Julie Martin

Julie Martin (1929-2005) was trained in medical technology and art history at the University of Washington. Over a period of more than forty years, hundreds of visiting gerontologists from around the world were guests at her lovely Seattle home. She traveled widely with her husband, George M. Martin, Scientific Director of AFAR, helping him with field research in India, Syria, Turkey, Europe and Japan, work that eventually led to the identification of the helicase/exonuclease mutations responsible for the Werner syndrome, a striking segmental progeroid syndrome. Julie was devoted to family, friends and colleagues, and to her collection of folk art, which included some of her own creations.

The Ellison Medical Foundation and AFAR developed this program for outstanding mid-career scientists who propose novel directions of high importance to biological gerontology. Proposals in areas where NIH awards or other traditional sources are unlikely because the research is high risk, are particularly encouraged if they have the potential for leading to major new advances in our understanding of basic mechanisms of aging.

Projects investigating age-related diseases are also supported, but only if approached from the point of view of how basic aging processes may lead to these outcomes. Projects concerning mechanisms underlying common geriatric functional disorders are also encouraged, as long as these include connections to fundamental problems in the biology of aging. Projects that deal strictly with clinical problems such as the diagnosis and treatment of disease, health outcomes, or the social context of aging are not eligible.

Recipients of this award are expected to attend the AFAR Grantee Conference. The purpose of the meeting is to promote scientific and personal exchanges among recent AFAR grantees and experts in aging research.

Eligibility Criteria

• The applicant must be an Associate Professor who achieved tenured status after December 1, 2005. Non-tenured Associate Professors at institutions with tenure (even if tenure is only offered at the Full Professor level) are not eligible. Applicants at institutions that do not offer tenure must demonstrate that their appointment is equivalent to that of an Associate Professor who received tenure status after December 1, 2005.
• The proposed research must be conducted at any type of not-for-profit setting in the United States. Applicants who are employees in the NIH Intramural program are not eligible.

• Qualifications of the applicant
• Quality and promise of the proposed research
• Excellence of the research environment

Application Procedures

The deadline of receipt of applications and all supporting materials is December 16, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. EST. Please refer to the Julie Martin Mid-Career Award instruction sheet and application for complete application procedures. Incomplete applications cannot be considered.

All candidates must submit applications endorsed by their institution. Applications are reviewed through a two-tier review system. The initial screening takes place in mid-April, after which candidates are advised of the status of their applications. A final decision about grant awards is made in early June. AFAR can provide critiques only for those applications that are reviewed at the second stage by their Review Committee. Funding will begin July 1, 2009.

Two four-year awards of $500,000 will be made in 2009, at the level of $125,000 per year. In addition, up to 10% ($50,000) may be requested for administrative/indirect costs.

If you are using animals in your research, please review Principles of Animal Use for Gerontological Research.

Reporting Requirements

Investigators will be required to submit brief narrative reports on the progress of their research annually. Final narrative and financial reports are required within three months following the end date of the award.

The Ellison Medical Foundation, established and supported by Lawrence J. Ellison, fosters creativity in biomedical research by supporting basic biomedical research on aging relevant to understanding aging processes and age-related diseases and disabilities. The Foundation particularly wishes to stimulate new, creative, research that might not be funded by traditional sources or that is often under-funded in the U.S. The Ellison Medical Foundation fosters research by means of grants-in-aid to investigators at universities and laboratories within the United States using a variety of award mechanisms.

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