AETA Brad Stroud Memorial Research Award

Reproductive research leading to increased efficiency of assisted reproductive technologies in the American embryo transfer industry

Request for Proposals 2024

The Board of Directors of the American Embryo Transfer Association (AETA) is pleased to provide an opportunity for funding to support practitioner-initiated research projects that focus on advancing the knowledge and efficiency of applied assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) in livestock species. The goal of the Association is to provide some financial support and access to statisticians, to help ensure that the data generated by AETA-funded projects will be robust under critical evaluation and will be of benefit to the AETA membership at large.

Please disseminate this request for proposals to be considered for 2023 (project start dates between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024). This request for proposals is open through 2023. The submission deadline is July 31, 2023.

Eligibility

• The project leader must be a member of AETA in good standing
• The project must address a contemporary problem in the embryo transfer industry
• The experimental design must be sufficiently robust to withstand critical review
• Results must be reported to AETA in an acceptable format (poster presentation, newsletter, etc.)
• It is strongly encouraged that project leaders include student members of AETA on the research team

Proposal Guidelines

The text of the proposal should be single spaced, in 11-point font, and no more than 3 pages in length, and should include the following information:

• Title of the proposal
• Names and addresses of project leader and other key personnel
• Problem statement and impact on the embryo transfer industry
• Objectives
• Materials and methods (including locations of research)
• Conclusion and intended means of dissemination (e.g., publication, presentation)

A budget sheet should be included with the proposal (not included in the text). Proposals will be funded to a maximum of $10,000. Please consider the following:

• AETA does not pay for any indirect costs (ICR, F&A, etc.)
• Funds from AETA cannot be used to make capital purchases
• Funds from AETA cannot be used to fund internships or externships and must only be used for hours spent on the proposed project
• For projects that require cooperation from external entities (e.g., livestock businesses or operations that own the animals on which the work will be conducted), letters of support from those entities should also be included in the proposal packet. These letters of support will not be included in the text of the proposal.

Proposals can be submitted to AETA by email at aeta@assochq.org or by mail to

American Embryo Transfer Association
1800 South Oak Street, Suite 100
Champaign, IL 61820-6974

Proposals received by AETA will be forwarded to the co-chairs of the Research Committee. The Research Committee will then evaluate the proposals and determine whether a project should be funded. Each proposal will be reviewed by at least two reviewers and may involve reviewers external to AETA. The Research Committee will have 45 days from the submission deadline to conduct a review and communicate funding status to the project leader.