Mentee must be a clinician in training (e.g., fellow, resident, junior clinician, clinician in a Ph.D. program) and, at the award start date, have sufficient time remaining in their training program to complete the research proposed.

• Submission of a pre-application in the form of a Letter of Intent is required prior to full application submission.
• Supports clinical research (e.g., research conducted with human subjects, samples, or data of human origin) by a clinician in training under an established mentor.
• The mentor will be the PI of the MCRA.
• Key personnel must include a clinician in training (e.g., a fellow, resident, junior clinician, clinician in a PhD program). The clinician in training should have sufficient time remaining in their training program to complete the research proposed under the MCRA.
• While multiple junior scientists or clinicians may participate in the research, only one clinician in training may be designated as mentee on the MCRA.
• The proposed clinical research can be a stand-alone study of high impact to vision injury care or the generation of clinical research data in preparation for a more expansive study.
• The MCRA may not be used to conduct preclinical research (including animal research) or clinical trials.
• Evidence of Institutional Review Board (IRB)/Ethics Committee (EC) submission is required at the time of application submission.
• Documentation of IRB/EC approval or exemption by December 1, 2025, is required for an MCRA application to be considered for funding.
• The award may be used to cover costs of labs/supplies/small equipment and/or to provide salary support for supportive personnel, but not salary support for the PI or the clinician mentee.

• Maximum funding of $75,000 for total costs (including direct costs and indirect costs)
• The maximum period of performance is 18 months.