PMSF Shannon O’Boyle Memorial Grant – Neuropsychiatric Illness

Overview

_NOTE: Early submissions of letters of intent prior to March 7st are highly encouraged._

The PMSF Board of Directors has established an annual research grant of $100,000 in honor of Shannon O’Boyle and to acknowledge her family’s significant contributions. The grant will be used to advance research in neuropsychiatric illnesses and to keep Shannon’s legacy alive by inspiring and offering hope to all.

A successful proposal will advance research in either neuropsychiatric illness, challenging behaviors, or skill regression in Phelan-McDermid syndrome. Proposals can include foundational basic research in laboratory models or highly clinical studies in people with Phelan-McDermid syndrome.

Eligibility

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Application Details

Shannon O’Boyle Memorial Grant
Neuropsychiatric Illness
Request for Applications
What:
To be awarded $100,000 in direct costs. No portion of these funds shall be
used to cover indirect institution costs.
When:
RFA released: Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Letter of intent deadline: Friday, March 7, 2025 midnight ET
Full application deadline: Friday, April 11, 2025 midnight ET
Announcement of Award: ~August 2025
Earliest Award start date: ~October 2025
Eligibility:
● This opportunity is open to all stages of investigators working in a
relevant field (neurology, psychiatry, or psychology, and/or a focus in
neurodevelopmental disorders or rare disorders).
● Applicants must hold a full-time position at a university/institution or an
organization with 501c3 status.
● Applicants must have an MD, PhD, or MD/PhD. Applicants with a
master's degree in life sciences are also eligible only if they are in a
full-time professor position.
● International applicants are welcome to apply.
● Co-Principal Investigators (Co-PIs) who share equal responsibility on the
application are allowed. Co-investigators (Co-Is) who bring additional
expertise but do not have primary responsibility for the application are

also allowed. Neither Co-PIs, nor Co-Is are required. Applicants without
these team members will not be at a disadvantage.
● Early-stage career investigators (e.g., post-doctoral fellows, instructors,
or assistant professors <5 years terminal research degree or end of
post-graduate clinical training, whichever is later) applying as PI are
strongly encouraged, but not required, to have a specified mentor on
the application as co-I. Note that the PI and the study team are
considered during the review process.
● Applicants and/or any team member of applicant cannot be involved in
more than one PMSF grant application type per year.
Description:
The PMSF Board of Directors has established an annual research grant of
$100,000 in honor of Shannon O’Boyle and to acknowledge her family’s
significant contributions. The grant will be used to advance research in
neuropsychiatric illnesses and to keep Shannon's legacy alive by inspiring and
offering hope to all.
A successful proposal will advance research in either neuropsychiatric illness,
challenging behaviors, or skill regression in Phelan-McDermid syndrome.
Proposals can include foundational basic research in laboratory models or
highly clinical studies in people with Phelan-McDermid syndrome, or
translational studies bridging the basic science and clinical research gap.
Regardless, applications should highlight clinical relevance.
Grant funding will be for a minimum of one year (12 months) and maximum
of two years (24 months). Applications must specify length of time requested
for funding in the Research Strategy as well as in the more detailed Study
Timeline. Please note that the same amount of funds ($100,000) will be
allocated regardless of length of project. Projects with shorter (or longer)
timelines will not be weighed differently so long as the application
appropriately demonstrates needs for specific length of time requested.
PMSF is committed to increasing diversity, equity. and inclusion in research.
We are actively seeking applications from institutions and researchers
traditionally underrepresented in Phelan-McDermid syndrome research. In
addition, we are seeking applications that target participants from
underrepresented backgrounds. If applicable, please highlight in your full

application how your study helps increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in
the Phelan-McDermid syndrome field.
Rich data sources which can be leveraged for proposals exist via the
NIH-funded Developmental Synaptopathies Consortium (DSC), a Natural
History Study focused on Phelan-McDermid syndrome within the Rare
Disease Clinical Research Network:
(https://dsc.rarediseasesnetwork.org/research-study/7902), and/or the
Phelan-McDermid syndrome Neuropsychiatric Consult Group
(https://pmsf.org/neuropsychiatric-consultation-group/.). Collaboration with
either of these groups, or other neurodevelopmental disorder groups which
may have psychiatric phenotypes is encouraged.
Project feedback can be requested by email to lauren@pmsf.org, but no
guarantee in funding can be made.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
Applications which do not have all components or are not submitted on time
will be disqualified.
Letter of Intent:
Applicants must submit a Letter of Intent by March 7, 2025, in the form of a
scientific abstract (250 word limit) describing their project prior to full
submission of their application on April 11, 2025. All applicants are invited to
submit both a letter of intent and full application without review from PMSF.
The purpose of the Letter of Intent is to allow PMSF to find grant reviewers
and gauge the volume of applications and is thus required. A Letter of Intent
should only be submitted if the applicant is planning to submit a full
application. Early submissions of letters of intent prior to March 7st are highly
encouraged. Full applications submitted without prior Letter of Intent will
not be disqualified.
Resubmissions:
Resubmissions of previously submitted applications that did not receive
funding are allowed. In addition to the required components listed below, we
also request a brief response (250 word limit) indicating how the application
has been updated to respond to reviewer’s comments. If you are a PI who has

previously submitted an unfunded application and are submitting a new
application with different primary aims, this letter is not required.
Submission Process:
All required components should be sent as a combined PDF email
attachment to PMSF’s Chief Science Officer, Dr. Lauren Schmitt
(lauren@pmsf.org), and CC Amanda Bergen (amanda@pmsf.org) with the
subject line: [Grant title; last name of applicant; part of application]
There are four parts to each application, each requiring its own separate
emails
1) Letter of Intent
2) Full application
3) Two separate letters of support
Required Components:
By March 7, 2025:
● Letter of Intent – Scientific abstract describing the proposed project
(<250 words)
As indicated above the purpose of this letter is to gauge the number of
and type of expertise required of reviewers.
By April 11, 2025 (full application components):
The following documents should be organized in this order within the PDF:
● Title Page (see template here)
● Lay Abstract (<250 words)
○ *Important: Families of individuals with Phelan-McDermid
syndrome will review applications– successful applications will
have lay abstracts which fully encompass the work, including
methods, and will be written in a digestible way
● Scientific Abstract (<250 words) – can be the same as letter of intent or
have minor updates
● Research Strategy - (<3 pages not including references)

○ Should include background/rationale, preliminary data (if
applicable), project aims and methods. Using NIH format of
Specific Aims, Significance, Innovation, and Approach is preferred
○ References should be included and do not count towards the
page limit (no limit)
○ All graphs/tables must fit within the 3 page limit.
● Early-Stage Investigator Statement (if applicable, <250 words)
○ Early stage investigators are required to briefly indicate how this
project, if awarded, will help their career and training in the
Phelan-McDermid syndrome field. Specific training activities
and/or guidance from your mentor also should be mentioned.
○ If you are unsure whether you qualify as an early stage
investigator, please reach out to lauren@pmsf.org
● Study Timeline - (½ page)
○ Funding period is between 12 - 24 months, this must be specified
in both the Research Strategy and Study Timeline
○ Anticipated study timeline should include major milestones,
plans for dissemination and/or other deliverables, and plans for
future grant submissions (e.g., R21, R01)
○ Please note that funds will not be released until IRB is approved,
so including IRB submission/acceptance is implied and should
not be part of timeline
● Budget (<1 page or spreadsheet)
○ Exact budget allocations as line items
○ $2,000 must be included to facilitate travel of the Principal
Investigator to a Phelan-McDermid syndrome conference or
gathering to present findings.
● Budget Justification (<1 page)
○ Short descriptions explaining budget line items
● 2 Letters of Support (<1 page each)
○ Sent to lauren@pmsf.org and amanda@pmsf.org separately by
references (colleague, collaborator, etc.)in PDF format.
○ If you are an early-stage investigator with a specified mentor on
the project, one letter must be from the mentor and outline your
promise as an investigator in the field and how this award
mechanism will provide the training and experience necessary for
you to have a successful future research career

● Principal Investigator NIH-format biosketch, older or updated format
is accepted (< 5 pages)
● Co-PI or co-I NIH-format biosketch(es)(if applicable), older or updated
format is accepted (< 5 pages)
Review process:
Applications will be reviewed by members of the PMSF Scientific and Medical
Advisory Committees and the wider Phelan-McDermid syndrome research
community. Applications also will be reviewed by families of individuals with
Phelan-McDermid syndrome. It is strongly encouraged that applications are
highly relevant to families and include well-written lay abstracts.
Initial review will be done to remove incomplete applications. Further review
will occur based on scientific merit including reviewers from the PMSF
Scientific and Medical Advisory Committees and from the wider
Phelan-McDermid syndrome research community. In addition,
Phelan-McDermid syndrome families will review grants. Applications will be
scored on similar categories to those listed below. These are guidelines and
are subject to change.
● Research strategy
● Impact of grant to family members of an individual with
Phelan-McDermid syndrome
● Principal Investigator’s and study team’s background
● Addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion
● Likelihood that project will form basis of larger future grant(s)
● Reasonable budget
Successful applicants will be notified in the summer of 2025. Applications not
selected for an award will receive a summary of reviews in an anonymous
fashion in the fall of 2025.
For all grant-related inquiries, contact: lauren@pmsf.org