The Submission Platform for this grant opens January 1, 2025 and ends March 31, 2025.

The International Pelvic Pain Society (IPPS) “Fred Howard Early Investigator Grant” offer young investigators interested in pelvic pain the opportunity to obtain funding for their research. It is the mission of IPPS to promote and encourage education and research about interdisciplinary approaches to the evaluation and treatment of health conditions associated with chronic pelvic pain.

This grant will be awarded to any resident, fellow, post-doctoral member (MD, MPH, PhD) who proposes to implement a clinical, research, education or publication project that has the potential to improve the lives of patients with pelvic pain. Because pelvic pain is a multidisciplinary field, we encourage applications from across all specialties that may encompass care of patients with pelvic pain. This grant is a membership benefit and also requires mentorship by an IPPS member.

Eligibility Requirements:

• Resident, fellow or post-doctoral fellow in any related field (all medical fields, pain, physical therapy, psychiatry, nursing)
• Must have a post doctorate degree (e.g. MD, PhD, MPH)
• Applicant and mentor must both be IPPS members
• The final project must obtain institutional review board approval if necessary, i.e. the institution where the research is being conducted must have access to an IRB or equivalent.

Application Requirements:

• CV
• 2 letters of recommendation (including a letter from department Chair or equivalent and a letter from a mentor)
• Abstract (250 words or less)
• Introduction, background and justification for conducting this project (limit 1 page):This section should include a clear description of the definition of disease, impact and current gaps in knowledge as they relate to the proposed project. Include preliminary data if available.
• Specific aims and hypothesis (limit 1 page): Aims should be clear, specific and achievable. Aims should be differentiated from the overall goals of the research. Hypothesis must be justified by current research knowledge gaps. Please limit to no more than 3 specific aims.
• Research design and methods (limit 3 pages): This section should have a clear description of the study design, study population, comparison groups or exposures, interventions (if applicable), primary and secondary outcomes. The proposal should also clearly describe inclusion and exclusion criteria, recruitment and enrollment methods, statistical analysis plan how the outcomes will be assessed. Investigators should give careful thought for how they plan to decrease selection and outcome assessment bias as well as how to decrease loss to follow up. Risks and benefits to study participants must be described and methods to decrease risk should be described. Whenever possible, investigators should use validated tools for assessing exposures and outcomes. Investigators are strongly encouraged to consult the Sample Research Protocol Template provided on the IPPS website and published study design specific guidelines such as STROBE, CONSORT, PRISMA, etc.
• Innovation and anticipated results (limit 1/2 page)
• Budget, timeline and deliverables (limit 1/2 page)
• Appendix with additional samples of study specific materials such as recruitment tools, surveys, questionnaries, etc. (limit to 3 pages)

Additional elements may be included in the application (no page limit):

• Abbreviations and references
• If applicable, CITI training certificate if performing human subject research or Canadian equivalent TCPS

INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED

Review Process
Applications will be reviewed by the Research and Program committees who will recommend up to 3 finalists. The winner will be selected by the IPPS President, and the Research and Program Committee Chairs.

Payment Process
The maximum award amount is $3,000. The primary purpose of the grant is to support research related expenses. Grant funding is not intended to be the primary source of funding for travel, lodging, meals, or other costs associated with attending IPPS meetings, but may supplement those expenses. Proof of grant expenditures is required upon request. Grants will be disbursed in full once confirmation of IRB approval is received. Grants will be paid to the sponsoring institution and cannot be paid directly to the application or mentor.

Reporting Requirements
Grant winner is required to submit both a mid-term and final progress report to the IPPS Research committee.

Post Grant Requirements
The IPPS will be credited as a sponsor in any presentation and publication what results from the research project. The winner of this grant is required to submit an abstract describing their results at the IPPS Annual Meeting.