Support for Clinical Research Consortia

The American Clinical Neurophysiology Society’s founding purpose “to promote research and to further the understanding of knowledge in electroencephalography and closely related fields of interest, to exchange scientific and professional opinions and information with investigators in these fields” remains the foundation of its current mission and vision to “optimize neurologic health through understanding of nervous system function.”

While ACNS doesn’t itself conduct research, the Society recognizes the importance of supporting independent research consortia that bring groups of clinical investigators together around particular topics of interest, and their contributions to the field of clinical neurophysiology.

Support Program Details
The ACNS Clinical Research Committee has established a Research Consortium Support Program by which ACNS will provide to independent research consortia in-kind support in the form of:

• Meeting space and logistical support to hold consortia meetings during the ACNS Annual Meetings and Fall Courses;
• Hosting of a basic consortia website presence or link from www.acns.org to an existing consortia website;
• Promotion of the consortium to ACNS members via email and/or publication of consortia reports in the quarterly ACNS newsletter.

Qualification Criteria
To qualify for the ACNS Research Consortium Support Program, a consortium must:

• Include at least five (5) current ACNS members among its member investigators who represent at least two (2) different institutions;
• Address a research topic of relevance to ACNS members, as determined by the Clinical Research Committee and ACNS Council;
• Agree to and provide at least two (2) activity reports annually to the Clinical Research Committee, one prior to the committee’s meeting at the ACNS Annual Meeting; and
• Agree to submit papers resulting from their research to the Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology, whenever reasonable.

Application Review & Approval
Applications will be reviewed quarterly by the Clinical Research Committee and approval of applications will be communicated shortly thereafter. ACNS encourages consortia that would like to meet during the ACNS Annual Meeting or Fall Courses to submit their applications at least six (6) months prior to the meeting to allow time for application review.

Consortia who have previously applied and been approved should contact the ACNS Executive Office at least three (3) months in advance of any meeting to confirm availability of meeting space.

Independence
ACNS and supported consortia shall remain entirely independent from one another, maintaining separate and independent governance, bylaws, missions and activities. Consortia understand and agree that they may not use the ACNS name, logo or trademarks, nor speak on behalf of ACNS without written permission from the ACNS Executive Office or President.

For more information, or to request an application form, please contact ACNS Executive Director Megan M. Hille, CMP, CAE at mhille@acns.org.