The purpose of the Development Grants (DG) program is to expand the number of scientists conducting meritorious neuromuscular disease research and to provide funding for postdoctoral investigators in the laboratory of a senior investigator, under whose guidance the researcher will be given flexibility to work independently or as part of a collaborative effort.
Please read and follow these instructions carefully. Incomplete or improperly prepared applications will not be reviewed. An application will be considered incomplete if: (1) it is not prepared and submitted according to instructions; or (2) the information it contains is not sufficient to permit an adequate review.
Deadline for Receipt of Completed Application
A Letter of Intent (LOI) must be completed and submitted through ProposalCentral by December 9, 2024 for those seeking to apply for a development grant during the 2025 application cycle. The full application must be completed and submitted through ProposalCentral by March 7, 2025 to ensure that the grant begins September 1, 2025.
The application must be received on or before the deadline date. Once the deadlines have passed, the submit button will no longer be available. All deadlines are located at the top of each section of the LOI and application.

Application Submission Requirements
• Development Grant applications are limited to one application per lab per application cycle.
• Applications and all supporting documents must be submitted in English.
• Applications must include one of the named diseases in MDA’s portfolio or request an exception from MDA staff prior to application submission. See https://www.mda.org/disease/list
• Proposed project costs may only be requested in U.S. Dollars (USD).
• Applications will be accepted for no more than $70,000 per year for 3 years including a maximum 10% indirect cost rate with a 9/1/2025 – 8/31/2028 proposed award period.
• Avoid abbreviations where possible.
• Appendix material is limited to (1) unpublished manuscript. Additionally, you may upload unlimited preprints and manuscripts accepted for publication but not yet published. Please ensure that these items are uploaded with the corresponding acceptance letter or correspondence. Do not attach manuscripts, abstracts, or reprints that have already been published, as these will be removed from your application.
• A resubmission must be accompanied by a Resubmission Statement responding to the previous reviewers’ concerns.
Review Process
To ensure support of meritorious neuromuscular disease research, applications are peer-reviewed to assess their scientific merit and to evaluate their relevance to MDA's goals. MDA's Board of Directors has the sole authority to award Development Grants.
LETTER OF INTENT
MDA requires a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the Development Grant funding opportunity. The deadline for the LOI is December 9, 2024. The LOI must be submitted online via ProposalCentral and include the following:
• Project title,
• Resubmission status,
• Applicant and institution information (to determine eligibility),
• A scientific abstract and impact statement,
• Disease area and research category,
• A PI and Mentor biosketch (each biosketch must not exceed 5 pages in length).
The LOI must be submitted by the deadline to be considered and the full application will be made available to applicants following administrative review and approval of the submitted LOI. To submit the LOI, click the Submit button. An electronic signature is not required for Letter of Intent submission. If your submission is successful, you will receive a confirmation message on the screen and a confirmation email from pcsupport@altum.com.
FULL APPLICATION
SECTION 1
Title Page Enter a title that accurately and concisely captures the proposed research aims. Whenever possible, the title should include the name of the neuromuscular disease or class of neuromuscular disease to which the research is most related. Please also indicate application resubmission status and assure compliance with MDA’s Research Department Grant Policy document.

Resubmission
If you have marked the application as a resubmission, please include the date of the previous submission.
An applicant may resubmit their original application with revisions up to two (2) times. For a second resubmission, please indicate the most recent submission prior to the current application.
At the bottom of this page, your previous application(s) should appear. Please click on the previous proposal for which you are resubmitting.
A resubmitted application requires a Resubmission Statement that must address the previous reviewer’s concerns and any changes you have made to the current application. The Resubmission Statement must not exceed one (1) page and be uploaded as an attachment to the application.
SECTION 2
Required Application Templates and Instructions
For all templates, Times New Roman font size 11 and 0.5” margins on all sides are required. Changing the font size, margins or removing the template headers will disqualify the application for review.
Research Plan
The Research Plan template provided must be used in this section. To facilitate proper review of the application, remain succinct and limit the sections of your application describing your Specific Aims, Background and Preliminary Data and Experimental Plan to a maximum total of seven (7) pages, including figures and legends.
Biosketch
A biosketch is required for the Principal Investigator and Mentor only. An NIH-formatted biosketch template is provided for the Principal Investigator and Mentor.
Applicant Statement
The Applicant Statement must not exceed 6 pages and shall include 1) the applicant’s background and goals for the training period, 2) respective contributions between the applicant and the mentor, and 3) a description of the institutional environment and commitment to training. Please see section 15, Research Plan and Supporting Attachments, for more information describing the requirements for the Applicant Statement.
References for Literature
The References for Literature Cited template is a required section of the application with no page limits.
SECTION 3
Enable Other Users to Access this Proposal This section is used specifically for providing access rights to other people to access the application. You may choose their access as “View” or “Edit.” “Edit” access will allow for uploading of documents or adding attachments in your absence.
If an individual is marked as “Auto Notify” this means each time an email is sent to you through ProposalCentral, the individual will automatically receive a copy of the email.

4
Applicant/PI
This section of the application asks for the Principal Investigator’s information. All fields that are marked with asterisk (*) are required fields. If you already have a professional profile within ProposalCentral, these fields will be automatically populated and filled in. Please review them carefully to confirm the information is correct. Additionally, please link your ORCiD ID to your ProposalCentral account as instructed on this page. A PI Biosketch can also be uploaded on this page.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure Any potential conflict of interest the Principal Investigator(s) may have relating to the project must be disclosed. Such conflict would include, but may not be limited to, having a proprietary interest that may be affected by the outcome of a research project. It is expected that MDA grantees will observe the highest ethical standards in the conduct of research. Please complete the PI Conflict of Interest Explanation section if a conflict of interest exists.
SECTION 5
Institution Contacts
This section contains the information of the applicant institution and defaults to the institution linked to the Principal Investigator. If the institution is incorrectly linked to the Principal Investigator, click on the “Change Institution” button and search for the correct institution. The asterisks (*) denote required fields. Please make sure that all information on this page is correct, including the IRS EIN number. The IRS EIN number should be 9 digits in the following format XX-XXXXXXX. Do not include letters or additional separators.
The applicant may already have contacts listed under their profile. Contacts that are required on all grants are marked with an asterisk (*) and cannot be removed. These contacts are generally institutional officials, financial officers or grant and contract personnel. To add a contact, enter their email address in the space provided and click the “Add” button.
It is also necessary to add the institution’s Technology Transfer contact and a Public Relations contact.
SECTION 6
Key Personnel
Applicant (Principal Investigator) The Applicant (PI) and Mentor are responsible for the scientific and technical direction of the project. An application may have only one Principal Investigator. The Principal Investigator must be the author of the application.
Mentor The Mentor is the person whose lab the PI will be working in. The Mentor must agree to help facilitate the project and PI to accomplish the aims of the project. A mentor biosketch can also be uploaded as part of the Contact Screen – Key Personnel page.
Collaborator(s)
If a Collaborator(s) is added, a signed Letter of Collaboration, on institutional letterhead, explaining the role of the project partner is required to be uploaded in the Research Plan and Supporting Attachments section. A Letter of Collaboration can also be uploaded as part of the Contact Screen- Key Personnel page.
Collaborators are defined as internal or external scientists needed to assist with research aims and must be listed in the key personnel section with the “collaborator” designation chosen from the available options in the drop-down menu.
Insert their email address in the space provided and click “Add.” Complete all required fields and click “Save” when completed.

SECTION 7
Letters of Reference
Three (3) letters of reference are required from each applicant – one (1) from the Mentor and two (2) additional references from other Professors/Colleagues. Only 3 letters of reference are allowed.
Once you have input the email address of your reference, an email request will be generated and sent to that person with specific instructions on how to submit a letter of reference on your behalf. These are blind letters and will not be sent to you for viewing/uploading. It is up to the applicant to make sure the letters are uploaded prior to the Validation stage.
Content of Mentor Letter
The letter from the mentor as described in sections 1- 4 below must include the items below in addition to an evaluation of the candidate. The mentor letter is limited to 4 pages maximum. Mentors will be prompted to upload their document via an email from ProposalCentral and it must be signed and accompany the application in order to be considered for review.
1. Research Support Available
In a table, list all current and pending research and training support specifically available to the applicant for this particular training experience. Include funding source, complete identifying number, title of the research or training program, and name of the principal investigator, dates, and amount of the award. If the mentor’s research support will end prior to the end of the proposed training period, the mentor should provide a contingency plan for how the applicant’s research will be supported. The role of the mentor in the integrated research and development plans should be described.
2. Mentor’s Training History
Give the total number of postdoctoral individuals previously mentored. Select up to five that are representative, and, for those five, provide information on time spent in the lab, their present employing organizations and position titles or occupations.
3. Applicant’s Qualifications and Potential for an Independent Research Career
Describe how the applicant is suited for this research training opportunity based on their academic record and research experience, including how the individual research training plan and your own expertise as the mentor will help this researcher establish an independent research career.
4. Institutional Commitment
Describe the institutional title that the applicant will hold at the expected start date of the research project. Please clarify the institutional qualifications for this title and its relationship to faculty status. Please indicate if there is an institutional commitment of a faculty position during the award period.
Content of other Reference Letters
These two additional reference letters must be submitted by professors or colleagues in the field of research who can best evaluate the scientific interests and qualifications of the applicant. These recommendation letters must be on letterhead signed and accompany the application in order to be considered for review. There are no exceptions.
SECTION 8
Patent Information
If the applicant has filed for or obtained a patent, please complete the information in this section. Please use the date format of MM/DD/YYYY. Please leave this section blank if a Patent has not been filed or obtained.

SECTION 9
Lay Summary, Abstract and Impact Statement
Please provide a succinct and non-technical Lay Summary of the proposed project in non-scientific terms that would be understood by a general audience. Since this summary will be public information, do not include any proprietary or confidential information in this section. Do not summarize past accomplishments or cite literature in this section. The Lay Summary section is limited to 1,500 characters, including spaces. Information entered in this section must be text only. Scientific notations, special characters, special fonts, and other rich-text formatting (i.e., bold, italics, underline) cannot be saved or displayed. Do not insert carriage returns at the end of each line. Type continuously until completed or starting a new paragraph.
The Scientific Abstract should be a succinct summary in scientific terms that would be understood by a technical audience. Since this summary may be public information, do not include any proprietary or confidential information. In concise terms state: (1) the long-term objectives; (2) the specific aims; (3) the primary methodology and principal organism, tissue, or preparation being used. Do not summarize past accomplishments or cite literature in this section. Limit the Abstract summary to 1,500 characters or less, including spaces. Information entered in this field must be text only: scientific notations, special characters, special fonts, and other rich-text formatting (e.g., bold, italics, underline) cannot be saved or displayed. Do NOT insert carriage returns at the end of each line. Type continuously until completed or starting a new paragraph.
The Impact Statement should state how this project will promote major advancement in the understanding of neuromuscular disease, accelerate treatments and cures or optimize patient care. What is the potential for the proposed study to advance the field? If successful, is this work likely to lead to subsequent grant proposals? How would this idea potentially improve the lives of neuromuscular disease patients? If applicable, address how the project could improve how patients feel, function or survive and how the results will be communicated to the public. This should not include formal research publications in peer-reviewed journals. If applicable, please describe how this application will address issues of health disparities/equity. Please limit this statement to 1,500 characters including spaces or less.
Research Category/Disease Code
The bottom of this section includes a listing of the main categories under the MDA umbrella of neuromuscular diseases. Under the general category, you will find the disease-specific categories. You may choose multiple categories under this section. Please choose only one (1) Primary Disease Code. Under the Secondary Disease Codes, you can choose one disease or multiple diseases. Please note that the disease(s) you have chosen will appear to the right of the boxes. Please choose these categories carefully as they will be used to help facilitate the selection of scientific peer reviewers.
Open Access/ Data Sharing
If applicable, please describe the plan to share resources and make data from this project available to the neuromuscular disease research field. MDA requires applicants to make publications resulting from MDA-funded research available via open access within 12 months of the grant termination date.
SECTION 10
Budget Period Detail
Enter the Start Date and End Date of each Budget Period. To change to a new Budget Period, click on the buttons at the top of the page for “Period 1”, “Period 2” or “Period 3”. Complete each section of the Detailed Budget for each year of support for which funds are requested. The total amount for each Period must not exceed $70,000 including a maximum 10% indirect cost rate. For example, if requesting a budget with indirect costs at the maximum 10%, and the total budget of $70,000 for one year, the direct costs should be $63,636 with indirect costs of $6,364.
Allowable Costs
Personnel costs for a Development Grant are limited to the Principal Investigator (PI) ONLY and the PI must be listed by name, role, and percentage effort devoted to project. The PI’s specific role in the research project must be described in the Justification of Budget section. The Institutional Base Salary should be the Principal Investigator’s total base salary and the Fringe Benefits listed should be the proportionate percentage of the PI’s fringe benefit cost.
Equipment whether capital or not, must be listed in this section and explain why the requested equipment is necessary to complete the research project. Please also include the manufacturer and model number in the Justification of Budget section. This category is limited to a maximum of $3,000 per year. Computer hardware is limited to a maximum of $3,000 per grant. Laptop purchases are limited to one (1) per grant and must be fully justified on the Justification of Budget section.
Supplies There is no maximum cost for research supplies. The total request should include all supplies that will be purchased. You do not need to group costs by the type of supplies and can enter a total amount for Consumables.
Travel to attend foreign or domestic scientific or medical meetings to present the results of MDA-supported research is permitted. Also, costs for travel required in conducting the specific aims of the research project may be requested. All travel must be fully justified in the Justification of Budget section; however, MUST NOT exceed $2,000 per project year and is restricted to personnel listed in Personnel budget category.
Other costs may include items such as publication costs, computer use and equipment maintenance fees. Each item must be justified in the Justification of Budget section explaining why the requested costs are necessary to complete the research project.
Indirect Costs are limited to a maximum of 10% of all direct costs. For example: if requesting a budget with indirect costs at the maximum 10%, and the total budget of $70,000 for one year, the direct costs should be $63,636 with indirect costs of $6,364.
Unallowable Costs. The following costs are not permitted:
• Salary or fringe benefits for the mentor, collaborating investigators, co-investigators or lab personnel,
• Salaries, travel and/or housing related to sabbatical leaves,
• Salaries for administrative, secretarial and/or clerical staff,
• Life and Disability insurance fees,
• Purchase or rental of office equipment; (i.e., furniture, filing cabinets, and copy machines),
• Expenses normally covered by the indirect cost of the Principal Investigator’s institution, i.e., general liability insurance and general auto insurance,
• Fees for tuition, registration or other fees relating to academic studies,
• Membership dues, subscriptions, books or journals; and/or,
• Costs for or related to moving from one institution to another,
• Sub-contracts are not permitted for any part of the project.
Justification of Budget
A justified budget is a required in this section and it must explain why proposed costs are necessary to complete the research project. It should be completed by fully justifying all costs requested for each item listed on the Budget Period Detail page. Describe in this section the relationship of each item in the proposed budget to all other sources of support for that item.

SECTION 11
Budget Summary
This will be auto completed once you have completed the Budget Period Detail page.
SECTION 12
Other Support ALL sources of current and pending research support - including other MDA projects - must be identified in this section for the Principal Investigator only. This includes all public, private or institutional funding sources.
SECTION 13
Organization Assurances
If the applicant requests support for research involving human subjects, tissues or materials, then this section MUST be completed. If the IRB or FDA approvals are “pending”, please indicate this by clicking the “Pending” button. In cases where the IRB/FDA approvals are pending, an approval must be on file with MDA before funds can be authorized for the project, if funded.
MDA-funded projects MUST be in compliance with all policies, rules, and regulations governing clinical trials, including those of the federal regulatory agencies, the respective university and institution, and MDA. MDA must be notified about any amendments to the original research protocol occurring prior to the commencement of or during the course of the research project.
If the applicant requests support for research involving experimental drugs or devices, this section MUST be completed. If an FDA approval is pending, please indicate this by clicking on the “Pending” button. An approval must be on file with MDA before funds can be authorized for the project, if funded.
If the applicant requests support for research involving vertebrate animals or materials derived there from, this section MUST be completed. If Animal Care and Use Committee approval is pending, please indicate this by clicking the “Pending” button. An approval must be on file with MDA before funds can be authorized for the project, if funded.
Continue down the list of the assurances, marking them either “Yes” or “No.” Click on the “Save” button in the corner to save all changes.
SECTION 14
Facilities
Please list all facilities available for conducting the proposed research project. Include laboratory space, clinical facilities, animal facilities, computer facilities, office space, clerical staff, and major equipment available. Identify by name and address any facilities that are not part of the sponsoring institution and describe the arrangements made for using those off-site facilities. Please limit this statement to 6,000 characters including spaces or less.
SECTION 15
Research Plan and Supporting Attachments
SPECIFIC AIMS, RATIONALE AND SIGNIFICANCE, BACKGROUND AND PLAN
You must use the Research Plan template settings for the body of this section. You may have up to 7 pages in a size 11 Times New Roman font. DO NOT exceed seven (7) pages including FIGURES AND LEGENDS with a 0.5 margin and 11 Times New Roman font. Do not remove template headers or change font size. Your application will not be forwarded for review if the page limit is exceeded.

MDA has adopted NIH’s guidelines for enhancing reproducibility through rigor and transparency and reviewers will assess whether these areas have been appropriately addressed by the applicant.
Give the specific aims of the project, prioritized chronologically, and an estimate of the time you expect will be necessary to complete each aim. State the rationale for the project and explain its significance, i.e., how the anticipated results will help solve important problems in the field. This section should clearly provide the reader with succinct information on the research you are proposing, why it is important and how it will advance the neuromuscular disease research field.
Summarize the key results and major conclusions from published, in preparation and/or unpublished studies that specifically relate to your proposed project. Applicants should describe the general strengths and weaknesses of the prior research being cited to support the application. It is expected that this consideration of general strengths and weaknesses could include attention to the rigor of the previous experimental designs, as well as the incorporation of relevant biological variables and authentication of key resources. For example, basing one's proposed research on previous publications that lacked statistical power, were not blinded, lacked detail on the sex of animals or authentication of cell lines would be considered a weakness of the application if it does not identify these weaknesses and propose ways to improve going forward. Likewise, conclusions drawn from prior research that used a small sample size may not adequately support the next phase of research, such as moving to a higher species of animals or to humans.
Describe the experimental design and any novel laboratory procedures required to accomplish the specific aims of the proposed project. For a new methodology, state its advantage over existing methodologies. Applicants should describe how they will achieve robust and unbiased results when describing the experimental design and proposed methods. Sample sizes should be clearly delineated and justified using power analyses. Sex as a biological variable should be factored into research designs in vertebrate animal and human studies. Strong justification from the scientific literature, preliminary data or other relevant considerations must be provided for applications proposing to study only one sex. Succinctly state the potential difficulties and limitations of the proposed procedures in achieving the specific aims of the project. Discuss how data will be analyzed and interpreted. Point out any procedures, situations, or materials that may be hazardous to personnel and the precautions to be taken for their protection.
APPLICANT STATEMENT
You must use the Applicant Statement template for the body of this section. The Applicant Statement is limited to 6 pages in a size 11 Times New Roman font. DO NOT exceed six (6) pages with a 0.5 margin or change the font size. Your application will not be forwarded for review if the page limit is exceeded.
1. Applicant’s Background and Goals for Training Period
A. Previous Research Experiences
Summarize your research experiences in chronological order including doctoral dissertation, post-doctoral research, and others, if applicable, including the areas studied and the conclusions drawn. Do not list academic courses.
B. Training Goals and Pathway to Independence
Describe your overall training goals during the duration of the proposed project. Explain how the project will enable the attainment of these goals specifically identifying the skills, theories, conceptual approaches, etc. to be learned or enhanced during the project period. Describe the specific training plan that you and your mentor have developed together that will enable the attainment of these goals. The training plan should be individualized for you, keeping in mind your strengths and any gaps in needed skills, and should be designed to enhance research training and professional development. The training plan for a post-doc in their second year may vary from the training plan for a post-doc in their fifth year. Include descriptions of specific items uch as classes, seminars, opportunities for interaction with other groups and scientists, and development of professional skills such as grant writing, public speaking and lab management. Discuss how the proposed additional training will facilitate your transition to an independent research position including how the proposed project will help you to develop an independent scientific program.
C. Activities Planned for the Proposed Project
Describe, by year, the activities (research, teaching, clinic etc.) you will be involved in during the proposed project period and the estimated percentage of time devoted to each activity. Make sure to also include any planned activities relating to professional development and securing an independent research position.
2. Respective Contributions
Describe the collaborative process between you and your mentor in the development, review, and editing of this research training plan. Discuss the respective roles in accomplishing the proposed research.
3. Description of Institutional Environment and Commitment to Training
You must document a strong, well-established research program related to your area of interest, including the names of key faculty members relevant to your proposed developmental plan. Describe opportunities for intellectual interactions with other investigators, including courses offered, journal clubs, seminars and presentations, and other relevant activities.
APPENDIX
Appendix material is limited to (1) unpublished manuscript. Additionally, you may upload unlimited preprints and manuscripts accepted for publication but not yet published. Please ensure that these items are uploaded with the corresponding acceptance letter or correspondence. Do not attach manuscripts, abstracts, or reprints that have already been published, as these will be removed from your application.
SECTION 16
PI Data Sheet
This section is voluntary and will not be used as part of the review process.
SECTION 17
Validate
AFTER you have validated the document, you MUST click “SUBMIT” for the application to be submitted. Validating the document DOES NOT submit the application to MDA. Please make sure that your application is now marked as submitted.
SECTION 18
Required E-Signatures
The applicant/ PI will type their name in the space provided and click Sign to comply with stated assurances. Following the e-signature of the PI, the Mentor will type their name in the space provided and click Sign to comply with stated assurances. Then, the applicant’s Signing Official will type their name and click Sign to comply with stated assurances. It is also possible to save your application to PDF before submitting to MDA.
SECTION 19
Submit
To submit your proposal, click the Submit button on this page. You will be unable to submit if you have not provided all the required information. Any missing information will be listed on the screen. If your submission is successful, you will receive a confirmation message on the screen and a confirmation email from pcsupport@altum.com will be sent to the applicant.