The Obesity Society Grants Program

The Obesity Society's Grants Program demonstrates our commitment to promote, reward, and encourage research in the field of obesity, especially when funding may be difficult to achieve. Pilot grants of up to $25,000 for a 1-year period will be offered to foster and stimulate new research ideas in any area of investigation related to obesity.

Early-Career Research Grants

This program (formerly, New Investigator Research Grants) is offered by The Obesity Society, as a member service, to foster and stimulate new research ideas in any area of investigation related to obesity. The program targets junior-level investigators and postdoctoral trainees by funding proposals that demonstrate a high likelihood of resulting in new and innovative approaches in obesity research. New investigators are defined as individuals who have received a doctorate within the past five years and who currently hold full-time, entry-level positions (e.g., post-doctoral fellow, instructor, assistant professor) at an established academic/research institution. Applicants may request up to $25,000.

2010 Early-Career Research Grants

These grants are administered by The Obesity Society’s Scientific Review Committee, through a call for letters of intent annually.  Please contact Sadie Campbell scampbell@obesity.org for questions regarding these grants.

Named Research Grants

The Obesity Society offers the opportunity for Named Research Grants in obesity research.  These grants can be structured to focus on particular aspects of obesity research to enrich the body of knowledge in the desired area.  Grant amounts are established by the organization sponsoring the grant with a minimum of $25,000.  The following organizations have sponsored grants through The Obesity Society’s Grants Program:  Wrigley Scientific Institute, Covidien, Nutrisystem, Inc., and GlaxoSmithKline.  Membership is required to apply for these grants.

2010 GlaxoSmithKline Research Grants & 2010 Nurtrisystem, Inc. Research Grants

These grants are administered by The Obesity Society’s Scientific Review Committee and are made available based on sponsorship from organizations.  Please contact Sadie Campbell scampbell@obesity.org for questions regarding these grants.

Pat Simons Travel Grants

As its commitment to young investigators in the field of obesity research, The Obesity Society will award a number of travel grants of $500 each to attend the annual meeting. The exact number is set each year by Council. Potential winners will be selected from the ranking of the submitted abstracts and will need only to return a form signed by their institution acknowledging that the winner is either a graduate student or has received a PhD or MD less than 5 years ago.   Membership is not required to apply for these grants.

This grant is administered during the call for abstracts.  Please contact the Education Department at education@obesity.org for further information regarding the Pat Simons Travel Grants.

Additional Information on the 2010 Grants Program

Letters of intent will be submitted for review to The Obesity Society's Scientific Review Committee.  Applicants will be notified July 12, 2010 if they have been invited to submit a full 4-page proposal along with timeline, budget, and biosketches (2 page maximum) for each investigator. Grant recipients will be announced August 16, 2010. Grant recipients are required to submit a final report including a statement of financial expenditure.  There are no indirect costs associated with these grants. 
 
Criteria for evaluating applications: 

• Responsiveness to the intent of the announcement
• Novelty of the research
• Feasibility of producing meaningful research results within one year of the grant
• Scientific design
• Feasibility of meeting budgetary constraints
• Adequacy of proposed timeline and schedule of deliverables

Important dates: 

• Letter of Intent Submission Deadline: June 14, 2010
• Full Proposal Request Notification: July 12, 2010
• Full Proposal Submission Deadline: July 22, 2010
• Grant Recipients Notified: August 16, 2010
• Grant Start Date: September 7, 2010
• Research Completed: September 7, 2011
• Final Report and Financial Statement Due: November 30, 2011

Click here to see the 2010 Grants Email Blast.

The Obesity Society

Executive Office: 8630 Fenton Street, Suite 814, Silver Spring, MD 20910 | Tel: (301) 563-6526 | Fax: (301) 563-6595