Required Documents

1. GKNF USA Mi Ja Kim Grant Coversheet 2026.docx
   
2. Research proposal (see below for the proposal format)
3. Brief biographical sketch (not to exceed five pages) that includes education, positions, honors, selected peer-reviewed publications or other scholarly works, all pending funding, current and completed funding (over the past three years), and both internal (including start-up) and external funding.
4. Institutional support letter(s) from the department chair or Dean of their school

Proposal Format

Use 11-point Arial font, single-spaced with 1-inch margins. Please assemble the required materials in the following order.

1. Abstract: a 250-word limit
2. Research Plan: Sections A-E are limited to five pages. Budget and references are excluded from the page count.

• Overall goals and objectives or specific aims
• Relevant background and significance
• Innovation of the project.
• Approach/Methods/Timeline.
• Plans– Address how the proposed work will advance PI’s research and identify the external funding opportunities for which pilot data will be used, if applicable.
• References.
• Budget and budget justification:

1. A maximum of up to a total of $10,000 direct cost can be requested.
2. Please itemize anticipated expenditures to conduct the proposed research.
3. Items not allowed: effort for the investigators and mentors, equipment (computers, printers, hardware, etc.). open access publication fee, and food.
4. Funding may be used for personnel support (e.g., research assistant salary, consultation fee for statistical analysis) and cost associated with generating/purchasing data sets.
5. Request for funding for travel and or supplies must be directly related to the research project.
6. Please indicate whether other funds have been applied or obtained to support the proposed research/project.

Submission Guideline

The application must be completed and submitted to GKNF (GKNFUSA@gmail.com) by April 1, 2026. All application materials should be formatted into one PDF file, and electronic submissions are the only accepted format. The PDF file should include all required documents as listed above. 

Award Notification

1. The PI will receive the award decision by June 1, 2026. The award notification does not include the reviewers’ comments.
2. The application is generally awarded for 12 months, from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.

Post-Award Requirements

1. The awardee must submit a final report within 90 days of award expiration (September 30, 2027) to the Chair of the Scholarship/Award Committee of the GKNF-USA (Dr. Jin Young Seo, Hunter College, js3149@hunter.cuny.edu and GKNF GKNFUSA@gmail.com). The final report is limited to three pages. The final report should include (1) findings of the study (i.e., recruitment, sample characteristics, & preliminary findings), (2) utilization of budget, and (3) plan for dissemination outcomes (conference or publication) or plan for submitting external funding.
2. The awardee should present findings at the next GKNF-USA conference in the future.
3. If funding is not fully utilized within 12 months or if the proposed program requires an extension, a written justification must be submitted to the Chair of the GKNF-USA Scholarship Award Committee for approval. Investigators may request up to a twelve-month extension to use a portion or all unexpended funds by submitting a No-cost Extension Request. A SECOND EXTENSION YEAR IS NOT ALLOWED. Any unused funds must be returned to the GKNF.
4. Support from this program should be acknowledged in all publications (“supported in part by the GKNF Mi Ja Kim Research Grant from the GKNF-USA).
5. The PI should inform the GKNF-USA about any fundings, or publications supported by this grant.

Review Procedure

1. The review committee will have representation from different areas of expertise. Review assignments will be made to avoid conflicts of interest and provide expertise to assure appropriate review.
2. Each proposal will be assigned a primary and secondary reviewer who will prepare written reviews. The primary reviewer will present the proposal to the review committee for discussion and ranking.
3. All materials distributed to the reviewers are confidential.