A maximum of 30 students can be accommodated in this year's training program. Applicants not offered admission may reapply in subsequent years.
Questions? Contact Anne Mercer by e-mail at amercer@asent.org or by phone at 860-586-7570 x205.
- Cover page with your name, title (including academic rank, if relevant), department, and institution; your mailing address, telephone number, e-mail address; and the title of your proposed drug discovery and development project. Please use the fillable PDF available for download here.
- Brief drug discovery project proposal exercise. Describe a drug discovery and development project that is of interest to you in a maximum of 2 pages.This brief synopsis should include discussion of the project background and its rationale, specific aims, and relevant literature citations. Figures may be included but are not required. Please abide by font (11 points or larger) and margin (0.5 inch) specifications that apply to NIH grant applications. The proposal may describe a project that arises from your current work (for example, an ongoing project in basic or clinical neuroscience) or it may be a new concept developed specifically for this application. No preliminary data is expected or required. Your proposed project will serve as the basis for several active engagement activities in which you will participate during the training program.Tips on how to prepare a successful application: This course teaches the principles of neurotherapeutics drug discovery and development. Do not simply re-purpose a basic science grant application. Successful applications will discuss a specific unmet therapeutic need and a strategy to identify new drugs that could potentially benefit patients. Generally, an in vitro test system or animal model to identify lead candidates will be available, or you will already have identified pre-existing lead molecules of some type even if they are not optimized for the purpose. You don’t need to demonstrate familiarity with the process of drug discovery and development; you will learn this process in the course. This course is focused on the discovery of traditional small molecules. It will be less useful if your project seeks to develop a biologic (protein therapy, monoclonal antibody, gene therapy, etc). Therefore, preference will be given to applicant’s whose project will seek to discover or develop a small molecule therapy. (The course may be expanded in future years to include training in biologics development.) The course does not teach principles of clinical trials; your application should not focus on research with human subjects
- NIH format biographical sketch (as described here), 4 pages maximum as per NIH rules. In the personal statement section briefly discuss your academic preparation and research experience and include a description of the reason you would like to participate in this course and your long-term goals.
- Brief letter approving your participation. The letter should be from your department chair (if you are a faculty member) or from your supervisor (if you are a post-doctoral fellow, research associate, graduate student or if you hold a similar type of title).
The application should be sent as an e-mail attachment to the following e-mail address:
upload.Applica.7hli5zc0j0@u.box.com
Applications must be received no later than Tuesday, October 1, 2013. Until the deadline, applications can be revised by e-mailing a new application with the identical file name. Receipt of your application will be acknowledged immediately by a return e-mail. In addition, following the receipt deadline all applicants will receive notification that their application has been received and is being processed. A maximum of 30 students can be accommodated in this year's training program. Applicants not offered admission may reapply in subsequent years.
Questions? Contact Anne Mercer by e-mail at amercer@asent.org or by phone at 860-586-7570 x205.
