Research Grant Proposals

Standing Up to POTS® is most interested in research proposals with the potential to help people suffering from POTS right now.  All proposals should be relevant to one or more of the following priority areas:

• New or improved methods to diagnose POTS more quickly and definitively
• New treatment approaches to POTS
• Improved targeting of treatment for POTS patients with specific symptoms, biomarkers, or underlying cause
• Identifying underlying causes of POTS to improve treatment effectiveness

Standing Up to POTS will fund up to TWO research proposal up to $75,000 US dollars this application cycle. All applications should be aimed at helping to improve the quality of life for people currently living with POTS. Proposals are limited to 10 pages double spaced with 12 point font, and can be sent to mailto:research@standinguptopots.org. Our next round of grant applications will be due Friday, June 13, 2025 by 5:00 p.m. EST.

Please divide your submission into two Word files or two .pdf documents. The first file provides background information on each researcher, and the second file will include the research protocol and budget with no names used throughout. We read these proposals "blind" to the research group's identity.

File I: Applicant information with names attached. This will not be presented to the Board prior to reading the research protocols.

• Names and institutional affiliations of researcher(s)
• Brief listing of professional qualifications to conduct this research project
• Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

File II: Blind reading of proposal with no names attached. Please be sure that you do not reference names of people in your group in this proposal.

• Executive summary describing goals, methods, and anticipated outcomes
• Background information relevant to the proposed project
• Description of experimental protocol to be used in the study, including
  • Recruitment strategies to get people into the study
  • Target participants (sex, age, diagnoses, etc.)
  • Groups (if applicable)
  • Complete procedure to be used with participants and/or processing of biological samples.
• Description of how the results of this study might improve the quality of life for people currently living with POTS.

• Itemized budget for anticipated costs to conduct the research project per year, to total no more than our maximum award in US dollars
  • Equipment costs like use of the tilt table test, QSART, or PCR
  • Expendable materials required to complete the study, like EKG electrodes, gloves, and blood tests
  • Research assistant, if applicable, please outline their
    • Responsibilities for your research project
    • Percent effort toward this project and estimated total time they will give to this research
    • Amount paid in salary/benefits from this grant
  • Institutional overhead, to be capped at 10% (if applicable)
• Any special issues that the Board should consider, including other funding sources for this project

Please write the proposal for an audience of college educated individuals who have a variety of science backgrounds. Avoiding abbreviations in the proposal to improve readability is appreciated.

Authors will be notified in writing of the decision of the Standing Up to POTS® Board regarding the funding status of the submitted grant within 30 days after the grant deadline. 

A signed copy of the grant agreement must be returned to Standing Up to POTS within 30 days of receipt in order to have the grant funded.  We are a small organization of volunteers, and do not accept changes to the grant agreement. Evidence of an approved Institutional Review Board application must be sent to Standing Up to POTS within 90 days of signing the contract in order for the first check to be dispersed.

Once we have received the signed grant agreement and Institutional Review Board approval, payments will be divided into three allotments during the 24 month granting period.

• First payment: Standing Up to POTS® will mail a check for the first 50% of the grant amount within 30 days of receiving official confirmation of Institutional Review Board (or another ethics board) approval for the project AND a signed financial agreement 
• Second payment: 25% of total amount granted within 15 days of receiving brief budget/receipts showing initial funds have been appropriately spent and a synopsis of progress made on the research project
• Third payment: final 25% of the total amount granted within 15 days when receive brief budget/receipts showing funds have been appropriately spent and a synopsis of progress made on the research project

The grant expires 24 months after the day of first receipt of funds. Any previously dispersed funds not spent by the end of the grant period will revert immediately to Standing Up to POTS® via check or PayPal.

Within 30 days of the termination of the grant period, the grantee shall submit a written report to the Board, which includes:

• Summary of the major results of the research project
• Financial statement outlining the use of all grant funds
• Copies of any written work resulting from the grant (e.g., abstracts presented at conferences, journal articles)

Those who are delinquent in reporting will receive lesser consideration for later funding requests. 

Standing Up to POTS® shall be listed as a funding source in all publications and presentations resulting from this project.

At least one copy of (or a link to) any publication shall be filed with the Standing Up to POTS® Board at mailto:research@standinguptopots.org when published, even if past the end of the grant period.  Those able to publish articles as a result of this grant will be more likely to receive funds in the future.  

Check out successful topics from our previously awarded grants.