Innovative Medicine and Precision Approaches to Clinical Trials (IMPACT) Network RFA
Aligning Research to Impact Autism (ARIA) is evaluating institution-based, collaborative, multidisciplinary clinical research teams to join the Innovative Medicine and Precision Approaches to Clinical Trials (IMPACT) Network, a robust and collaborative international network of sites with the goal to accelerate clinical trial readiness and implementation for both syndromic and non-syndromic forms of autism. The application period for the IMPACT Network is now closed.
About the IMPACT Network
Despite advancements in autism research, effectively translating these discoveries into improved clinical care and better outcomes for those with ASD and related neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) remains a challenge.
ARIA intends to leverage the experience and lessons learned from existing clinical research consortia and expand upon them to meet the complex needs of a robust, multicenter clinical trial infrastructure and enable rapid and effective therapeutic development.
The IMPACT Network seeks to enable:
a) standardized, coordinated quantitative phenotyping across participating sites;
b) the capacity to deliver cutting-edge clinical research interventions;
c) the opportunity to contribute to foundational collaborative human neuroscience research; and
d) the ability to run sufficiently powered clinical trials.
The IMPACT Network will comprise a multisite clinical trial infrastructure enabling rapid and effective therapeutic development. This network will serve as a foundation and catalyst for all types of therapeutics, from targeted treatments for genetically defined cohorts of individuals with syndromic ASD, to large-scale pharmacological and non-invasive neuromodulatory trials in non-syndromic ASD, to early behavioral intervention and biomarker development studies.
The application period for the IMPACT Network is now closed.
- Watch Informational Webinar
- Download RFA Overview
- View FAQs
- Submit your application
Requirements
Process
For reference only, the Request for Application (RFA) process has four steps:
- An open pre-application
- An invited full application
- An external review
- A finalist interview and presentation
Eligibility
Proposals will be accepted from any United States (including territories of the United States), United Kingdom, and Canada-based public or private-sector organizations, including nonprofit and for-profit organizations, that provide clinical care for individuals affected by ASD and related NDDs.
Sites with clinical capacity for both syndromic and non-syndromic ASD and NDDs, the ability to integrate translational research into their workstreams, and a history of successful collaborative research and clinical trials in ASD and NDDs will be prioritized in the selection process.
Qualifications
Qualified applicants must demonstrate the capacity to:
- Lead a collaborative, multidisciplinary team of scientists and clinicians
- Collaborate across institutions, family groups, and community organizations to recruit participants with ASD and NDDs
- Recruit at least 50 pediatric participants with ASD per year, for five years, for a minimum total of 250 participants
- Provide clinical care and engage patients in research protocols for five years. This includes serving a range of already ascertained patients with known genetic syndromes and associated medical co-morbidities
- Conduct biomarker discovery, quantitative phenotyping, and clinical assessment for participants with syndromic and non-syndromic ASD
- Execute the operational ramp-up and trial readiness components associated with ARIA IMPACT Network activities
- Conduct investigator-initiated and/or industry-sponsored clinical trials, in behavioral and pharmacological interventions
- Implement, manage, and oversee an IMPACT Network-specific data collection protocol that may include data from electronic health records (EHR), neuroimaging and electrical signal recordings (e.g., MRI, EEG, eye tracking), wearables and/or remote assessments, and other clinical assessments
Funding
Applicants invited to submit a full application may request up to $15 million USD over 5 years, which will be split across two components: an operational component and trial readiness component.
For reference only, you can download the RFA Overview. The application period for the IMPACT Network is now closed.