Request for Proposals: Pilot Research Grants 2011
Request for Proposals to be submitted for 2011 Pilot Research Grants from the Institute on Aging, with the Penn Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders, and the Penn Alzheimer's Disease Core Center (ADCC)
Pilot Research Grants
The University of Pennsylvania Institute on Aging (IOA), with the Penn Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders (PCMD), and Alzheimer’s Disease Core Center (ADCC) will fund a total of ten one-year multidisciplinary pilot research grants in the 2010-2011 academic year to support biomedical, epidemiological, behavioral or health services research, as well as basic science, clinical or psychosocial research.
Two of the ten pilots, funded by Penn’s ADCC, will focus on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related neurodegenerative disorders. In addition, at least one pilot, supported by funds from the Penn Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders, as well as funds from Penn’s School of Medicine (SOM) and a generous matching grant from The Bingham Trust, should be related to musculoskeletal tissue injury and repair with a focus on aging.
The remaining seven pilots, supported by funding from Penn’s SOM and The Bingham Trust, will focus on aging and aging related diseases.
These pilots are supported by funding from the School of Medicine, a generous matching grant from The Bingham Trust, and Penn’s ADCC.
Applicants may consider using data from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center. More information can be found at their website: https://www.alz.washington.edu/.
Eligibility
The Principal Investigator for each of these ten (10) pilots must be a member of the University of Pennsylvania fulltime faculty from any of its 12 schools. Collaboration with other departments or schools is strongly encouraged.
Each pilot will be funded at a level of up to $50,000/year for personnel and supply costs, but not equipment or instruments. (Note that due to matching requirements, it is encouraged that budgets equal $50,000 exactly.) The purpose of these one-year, non-renewable grants is to assist faculty in obtaining preliminary data to serve as the basis of a grant application to the NIH or other public or private agencies concerned with aging, musculoskeletal tissue injury and repair, or AD and related neurodegenerative disorders.
A committee of IOA, PCMD and ADCC members will review all proposals. Funding depends on scientific merit, and the likelihood that the pilots will lead to independent funding to continue the research beyond the pilot studies. Priority will be given to:
- Faculty in the early stages of their career who seek to enter research fields on aging, musculoskeletal tissue injury and repair, or AD and related neurodegenerative disorders
- Senior faculty who intend to shift their research emphasis towards aging, musculoskeletal tissue injury and repair, or AD and related disorders
Application Process
Applications will be considered for all pilot grant award programs, for which they are eligible, described in this announcement and should be formatted basically in the style of an NIH PHS 398 application. However, a title page should be substituted for the NIH face page. Applications should be limited to 5 pages (exclusive of title page, budget, biosketches, letters of collaboration, literature cited, etc. as in PHS 398). Animal and/or IRB protocols may be pending.
Suggested organization is:
1) Title Page (not the NIH face page) showing the title of grant, name of P.I., affiliation, address, telephone numbers and email address
2) Budget (costs for personnel, supplies, but no equipment or instruments)
3) Biosketch
4) Specific Aims
5) Background and Significance
6) Preliminary Studies
7) Experimental Design & Methods
8) Human Subjects (if applicable and protocol may be pending)
9) Vertebrate Animals Sections (if applicable and protocol may be pending)
10) Consultants (if applicable)
11) Consortium Contractual Arrangements (if applicable)
12) Literature Cited
13) Certification of Patient Oriented Research (if applicable)
It is obligatory that IOA Pilot Awardees provide an interim progress report in the Spring of 2011 and final report at the end of the pilot year. Financial reports will also be required. In addition IOA Pilot Awardees must present their pilot data at an IOA Retreat.
For more information, contact Kathryn Jedrziewski, IOA Deputy Director, at (215) 898-2445 or e-mail: jedrzmk@mail.med.upenn.edu.
Applications Due: February 5, 2010; anticipated date of award July 1, 2010.
Submit one hardcopy original and an electronic PDF file (via email) to: Kathryn Jedrziewski, Institute on Aging, University of Pennsylvania, 3615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, jedrzmk@mail.med.upenn.edu.
Note: If anyone encounters difficulties with the online submission, please contact Kathryn Jedrziewski at the number listed above prior to the due date.