International Research Collaborators Award Grant

The International Research Collaborators Award supports U.S. researchers in gaining knowledge and skills through international collaborations, which are crucial for developing treatments for blinding disorders. Eligible candidates must hold a primary academic position as Assistant Professor through full Professor. The award of up to $75,000 encourages early-career investigators and aims to foster synergistic collaborations that enhance research productivity. Matching funds are encouraged but not required, promoting a reciprocal exchange of researchers between institutions.

NOTE: If the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, please consider the deadline to be the following business day. Nomination forms are due by the 'pre proposal' deadline above. Applications received without a prior nomination form will not be accepted.
The RPB International Research Collaborators Award promotes international collaborations through which collaborating researchers in the U.S. and outside the U.S. gain new knowledge and skills. These international collaborations have the potential to accelerate the development of treatments for blinding disorders, positively affecting large populations worldwide for years to come.
Under a reciprocal arrangement, a U.S.-based researcher -- MD, PhD, MD/PhD or equivalent doctoral degree -- with a primary appointment as an Assistant Professor through full Professor in any department from any institution of higher education in the U.S. -- will be funded to go for a period of time to an institution outside the U.S. to gain new knowledge and/or skills and deepen collaborative relationships with researchers there that will be conducive to future research collaborations. In turn, the institution outside the U.S. will send a researcher for a period of time to the U.S. institution from which the U.S. researcher came. An extended stay in the other country is expected by each researcher or a member of each researcher's lab. A fair amount of flexibility in how this expectation can be implemented will be allowed.
The collaboration should provide a synergistic benefit to each researcher and to the culminating project. The submission must spell out specific and cogent objectives to be accomplished by each of the collaborating researchers toward the fulfillment of two broad goals: (1) gaining new knowledge and skills; and (2) strengthening collaborations across international boundaries. Successful candidates will leverage the unique expertise of each researcher, whereby their collaboration creates a work product that is more than the sum of its parts. An award of up to $75,000 is available. Matching funds are not required, however, a match is encouraged by the department and/or the institution outside the U.S.

Eligibility

Full-time department Chairs at any institution of higher education in the U.S. may nominate one candidate per department.Candidates must hold a primary academic position as Assistant Professor through full Professor (MD, PhD, MD/PhD or equivalent doctoral degree) and must be full-time faculty in their primary appointment by the application deadline.Any previous RPB individual grants to the candidate must be fully spent and recognized as terminated by RPB before an individual researcher may apply for another RPB grant. This applies to the candidate and not to the mentors and/or collaborators.

Ineligibility

Interim or acting Chairs cannot nominate a candidate for this award. Previous recipients of this grant are ineligible. Ophthalmology Chairs are not eligible for this award.