Our Current Grants

I. Infrastructure/Registry Research Grant in Any Area of Pediatric Neurology

This competitive grant is directed at developing a new multicenter infrastructure, (registries and networks), or enhancing the scientific scope of an existing multicenter infrastructure program to enable advancement of clinical and health-services research.

We are interested in all areas of pediatric neurology, although we have a special interest in pediatric epilepsy. We prefer research projects that provide opportunities for training and/or mentorship of young investigators.

Mentorship is a key value for PERF^®.  Therefore, every invited application must provide a mentoring plan*.  Early-stage investigators (ESI)* who serve as principal investigators (PIs) on PERF^® grants must demonstrate that their mentorship plan provides the necessary support for them to execute the proposed study.  Established investigators must demonstrate the appropriate skills to lead the multicenter study.  They must explain in their mentorship plan how they will mentor early career investigators (e.g., assistant professors, instructors, fellows, or people who are new to clinical research) involved in the study. 

*Per NIH An ESI[1] is (1) an individual who is within 10 years of completing their terminal degree or end of post-graduate clinical training, whichever date is later, and (2) as a Principal Investigator has not received an independent grant (e.g. R01) from NIH or equivalent major funding from another funding organization.

We look forward to evaluating your exciting and innovative projects.

*For more information about Mentorship Plans click HERE.

Policies

• Funding Amount and Duration
  The PERF^® Grant for Infrastructure/Registry (I/R) Research is up to 3 years of support for up to $300,000.00.  Grants are for $100,000 per year for each of three years with $10,000 withheld from Year 1 payment. The funding begins September 1.
• PERF^® does not pay indirect costs on its research grants.
• PERF^® utilizes the NIH salary cap for the infrastructure/registry awards.  For the current cap click here.
• A researcher may be a PI of only one PERF^®-funded research grant at a time.  Concurrent work as a co-investigator of more than one PERF^®-funded research grant is allowed.
• A yearly interim scientific and financial reports are required by October 1. Forms are provided by PERF^®.
• 10% of each payment is held back and paid upon an on-time receipt of annual scientific and financial report that is acceptable to the PERF^® Board.
• A no cost extension request can be arranged, but in general should be avoided and may result in forfeiture of the final 10% payment.
• INTERNATIONAL SITES: PERF^® grant PIs must hold appointment at a U.S./Canada institution; while a proposal may include international programs or sites, the grant funds are intended to support research activities conducted by sites in the U.S. or Canada.

Eligibility

• The applicant should be a pediatric neurologist (MD, MD/PhD, or equivalent) at any stage in his or her career or a PhD working in an area relevant to pediatric neurology.
• The applicant must be a legal resident of the United States or Canada and may only submit one letter of intent (LOI) per grant cycle.
• For a PERF^® infrastructure/registry grant, at least one child neurologist must be a member of the core study team (e.g. as PI, co-PI, or co-investigator).

Scroll down the page or click here to redirect to information about the grant process and key dates.

II. Career Development Grant

PERF^® supports two opportunities for early-stage investigators (ESI). These are the PERF^®-CNS Elterman Research Grant and PERF^®-CNS Shields Research Grant.  An ESI is an individual who is within 10 years of completing their terminal degree or end of post-graduate clinical training, whichever date is later, and as a Principal Investigator has not received an independent grant (e.g. R01) from NIH or equivalent major funding from another funding organization.

PERF^®-CNS Elterman Research Grant
This research grant supports clinical or basic science research by a child neurologist or developmental pediatrician early in his/her academic career. The selected investigator will receive a $150,000 grant of $75,000 per year for two years.

Eligibility Criteria

1. The applicant completed training in child neurology or neurodevelopment disabilities in an accredited program no more than ten (10) years prior to application.
2. There are no citizenship requirements however the research must be conducted in the United States or Canada.
3. The applicant is a Junior or Active member of the Child Neurology Society.
4. Currently funded research is disqualified except for an NIH KL2, K12, T32, or R25 grant.
5. Research does not need to focus on epilepsy.
6. INTERNATIONAL SITES:  The applicant must hold appointment at a U.S./Canada institution; while a proposal may include international programs or sites, the grant funds are intended to support research activities conducted by sites in the U.S. or Canada.

PERF^®-CNS Shields Research Grant
This research grant supports translational or clinical research by a child neurologist or developmental pediatrician early in his/her academic career. The selected investigator will receive a $150,000 grant of $75,000 per year for two years.

Eligibility Criteria

1. The applicant completed training in child neurology or neurodevelopmental disabilities in an accredited program no more than ten (10) years prior to application.
2. The PERF^®-CNS Shields Research Grant must have a clinical research/patient care component.  Research does not need to focus on epilepsy.
3. There are no citizenship requirements however the research must be conducted in the United States or Canada.
4. The applicant is a Junior or Active member of the Child Neurology Society.
5. Currently funded research is disqualified except for an NIH K12, T32, or R25 grant.
6. INTERNATIONAL SITES:  The applicant must hold appointment at a U.S./Canada institution; while a proposal may include international programs or sites, the grant funds are intended to support research activities conducted by sites in the U.S. or Canada.

The Application Submission Deadline:  April 11, 2025    Email PDF to: PERFCDG@gmail.com
Award recipients will be notified by end of June of the granting year. The funding cycle will begin September 1st of the granting year.

DOWNLOAD the PERF^®-CNS Career Development Grant Submission Guidelines

DOWNLOAD Career Development Awards FAQ Sheet

DOWNLOAD Career Development Grant Application

Direct questions to PERFCDG@gmail.com

III. PERF^®-CNS Bridge Grant Program

The Pediatric Epilepsy Research Foundation^® (PERF^®) in partnership with the Child Neurology Society (CNS) offer the PERF^®-CNS Bridge Grant Program to retain child neurology researchers.  This program is designed to provide bridge funding to promising child neurology researchers who are applying for their first independent National Institutes of Health (NIH) or Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) research support.  Through this grant mechanism, PERF^® and CNS aim to assist investigators who have applied for their first NIH R01 or CIHR Operating/Project Grant support but were not funded.

This award is intended to retain investigators in child neurology clinical, translational, or basic research while they re-apply for NIH or CIHR funding.

The Bridge Grant will be in the amount of $50,000 and will require a 1:1 match from the investigator’s (Awardee’s) Division or Department (thereby making $100,000 available to the Awardee).

Eligibility Criteria

The following individuals are eligible to apply for this grant.

1. Active members of the Child Neurology Society or membership application is in process.
2. Have submitted their first NIH R01 or CIHR Operating/Project proposal during the past two years, and that grant was triaged or evaluated in the peer-review process but fell below (or is likely to fall below) the NIH or CIHR pay line.
3. Investigators with K-Award (or equivalent) funding that will expire prior to the potential funding of their first R01 grant are eligible to apply, but current K-level funding is not a prerequisite.
4. Investigators whose only federally funded grant is an R03 or R21 (or equivalent) award, and who are now re-submitting their first R01 or Operating/Project Grant, are eligible.
5. INTERNATIONAL SITES:  The applicant must hold appointment at a U.S./Canada institution; while a proposal may include international programs or sites, the grant funds are intended to support research activities conducted by sites in the U.S. or Canada.

Exclusion Criteria

The following individuals are not eligible to apply for this grant.

1. Investigators with current, independent, federally funded grants (aside from one R03 or one R21 or equivalent) are not eligible to apply for funding through this mechanism.
2. Individuals who are seeking funding to support ongoing projects that are currently funded by another extramural granting body are not eligible to apply.

NIH/CIHR Funding Exception

Since these grants are intended as bridge support, if the NIH/CIHR grant is received by Awardee, the Awardee must notify PERF^® within 10 business days of receipt of the notice of award, and the following would apply:

1.  If NIH/CIHR funds are received prior to distribution of Bridge Grant funds, the award funds will not be released, and the grant will be closed out.
2.  If NIH/CIHR funds are received after distribution of Bridge Grant funds, the Awardee is permitted to submit updated documents (i.e. a new budget, justification, and project timeline) and may be allowed to retain some or all the funds if they can provide sufficient rationale.

The Application Submission Deadline:   April 14, 2025    Email PDF to: PERF.CNSBridgeGrant@gmail.com
Award recipients will be notified by end of June of the granting year. The funding cycle will begin September 1st of the granting year.

Download the Bridge Grant Application Submission Guidelines

Application Forms / Click on form title to download.

PERF-CNS Bridge Grant Face Page
PERF-CNS Bridge Grant Application 

Direct questions to: PERF.CNSBridgeGrant@gmail.com

Special Co-Funding Projects

• American Epilepsy Society/PERF^® – Research and Training Fellowship for Clinicians – $50,000 for one-year, annual review cycle, for mentored research by Fellows and/or junior clinical faculty
• Child Neurology Society – John M. “Jack” Pellock Resident Seminar on Epilepsy – this is an annual seminar held in conjunction with the CNS Meeting for PGY-5 and PGY-6 child neurology and neurodevelopmental disabilities residents. We also supported an endowment that funds the Phillip R. Dodge Young Investigator Award.
• Epilepsy Foundation of America – $1500 travel scholarship for pediatric epilepsy fellows to attend the EF Pipeline Conference