In celebration of National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month, we proudly announce the new United Cerebral Palsy Research Program
It is an exciting time, as up-and-coming biomedical and therapeutic innovations have the potential to change the course of a child’s life. Advances in our understanding of early brain injury and genetic determinants of disease are changing concepts of cerebral palsy and related disorders. Understanding how the complex interaction of genetics and a child’s experiences shape the developing brain creates urgency. The opportunity to impact a life’s trajectory is most substantial at its beginning—we know that to provide early diagnosis and early treatment for a young child with cerebral palsy is to help an individual throughout their life span.
In response to this urgency, the United Cerebral Palsy Research Committee (URC) is launching a new research program. This program will award research grants that advance clinical, translational, and knowledge transfer/implementation research to advance the state of the science that culminates in real-life advances, bridging the gap between research and care to transform the lives of children with cerebral palsy and related neurodevelopmental disabilities.
The UCP Research Committee will begin with a pilot program with small grant awards up to $20,000 for direct costs for translational, clinical and knowledge implementation research. While we welcome applications on any topics relevant to cerebral palsy and related neurodevelopmental disabilities from researchers and clinicians in the U.S. and Canada, the URC will give preference to (1) those that are focused on early diagnosis and early treatment of cerebral palsy and to (2) research applicants from or collaborating with UCP’s affiliates. Both biomedical and therapy-focused studies are welcomed.