Call for Applications

Institutional Research Initiative Grants

 

 

Application Deadline : ­­­­­­   June 1, 2004

 

Background : The Institutional Research Initiative (IRI) Fund of the MetroHealth Medical Center sets aside funds to support research within the clinical departments . These funds are available on a competitive basis to support research projects.

 

Purpose : Funds are made available to faculty members of the clinical departments at MetroHealth Medical Center. Both laboratory-based research projects and patient-oriented clinical research projects are eligible for support. Preference is given in the following order: (1) New investigators without grant support; (2) New investigators with minimal outside grant support; (3) Currently active, funded investigators with a new idea which is a significant departure from their currently funded projects. It is not the intent of this program to provide long-term support to a single investigator. Hence, support is limited to a maximum of two years in any five-year period. However, initial funding will be for only one year. These funds are not considered part of the departmental commitment to new investigators.

 

Amount and use of funds : Support provided by this program is generally modest. While the dollar amount of the grant is not limited, the budgets and their justification will be carefully reviewed. The award during this round will be limited to a maximum of $50,000. (Larger requests, if appropriately justified, would be considered for support.) The term of the awards is up to one year. A second year may be requested but requires a second, competitively reviewed application. Supplies, animals, patient-related costs, user fees, small equipment, and non-faculty personnel necessary for completion of the project are examples of items that can be supported. In general, large or generic equipment (computers, centrifuges, water baths, etc.) which gives the appearance of equipping the lab rather than furthering the particular project is not allowed. Any equipment purchased using these funds is the property of MetroHealth Medical Center. No faculty salary support or funds for travel to meetings are permitted. Travel costs to another institution to learn new techniques may be approved. Funds that are unused at the end of the year will revert to the IRI Fund unless prior arrangements are made.

 

Review : Review will be by the Institutional Research Initiative Committee with ad hoc advice as needed. Review will take place at the next meeting of the Committee after the submission date, and funding will start September 1, 2004. However, no funds will be released until all appropriate IRB and animal use approvals are in hand.

 

Application process and format : The applicant should consult with his/her Department Chair before submitting the application. The funds requested should be clearly required for performance of the proposed project. Only those experiments that can be reasonably accomplished with the limited funding and within the short duration of the grant should be included. The broader scope of a research plan that may be part of an RO1 application to the NIH should be included in the section describing “Plans for future work” (see below).

 

The format will be patterned after the NIH grant format (not the modular form). (For details of the categories listed below, please see the PHS 398 instructions http://grants.nih.gov/grants/fu n din g /phs398/phs398.html ). The format is:

  1. Specific Aims (including hypothesis)
  2. Background and significance
  3. Preliminary data (if any)
  4. Research design and methods (protocols for experiments)
  5. Plans for future work (Will another grant application be submitted to an external agency? When and to whom?) The Committee would like to see a grant application as part of a progress report.
  6. References
  7. Biosketch of the principal investigator ( NIH form )
  8. Letters from key collaborators indicating their willingness to collaborate
  9. Budget with justification ( NIH form page 4 – direct costs only )
  10. Grant support of the principal investigator (include industry support and departmental commitments)
  11. Description of any other attempts to obtain funding for the proposed project (applications that involve testing pharmaceutical agents in humans should explicitly state whether the manufacturer has been approached for funding)
The first five sections of the application (specific aims, background and significance, preliminary data, research design and methods, plans for future work) should not exceed six single-spaced pages . The major determinant of funding will be the strength and logic of the research proposal, not its length. Enough details should be presented to convince the reviewers of the logic, importance, and novelty of the project.

 

ADDITIONAL REQUIRED INFORMATION: The review group will also evaluate the long term professional/academic goals of the investigator, the research environment, institutional/departmental commitment to the investigator and the synergy behind the proposed research. Therefore, each application must also include:

1. A statement from the applicant clearly describing:
     a) Long term academic goals and objective
     b) How the proposed research will help achieve these goals
     c) Research environment

2. A letter from the Department Chair stating the departmental commitment of time, etc., and a commitment towards faculty development.

 

 

Nine (9) copies of the completed application must be delivered to Joyce Nolan (x8-8643) in the Schwartz Center, Bell Greve G-735, by 4:30 on June 1, 2004 .