Scholarships, Fellowships, and Grants.

Research Grants to be Funded in 2000

Requests for proposals (RFPs) will be available in June 1999 for new $40,000 research grants that will be awarded in the year 2000. Proposals will be due to the Foundation by August 13, 1999, and funding will begin January 1, 2000. Following are the topics that will be funded.

Topics Supported By APTA Sections

* Evaluate the effectiveness of physical therapist interventions for people with musculoskeletal disorders (funding made possible by the Orthopaedic Section of APTA).

* Evaluate the effectiveness of physical therapist interventions for older adults with muscuoskeletal disorders (funding made possible by the Orthopaedic Section of APTA and the Section on Geriatrics of APTA).

* Evaluate the effectiveness of physical therapist interventions for children (funding made possible by the Section on Pediatrics of APTA).

* Evaluate the effectiveness of physical therapist interventions for people with sports-related injuries (funding made possible by the Sports Physical Therapy Section of APTA).

Topics Supported By Annual Gifts

* Evaluate the effectiveness of physical therapist practice (funding made possible by individuals' generous personal donations to the Foundation).

For an RFP, or if you have questions, please contact the Foundation for Physical Therapy at 800/875-1378, by fax at 703/706-8519, or via e-mail at [e-mail].

To be considered for a research grant, the principal investigator must be a licensed physical therapist in the United States (or must have received a passing score on the licensure exam and is awaiting licensure).

Preparing for Year 2000 Grant Applications

The Foundation for Physical Therapy will present two informational sessions at Physical Therapy '99: Annual Conference and Exposition of the American Physical Therapy Association (PT '99) in Washington, DC.

On Sunday, June 6, a workshop entitled "Foundation for Physical Therapy Funding Application Tips" will be held from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM. Attendees will learn from the experts about completing funding applications for the Foundation. This will be an opportunity for questions and answers about how to create a competitive application, the scoring of applications, what reviewers look for, ways to improve applications, and why to apply for Foundation scholarships (McMillan, PODS I, and PODS II), fellowships (NIFTI), or research grants. (See next page.)

On Monday, June 7, from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM, a blue ribbon panel of investigators will present "Where Do Research Dollars Go? A Historical Perspective on the Foundation." Current and past grant recipients will discuss their success in obtaining funding and how the funding helped them begin or continue their research efforts. Panel members will include doctoral students and young and seasoned investigators.

What Are DOCS, NIFTI, and PODS?

The Foundation for Physical Therapy funds a Doctoral Opportunities for Clinicians and Scholars (DOCS) program. This program consists of two elements: the New Investigator Fellowships Training Initiative (NIFTI) program and a 3-level Promotion of Doctoral Studies (PODS) program, PODS I, PODS II, and Mary McMillan Doctoral Scholarships.

The NIFTI program is designed to fund doctorally prepared physical therapists as developing researchers and to improve their competitiveness in securing external funding for their future research. The specific eligibility requirements and criteria for review and selection are outlined in the DOCS application and guidelines.

The postprofessional PODS scholarships fund doctoral students who, having completed one full year of course work, wish to continue their course work or enter the dissertation phase of their education. The PODS I $7,500 scholarships are awarded to support the coursework phase of doctoral studies. The PODS II $15,000 scholarships are awarded to support the post-coursework phase of doctoral studies.

McMillan Doctoral Scholarship to be Funded in 1999

Applications are available for the annual McMillan Doctoral Scholarship. This scholarship awards $5,000 to students who have been accepted by a doctoral program and are beginning their first semester. Six scholarships will be awarded in 1999. Applications are available now, by calling the Foundation at 800/875-1378, and are due August 15, 1999. Recipients will be announced in November.

Donating Honoraria

Physical therapy professionals often lecture or give presentations and are compensated with honoraria as tokens of appreciation from host organizations. Many speakers forward their honoraria to the Foundation as a gift to support the Foundation and its mission of funding physical therapy research.

In the past year, the Foundation has received more than $10,000 in donations in amounts ranging from $50 to $1,000 from individuals donating their honoraria.

For information, call 800/875-1378, or e-mail [e-mail].