This seed program is targeted to enhance interactions between faculty in the Campus departments and groups within the School of Medicine (SoM), with applications at the intersection of quantitative science and medicine. As examples, this may include quantitative biology with relevance to the Basic Sciences departments in the SoM, or research focused on exploiting quantitative methodologies to attack problems of relevance to clinical sciences, such as analysis of “Big Data” associated with the electronic health record. The overarching goal is to encourage new and enhance existing research collaborations between the Campus and SoM, around quantitative basic and clinical research challenges.
Program details
This call is open to new collaborative projects between faculty from the Campus schools and faculty partners in SoM departments; existing collaborations of this type are also of interest, as long as the seed funds will significantly enhance current research (e.g., open new research directions). Successful applications will propose the use of quantitative methods for basic and clinical research areas to advance understanding of health and disease. Topics in all areas of medical research will be considered, but the area must be of potential interest to external funding agencies.
Other details for consideration:
· The collaborative team must include at least one Campus and one SoM faculty member.
· There must be a strong quantitative (e.g., mathematical, statistical or computer science) component to the proposed research.
· Research teams must propose a collaborative project in an area where collaboration does not already exist, or a new direction for an existing Campus-SoM collaboration.
· The proposal must identify a potential external sponsor and include a plan for obtaining external funding following the covered project period.
The goal is to have selected seeded projects lead to a collaborative proposal to an external sponsor within twelve months of the end of the seed project.
Award information and dates
Successful proposals will be awarded up to $50,000 to undertake the proposed work over the project period.
Important Program dates:
Proposal due date: 1 February 2016
Notice of award: 1 March 2016
Project start date: 1 April 2016
Project end date: 31 May 2017
Proposal reviews
A review panel of Campus and SoM faculty will review all applications and assign a score out of 100 points based on the quality and scientific impact of the application (75 points) and its chances for external funding, if successful (25 points). The review panel will make the recommendations for funding to the program sponsors (listed at the top), who will make the final decision based on those recommendations.
Application instructions
Complete applications will include the following:
· Project Summary (one page): Required sections: Collaborator information (names and contact information), Project rationale,
Objectives/Aims, Expected outcomes, Budget amount requested, Name of potential external sponsor/target agency
· Project Description (limited to three pages): Required sections: Background, Research plan and methods, Timeline and responsibilities
of collaborators, Scientific impact, Contribution to external sponsor/target agency mission and objectives. The importance of quantitative
science to the success of the project should be detailed, as well as how this will impact the medical application.
· PI Biosketches (limited to five pages each)
· Budget Justification (one page): Provide a categorical description of the proposed project costs.
Please note:
· All documents should have one-inch margins with font size of at least 11 points
· Applications should be submitted as a single PDF file
Please submit completed applications to kelly.lindblom@duke.edu by 5 pm on 1 February 2016
