GLAS Program Description

GLAS Program Description

The AALAS Grants for Laboratory Animal Science (GLAS) program promotes the enhancement of scientific knowledge in laboratory animal science (LAS) through research. Examples of research interest are: environmental conditions; housing and enrichment; pain and distress; health and welfare; euthanasia; advancements in animal care and use, and other refinement research. Funding is not intended to support development of commercial products or services. Visit www.aalas.org/glas for a list of grants previously awarded.

The GLAS program provides two types of competitive one-year research grants in laboratory animal science: the Standard Grant for up to $50,000 and the Small Grant for up to $7,500. Please note the GLAS program does not fund indirect/overhead expenses or journal submission fees. Although studies are expected to be completed in one year, no‐cost grant renewals will be considered. Grant renewal submissions follow these same guidelines.

Standard Grants are awarded for research proposals based on solid preliminary data. In general, the GLAS program discourages salary support and major equipment purchases, so a request for salary support and major equipment requires detailed justification. Salaries for full‐time faculty and staff are discouraged. Consulting fees, e.g., for statisticians are acceptable. No more than $1,000 may be budgeted for travel to the AALAS National Meeting to present study results.

Review criteria are: 1) Relevance to and consistency with respect to the GLAS mission to enhance scientific knowledge in laboratory animal health and welfare through research; 2) Impact on the laboratory animal science field; 3) Validity of the hypothesis; 4) Validity of methodology and analysis; and 5) Feasibility and capability to complete the project, i.e., collective investigator experience, equipment access, and budget.

Small Grants are awarded for research proposals that: 1) answer a compelling scientific question but require only a small-scale study; 2) provide pilot data for future funding proposals; 3) are proof-of-principle studies; or, 4) generate data that will likely guide management or technical practices within the animal facility. Highly innovative proposals are encouraged. Application review criteria include: 1) relevance to and consistency with respect to the GLAS mission; 2) innovation; 3) potential for impact on the laboratory animal science field; 4) need for a small grant to bring an idea/study to completion or as a basis to develop a new funding request for a larger scale study; and 5) feasibility and capability to complete the project, i.e., collective investigator experience, equipment access, and budget. Is the study likely to result in a publication? Small Grants do not cover costs for salaries or travel, and major equipment purchases are discouraged. Consulting fees, e.g., for statisticians are acceptable.

Please be aware that a single committee reviews both small and standard grants, so the same study should not be submitted in both categories.

Current AALAS members are invited to apply to the GLAS program. The principal investigator (PI) must be an AALAS member, but co‐investigators are not required to be AALAS members. There is no geographical restriction with regard to the investigators or the institution; international submissions will be considered.

Collaboration with the broader scientific community is encouraged. Individuals who are new to research or are first‐time grant applicants are encouraged to seek a mentor to guide them in preparing the application and conducting the study, if a grant is awarded. Individuals who are new to exploring issues of laboratory animal welfare are encouraged to involve an animal resource professional in development of the proposal.

An application’s proposal should be clearly explained and have a strong experimental design. Studies should be planned and conducted with scientific rigor to optimize the reproducibility of animal studies. AALAS adheres to the principles and guidelines advanced by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which urge a “strict application of the scientific method to ensure robust and unbiased experimental design, methodology, analysis, interpretation, and reporting of results.” The completion of one aim in a GLAS study cannot be contingent on completing other aims in the same grant application. Aims may be complementary. The biological variable of sex should be factored into GLAS studies, where appropriate. For information on these principles and guidelines, please visit the NIH website. For resubmission of an application, issues raised in a prior review should be addressed.

Completed GLAS applications must follow the specified format and not exceed the number of pages indicated in the application form and must be submitted electronically (for instructions, see the GLAS page on the AALAS website). The deadline for submission each year is February 1, 11:59 p.m. Central Standard Time.

Application reviews and ranking are overseen by the AALAS Scientific Advisory Committee. Applications will be reviewed for the benefit in outcomes relative to the proposed costs; therefore, every aspect of the budget requires justification. AALAS reserves the right to negotiate significant salary requests and other items in proportion to the grant total request, so the cost of each item requested should be carefully considered. Funds will be allocated to the submissions with top merit which meet the GLAS mission.

For resubmission, applications are evaluated in the context of the applications for the current year. While addressing the reviewers’ comments will strengthen the application, there is no guarantee of funding for resubmitted applications.

Applications selected for GLAS grants will only be funded pending approval from the appropriate local oversight committee(s), e.g., Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, Institutional Review Board, Institutional Biosafety Committee, or the equivalent advisory body for applicants from outside of the United States. Award recipients will be notified by May 15, and funds will be disbursed by June 15. Awards will be sent as a check from a US bank account.

Eighteen months post‐award, recipients will be expected to submit a report on the use of the funding and the conduct and outcome of their study using the downloadable Final Report Form available on the GLAS web page. In the event that a study is not completed, a statement of expenses must be submitted to AALAS within 18 months of acceptance of the grant. If a study is completed under budget or terminated, the remaining funds are to be returned to AALAS. The recipient must maintain records of expenditures and expenses for 3 years, with the right of AALAS to audit these records during that period.

The results generated by research must be published in a scientific journal, a public meeting presentation, or a published patent or patent application to satisfy the requirements of making the research results public; and each entity or individual has the right to file and maintain patent applications and patents based on the research and results, and is not required to dedicate the patent rights to the public.

Each GLAS award recipient is encouraged to submit an abstract for presentation at the AALAS National Meeting within 1 to 2 years of completing the research study. Within 2 years of completing the study, and if the research results warrant, awardees are encouraged to submit their findings to an appropriate journal, preferably Comparative Medicine or JAALAS, or alternatively LAS Pro for pilot studies. Awardees should include the following acknowledgement in all publications: “The project described was supported by the Grants for Laboratory Animal Science (GLAS) from the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science.”

Grant and Study Timetable (applicable to Standard and Small Grant applications)

Year 1December 1
Updated grant application forms made available
February 1, 11:59 pm CSTSubmit GLAS application.
May 15
Grant awardees notified.
June 15
Grant funds disbursed.
Year 2June 15Grant ends.
December 15
Submit study final report.