The University of Delaware’s National Institutes of Health-funded Center for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) in Molecular Design of Advanced Biomaterials has announced its annual competition for pilot research grants. 

Applications are welcome from teams of UD and affiliated researchers at any level, from junior to established faculty.

Two to three projects will be awarded in fiscal year 2016-17. Seed funding will be provided to teams of two or more investigators, during a one-year period, to turn new ideas in collaborative research into full-scale multi-investigator program project proposals. Each project will be awarded for one year, with $45,000 to $75,000 in annual direct costs. 

Goal

The goal of the 2016-17 pilot research project program is to build teams of investigators for future NIH P01grants. To this end, the focus of the 2016-17 pilot awards will be on establishing interdisciplinary collaborations in the general field of molecular biomedical sciences, such as research into the molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration and into molecular mechanisms of bacterial and viral pathogens and interactions with hosts, broadly defined. 

Timeline

Proposals should be submitted electronically to Vera Vladimirova at veravlad@udel.edu as a single PDF document by noon on Wednesday, June 15. Copy Tatyana Polenova attpolenov@udel.edu on the submission.

Format 

Each proposal should include the following sections:

• Title page (NIH Form Page 1)

• Description (abstract) (NIH Form Page 2)

• Progress from previous COBRE or INBRE support, if applicable (1 page maximum)

• Research plan (3 pages maximum, excluding references)

• PI and key investigators biographical sketch(es) (NIH format)

• Budget (NIH 398 Forms Page 4 and 5, including detailed budget justification)

• Other support (NIH form)

• A letter of agreement to participate from a mentor (if required, see below)

• If animal work is involved, address NIH’s five required points for vertebrate animals. 

An NIH cover page is not required, nor need the proposal be routed through the Research Office, but a title page needs to be included that also shows the name and the affiliation of the principal investigator and co-PI (where applicable). The proposals will be reviewed by external reviewers and by the COBRE External Advisory Committee.

Eligibility 

Any UD faculty member eligible to apply for external federal funding, regardless of department or college affiliation, or faculty rank, may apply. 

In addition to UD faculty, researchers and clinicians from other institutions in Delaware, such as Christiana Care and Nemours/A.I. duPont Hospital for Children, are eligible to apply for pilot research projects as part of the team with UD faculty, provided they have appropriate mentors and have adjunct faculty appointments (either at UD or Thomas Jefferson University). 

Each pilot project proposal from a junior faculty at UD or researchers at clinical institutions must identify a scientific mentor for the PI. Collaborations between faculty at different career stages are encouraged.

Budget and allowable expenses

Up to $75,000 per year (direct costs) may be requested plus 56 percent F&A (indirect costs). Any expenditures that are directly related to the proposed project are allowed, with the exceptions noted below. Examples or allowable expenses are: graduate student salary and fringe, postdoc salary and fringe, laboratory supplies and expendables, animals and animal care costs, and research instrumentation core fees. PI salary should not be included. Examples of unallowed expenses are: equipment, travel to scientific conferences, entertainment, meals, etc. 

A budget period of up to two years may be requested, and budgets for the full period should be provided on the budget forms. PIs who have had prior COBRE support should include a short section (less than one page, not counted under the five-page limit) outlining the progress on that prior work, including effort and success in leveraging that research into independent external support. Forms can be found at this NIH webpage.