Veterinary Pharmacology Research Foundation Grant

Background

The Veterinary Pharmacology Research Foundation (VPRF) and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) are non-profit organizations that have partnered to fund research grants with a focus on veterinary pharmacology. This funding will support research into new or currently approved medications for combating diseases and conditions of companion and food animals as well as projects that ensure the safety of food products from treated livestock. These areas have historically been underfunded by traditional granting agencies.

Eligibility for Veterinary Pharmacology and Pharmacokinetic Grants

Any clinician or scientist with an interest in veterinary pharmacology is eligible to serve as Principal Investigator. Collaboration with pharmacology researchers who are members or student members of the American Academy of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics as well as members or student members of the American Veterinary Medical Association is strongly encouraged.

Grant Summary

Two types of grant applications will be considered each year: Veterinary Pharmacology proposals for up to $30,000 and Veterinary Pharmacokinetic proposals for up to $15,000.

Veterinary Pharmacology Grant: Submitted proposals should address one or more of the following aspects of veterinary medicine:

• Studies focused on evaluating the safety and effectiveness of novel or existing drug therapies for veterinary species
• Developing and validating models of animal diseases or conditions to evaluate drug effectiveness
• Ensuring that a safe food supply is not compromised by drug treatment
• Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) studies to understand the relationship between drug exposure and drug effect or safety
• Studies to evaluate mitigation of antimicrobial resistance in veterinary species

Veterinary Pharmacokinetic Grant:

Studies focused on descriptive pharmacokinetic (PK) studies in veterinary species that will help define dosing regimens or enable future drug effectiveness evaluations or clinical trials

Applicants may request up to the total amount for a period not to exceed two years. All grant recipients will be required to submit a final summary report within three months after the last funded date of the project.

About the Veterinary Pharmacology Research Foundation

The Veterinary Pharmacology Research Foundation was founded in 2007 by the governing bodies of the American Academy of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics (AAVPT) and the American College of Veterinary Clinical Pharmacology (ACVCP).

By combining resources, these organizations were able to focus on funding for:

Growth and innovation in the development of new veterinary therapeutics
• Evaluation of drugs for treatment of animal diseases
• Increasing the number of trained researchers in veterinary pharmacology

To date, VPRF has funded nearly $500,000 in research funding and awarded 28 research grants.

For more information visit https://www.vprfonline.org/.

Important Dates

Call for Proposals:	July 15, 2024
Deadline Date:	September 15, 2024
Decision Date:	January 15, 2025

Spectrum of Care Clinical Research Program

Improving canine health and welfare is one of the Stanton Foundation's primary missions. Within canine health, our primary interest is ensuring that quality veterinary care is available to dog owners of modest economic means.

Research suggests that one primary barrier to more affordable care is that veterinarians have limited evidence for cost-effective diagnostic and treatment options to offer when clients have limited financial resources. This is particularly true with early career veterinarians, who have limited experience in the general practice setting. They may perceive great risk in offering their patients choices other than "the best" when the client cannot afford the expense of this option.

The Stanton Foundation's Spectrum of Care Clinical Research Program aims to support clinical research that will expand the number of evidence-based affordable care options readily useable by primary care veterinarians. This research may focus on diagnostics, procedures, or therapeutic protocols. The ultimate goal is to allow the veterinarian to responsibly serve a more economically diverse client group while maintaining an emotionally and financially rewarding practice.

The Stanton Foundation Canine Spectrum of Care Clinical Trials Grant Guidelines:

Pre-proposal Guidelines

To be respectful of a potential applicant’s time, the Foundation has a two-step application process.

Step 1 consists of a 3-4 page pre-proposal (initial letter) describing the research idea, which includes:

• Protocol to be tested and research hypothesis (Title or 1-2 sentences);
• Explanation of why the proposed protocol will allow veterinarians to practice more broadly along the spectrum of care;
• Description of the protocol most commonly offered as “best option” to treat a presentation in primary care;
• Estimated cost to the veterinarian and to the client (may be a range) of “best option” protocol;
• Description of the lower-cost protocol to be tested in comparison;
• Estimated cost to the veterinarian and to the client (may be a range) of lower-cost protocol; please include up-front capital costs as well as cost of supplies and labor in your cost comparison analysis. A worksheet to guide financial comparison data to be summarized in the preproposal is provided here.
• Any prior research in the area of which you are aware.
• An overview of the proposed experimental design
• The expected timeline from funding to final report
• Two letters of support from veterinarians in primary care attesting to the potential usefulness of the lower-cost protocol being studied.
• Resume or Brief CV (1-3 pages). 

Grant Summary

• One grant will be considered for up to $150,000 in funding.
• Application window: October 1 to December 1, 2024 (pre-proposals)
• Grantee notification: Invitations for full proposals by January 15 / full proposals are due March 1,2025. Final decisions will be made by April 1st.

Eligibility:

• Any practicing veterinarian, or team of veterinarians, is welcome to apply.
• Application criteria:
• Canine centric. While the research may benefit other companion animals, dogs must be the primary potential beneficiaries of a successful trial.
• Broad applicability. The idea must deal with diseases and conditions that are commonly seen in primary care practice either regionally or nationally.
• Immediate applicability. If the trial is successful, must produce results that are immediately usable by primary care practitioners. (Specifically, we do not consider proposals for products still in the development phase.)
• Financially sustainable for private practitioner. While all successful proposals will test cost-reducing protocols, the protocol must, if adopted in a standard clinic setting, allow the primary care veterinarian to generate revenue over total expense specific to that protocol.
• Time horizon. Elapsed time from start to finish of the project must be no more than 24 months.

Process

1. Register

Click on the "Register" button located on the right side of the page to complete and submit the registration form.

2. Log in

Login to the application with your email and password.

3. Create

Create your online application, filling in mandatory fields and uploading required documents.

4. Save

Before the submission deadline, your application can be saved as a DRAFT until all the required information is completed. As each section is completed, you will see a appear in the category tab when the application is saved. Please ensure that all attachments are in Acrobat PDF format. At any time, you can download and print your application by clicking on the icon in the Application Summary section.

5. Submit

On completion, submit your Application as FINAL. Download and print a copy of your application for your records by clicking on the icon in the Application Summary section in the right column. Note: If you need to make changes to either a DRAFT or FINAL application, you may update and resave as FINAL at any time prior to the submission deadline.

6. Acknowledgement of Receipt

Upon submission of the final proposal, the Principal Investigator will receive a confirmation email from AVMF.