Impact on Pediatric Sleep Award (IPSA)

The International Pediatric Sleep Association is pleased to announce the IPSA Impact on Pediatric Sleep Award, a new grant program designed to foster clinical research focused on unique and and/or novel aspects of sleep in infants, children and adolescents, and to encourage the development of community sleep education programs targeting the pediatric population. This competitive award will provide $10,000 (USD) in funding for a one-year project.

Eligible individuals include young/new investigators/educators with potential to develop an academic career as well as more experienced investigators/educators, especially in areas of the world where pediatric sleep medicine is currently being developed or expanded.

Preference will be given to applications that are likely to have a significant impact on the field of pediatric sleep medicine. Project specific aims may include but are not limited to screening, diagnosis and management of specific sleep disorders in the pediatric population, methodology and data analyses, sleep disparities, development of research tools (surveys, etc), development and evaluation of sleep health educational materials, and impact of sleep health public policy measures. Pilot projects that are expected to lead to additional grant support are especially encouraged.

Applicants should have training and experience in sleep research, a clinical sleep discipline or sleep health education. The applicants should have a demonstrated educational background in pediatrics, intersecting medical fields, psychology, nursing, social work, public health/policy, or education at the undergraduate, graduate or post-graduate level. The grant could be used as seed funding for a project, to collect pilot data, or for equipment. It should not be used for travel. The successful applicant will provide a report at the completion of the research award for possible inclusion on the IPSA website. The award cannot be made to an individual more than once. The maximum amount awarded for each project is $US10,000. Successful applicants are expected to present any research resulting from the IPSA Grant at a future IPSA Annual Conference. Acknowledgement of support on any presentations or publications arising from the IPSA Award is required.

Applicants should submit the following to the IPSA Secretariat, details below, for consideration by the IPSA Executive Committee and then full IPSA Board of Directors:

1. Brief CV of applicant including contact details, publications and presentations, IPSA membership number and year of initial membership.

2. Brief description (maximum 1000 words, excluding references) of the project for which the funds will be used including: background; aims and hypotheses; and research plan (if applicable) or expected outcomes of an educational program.

3. Brief budget with justification including description of how the funds will be used. Funds for this grant should go directly to support the recipient’s research and be exempt from any institutional levy or indirect charges.

Applications will be judged according to the following criteria:

1. Potential impact and significance of proposed project

2. Scientific merit (if applicable)

3. Potential for principal investigator/applicant to obtain future funding based on project results.

Overall impact will be a key consideration, but can arise from any of several different avenues, including for example likelihood to generate key novel data, make a substantial difference in the field or local sleep community, or substantively advance an applicant’s early-stage career in pediatric sleep research.

Only full applications with all requested materials submitted by the closing date of March 16, 2026 will be considered. 

Applications must be submitted through the form linked Impact on Pediatric Research Award “IPSA” Grant Application