In supporting basic research, the AAF Research Program seeks to break new ground. To this end, we are particularly interested in attracting investigators from outside the field to apply their expertise to the study of asthma. Prior research in asthma is not required. Investigators from within the field are eligible for awards, but they must demonstrate that their proposed work represents a departure from their current and past research. Because the Program seeks to develop new paths in asthma research, innovation and risk are strongly encouraged. The Program supports basic research at two levels:

Senior Investigator Awards

Senior Investigators will have well-established research programs and an international reputation for their research. They will usually hold a full-time academic appointment as Professor, Associate Professor, or the equivalent.

$750,000 (U.S.), $250,000 per year for three years, beginning July 1, 2010.

Early Excellence Awards

Qualified Investigators will have already established an independent research program. They will usually hold a full-time academic appointment as an Assistant Professor, early Associate Professor, or the equivalent, and will have national-level, independent funding. Early Excellence Awards are not intended as start-up funds for investigators at the outset of their careers. Rather, they are intended to support investigators who have demonstrated exceptional early accomplishment as independent investigators, permitting the expansion of their work into the field of asthma.

$450,000 (U.S.), $150,000 per year for three years, beginning July 1, 2010.

Nature of work to be supported. The proposed work should be directed towards uncovering basic mechanisms in the pathogenesis of asthma. We wish to support work from a broad range of investigative fields. Studies may involve laboratory or clinical investigation, including genetic and epidemiological studies, but the Program will not sponsor therapeutic trials. Studies involving human materials must be approved and governed by the sponsoring institution.

Eligible institutions. Investigators from nonprofit research organizations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Sweden or the United Kingdom may apply.