Funding Announcements

The Smith Family Foundation Odyssey Award program seeks to fuel creativity and drive innovation in junior investigators in the basic sciences. The awards fund creative and novel lines of research that are distinct from the applicants’ current research directions-projects must be a distinct and novel off-shoot from current research. Investigators in the physical sciences (physics, chemistry, and engineering) whose projects focus on biomedical science are also encouraged to apply.

In recognition of the importance of research collaboration within the scientific community, collaboration is an additional, but not required, positive ancillary factor. These projects may involve researchers within and/or outside the applicant’s institution.

Eligibility:

• Researchers must have their primary appointment at a nonprofit academic, medical, or research institution in Massachusetts, or at Brown University or Yale University.
• Full-time, independent faculty who have not yet achieved tenure and have less than $750,000 per year in direct costs from external funding.
• Must have received first independent faculty (Assistant Professor) appointment on or between 11/1/2015 and 11/1/2020.
• Researchers may apply to the program no more than 2 times.
• Investigators in the physical sciences (physics, chemistry, and engineering) whose projects focus on biomedical science are also encouraged to apply.
• Women and people from groups underrepresented in biomedical research are encouraged to apply.

If an applicant has been on medical or family leave, or if research was interrupted for other reasons, this period of absence does not count towards eligibility. Up to 5 awards will be made.

Funding: $400,000 over 2 years, including 5% indirect cost.

Key Dates:

• Dec. 19, 2023, at Noon (initial stage proposals due)
• early April 2024 (invitations for full proposals)
• mid-May 2024 (full proposals due)
• mid-October 2024 (award notification)

For questions about foundation grants: For questions and assistance applying this or other foundation grants, please contact David Gillerman, senior director, Foundation Relations, BUMC, dgillerm@bu.edu, 617-359-8089.

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The Klingenstein Philanthropies Fellowships are awarded to outstanding post-doctoral candidates who are investigating the causes, prevention and treatment of child and adolescent ADHD and depression, especially those from low-income families and under-resourced communities, or other marginalized populations that may have limited supports and resources.

The fellowship supports two-year research projects that could lead to federal funding and other national research awards. The Foundation wants this research to produce direct and tangible benefits to children and their families, while supporting promising young scientists in building their careers.

FUNDING INFORMATION: $100,000 over two years.

ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS: Only candidates in departments of psychology, psychiatry, pediatrics, developmental pediatrics, social work or public health who have been nominated by their department chair and who have a primary mentor for the project may apply for a fellowship. department chairs may nominate only one investigator for each of the two fellowship areas: ADHD and depression.

APPLICATION MATERIALS:

• Research abstract
• Research proposal
• Budget
• Primary investigator information
• 2-4 letters of support (consult website for details)

INTERNAL SELECTION PROCESS: As each department chair may nominate two investigators, the Office of Research will not be conducting an internal review or collecting applications. It is the responsibility of the individual department/department chair or school/college to determine what applicants to put forward. If you need support in an internal selection process, please contact Jacob Tischer in the Office of Research at jtischer@bu.edu.

SPONSOR’S APPLICATION DEADLINE: Wednesday, January 10, 2024.

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The established BU Framingham Heart Study Brain Aging Program (FHS-BAP) is soliciting proposals focusing on genetic, genomic, biomarker, epidemiological, behavioral, brain imaging, ethical, health systems or other research in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), AD-related disorders, and brain aging. Proposed research must include a major component involving analysis of existing FHS data and under the scope of the NIH grant that funds the BAP. Thus, we strongly encourage you to contact the FHS-BAP Pilot Grant Program directors, Dr. Kathryn Lunetta (klunetta@bu.edu) or Dr. Wendy Qiu (wqiu67@bu.edu), to discuss your proposal before you submit your application.

For more information read about:

• An overview of FHS and a summary of information about FHS data particularly relevant to brain aging
• A detailed description of the organization and history of the Framingham Heart Study

Funding information: It is anticipated that two proposals up to $25,000 in direct costs for one-year non-renewable projects will be awarded. The FHS-BAP pilot grants are not intended to support large undertakings by established investigators or to enhance ongoing research projects that are already funded. Rather, the program will consider proposals for new projects that are likely to lead to a new research direction for brain aging and AD and to future, larger funded research projects.

Eligibility:  Proposals are encouraged from early-stage BU investigators (including post-doctoral associates and faculty at the instructor and assistant professor levels) already working within the AD and brain aging field, and from experienced investigators working in other research areas who want to obtain preliminary results for a novel brain aging and AD-related research idea using FHS data. Proposals to conduct research using FHS biospecimens are beyond the scope of this program.

Submitted proposals should include:

• Specific aims and research proposal (maximum 3 pages total excluding references);
• Key personnel biosketch(es);
• Detailed budget and justification; and
• Letter of support from primary advisor (for postdoctoral level applicants only).

Please use NIH PHS 398 forms for the submitted items.

Email a single PDF including the 3 or 4 required components by Feb. 1, 2024 to medudek@bu.edu.

Review process:  At least two content experts will review and score each proposal based on scientific merit using NIH criteria. The FHS-BAP Steering Committee will make funding decisions based on these scores and program priorities. The selected grants will be funded from April 1, 2024 through March 31, 2025.

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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Administrative Supplements to Recognize Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Mentorship award will support program directors and principal investigators who have demonstrated compelling commitments and contributions to mentorship and DEIA in the biomedical sciences. Because such efforts are not always appropriately recognized or compensated, this funding opportunity aims to reach individuals with limited NIH support.

Funding Information: Applicants may request up to $250,000 in direct costs per year for one or two years, depending on institution type, not to exceed the direct costs of the parent award.

Eligibility and Restrictions: The following criteria must be met to be eligible for the program:

• Individual PD/PIs must be supported by no more than one institutional award considered an independent NIH grant at the time of application. Support from awards on the “smaller grants” list do not count toward the independent NIH grant award.
  The parent award must have an existing mentoring component, such as:
  • A diversity supplement associated within the current competitive segment of the parent award.
  • A research education program that describes mentored research experiences.
  • A plan to provide mentoring.
  • A plan to enhance diverse perspectives.
  • A discrete objective related to mentoring.
• Only one request per supported PD/PI will be considered. Only one request per awarded grant will be considered.
• Individuals to be added and supported with funds from this administrative supplement must be citizens or noncitizen nationals of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
• Active awards with project end dates in July 2025 or later are eligible. The award may not be in a terminal no-cost extension or going into a no-cost extension in FY2024.

Prospective applicants are encouraged to join an informational webinar on Monday, Dec. 11, from 1:30–3 p.m. ET. Webinar registration is open, and attendees can submit questions in advance via COSWDevents@nih.gov. A recording of the event will be available for those unable to attend.

Deadline: Sponsor Deadline: Friday, Feb. 16, 2024

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The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have released a second solicitation for Smart Health and Biomedical Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence through the Smart and Connected Health (SCH) program. The SCH program supports innovative, high-risk, high-reward research to promote disruptive transformations in biomedical and public health research, drawing from coordinated, convergent, and interdisciplinary approaches from “multiple domains of computer and information science, engineering, mathematical sciences and the biomedical, social, behavioral, and economic sciences.” The solicitation includes participation from the NSF Directorates for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), Engineering (ENG), Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), and Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) as well as 23 NIH Institutes and Centers.

Proposals may address a wide range of research areas including computational science, algorithmic, cyber-physical systems (CPS) integration, imaging, robotics, and systemic level health disparities and health equity issues in biomedical and public health data science research. Additionally, proposals can address challenges related to the large amounts of multi-level and multi-scale data generated by biomedical and behavioral research. The solicitation states that “traditional disease-centric medical, clinical, pharmacological, biological or physiological studies and evaluations are outside the scope of this solicitation.”

Funding Information: Individual projects will be funded for up to four years for a total of $1.2M ($300,000 per year).

Due Dates: Proposals must be submitted by Nov. 9, 2023.  Subsequent due dates for this solicitation are Oct. 3, 2024, and Oct. 3, 2025.

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