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| Research Management Group (RMG) |
The Dana Foundation Program in Brain and Immuno-Imaging
**Funding Opportunity---Internal selection process required*
Every medical school in the United States, and several select free-standing research institutions, are invited to submit proposals, through a Request for Proposals (RFP). (Faculty from Schools of Medicine, Humanities & Sciences and Engineering may apply per the internal selection guidelines below.)
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Sponsor's website
Internal Deadline: Mon., May 5, 2008 2pm
(see
internal submission guidelines below).
Number of applicants
permitted: 2
1-- Track A is for conventional imaging (anatomical imaging of white or gray matter and measures of physiological functioning).
1--Track B is for cellular and molecular imaging of biochemical actions of specific brain cells, or their interactions with immune cells in the nervous system.
Track A: Track A: Applicants who have not yet been awarded their first independent research grant (R01 from the NIH or equivalent from another Federal agency) or have received only one such grant at the time of applying, are eligible to apply for funding of up to $200,000 payable over three years. Other applicants proposing to undertake research using conventional brain imaging technologies can receive funding totaling up to $100,000 payable over three years.
Track B: Applicants for all cellular and molecular imaging studies can request up to $200,000 total, payable over three years.
All applicants, please note that the Foundation does not provide support for indirect costs. As much as 10 percent of the total grant award may be used to purchase equipment for the project. The balance is to be used to meet direct research costs. All projects should be feasible to complete over a maximum of three years.
Eligibility
Stanford PI eligibility
The program focuses on providing support to faculty researchers early in their career, at the assistant professor level, or early in their associate professor career.
The Dana Foundation’s imaging research program focuses on improving human brain and brain-immune functioning in health and disease.
Track A is for conventional imaging (anatomical imaging of white or gray matter and measures of physiological functioning).
Track B is for cellular and molecular imaging of biochemical actions of specific brain cells, or their interactions with immune cells.
Both tracks support pilot-testing of promising but high-risk innovative ideas that have direct clinical application and that, when successful, are competitive for larger scale support from other funders.
Proposals from senior investigators generally will be considered only if they represent a new direction of research.
Post-doctoral research fellows are not eligible to apply.
The Program is designed to enable investigators to obtain pilot data more quickly than is possible through other funding processes. Investigations must be applicable to human brain or brain-immune functioning or malfunctioning to be considered for funding. Research that can be supported through clinical income should not be submitted.
Please note:
All proposals that seek to develop new imaging techniques or assays, or modify existing ones to address clinical questions, whether in systems or cellular and molecular imaging, must provide preliminary evidence of feasibility and evidence of the investigator’s experience in using the technology. Proposals seeking support without such preliminary evidence will not be considered.
Investigators proposing patient-oriented studies should provide preliminary evidence that the required number of participants—patients and controls—are available at the research institution(s) involved.
For all proposals that do not propose to undertake studies in humans, the direct relevance to human health and functioning needs to be explicitly stated.
Certain areas are not appropriate for consideration:
Ideas for which you do not have preliminary data.
Instrument development without initial evidence of feasibility and clinical applicability.
Program
Conventional neuroimaging techniques continue to provide important opportunities to understand normal human brain functions and how these are altered by brain diseases and disorders. Projects previously selected for funding have focused primarily on
1) understanding normal brain functioning, how it is altered by disease or injury, and how it recovers or repairs,
2) assessing and improving diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, and
3) refining and advancing imaging technologies to address specific clinical questions.
Simultaneously, the field of cellular and molecular imaging provides unprecedented opportunities to view biochemical actions of individual cells. By using cellular and molecular technologies, investigators are creating the capacity to track the movement and functions of brain cells, and of their interactions with immune cells, in health and disease. This program seeks to accelerate the development and application of innovative cellular and molecular imaging to clinical research concerning the functions and malfunctions of the brain.
Requirements:
Track A: Proposals involving conventional imaging of anatomical or physiological brain functioning should involve patient-oriented clinical research. Exceptions for considering research in animal models or in human tissues will be made only in cases where the research has direct clinical relevance, but cannot yet be safely and effectively conducted in humans.
Track B: Cellular and molecular imaging proposals should have direct clinical relevance, and focus on the biological activities of human brain cells, or their interactions with immune cells in health and disease. These studies may involve human tissues or animal models. Applications can involve the study of cells within neural circuits, using a combination of imaging and single cell electrical recording, if the techniques have already been developed.
Internal Submission Guidelines
By Monday, May 5, 2008 (2pm) please deliver one original and 10 sets of copies (STAPLE each set of copies) of the following to Jeanne Heschele, Research Management Group. Jeanne will be at 1215 Welch Road, Mod. B, Rm 20, between 12 noon and 2pm to accept proposals. Please notify Jeanne by email at jheschele@stanford.edu or by cell phone (650) 245-2351 if you plan to submit proposals.
All applications should be in the form of a four-page preliminary proposal, using at least 11-point font size (font sizes smaller than that will not be reviewed) and .5 inch margins in all directions with numbered pages.
This should include:
Page 1: On institutional letterhead:
Project title; investigator(s’) name(s), title(s), phone and fax
numbers, E-mail, and street addresses.
Please indicate one of the following categories: Track A or Track B.
Signature blocks for the PI, your division chief and your department chair (please obtain their signatures)
Pages 2-4:
Section I: A clearly and succinctly stated hypothesis. Indicate the total funding amount that would be requested, should the application be among those selected for development into a full proposal.
Section II: The aims of the proposed research project. What disease(s) or disorder(s) would be better understood, diagnosed, or treated? Or, what normal brain function or brain immune interaction would be better understood? Or, what imaging technology would be refined? If this proposal is for technology development or modification, please provide initial evidence of the project’s feasibility.
Section III: The research significance and potential clinical application(s) of the research.
Section IV: The methods. What specific tests or studies are proposed to develop the pilot data? If human participants are planned, please provide preliminary evidence that the number required can be recruited from the participating institution(s).
Section V: The qualifications of the primary investigator(s) for undertaking the proposed research. What facilities and resources at the applicant institution(s) would be used in the research? Please provide evidence that required technologies would be available for this project.
Additional Pages:
Appendix A: A list of all active grants and pending proposals by the applicant(s). Please include an abstract, specifying the aims, for any existing or pending grants from these sources of support that are related to or could potentially overlap with the proposed Dana project.
Appendix B: Please provide a standard NIH four-page format CV for the primary investigator(s).
Appendix C: Optional: If high resolution photographs are vital to illustrate or support the methodology proposed, please enclose 10 glossy originals.
Please note: At this time, do not send a budget, or any other supporting documents, although you may use up to two more pages for references.
Selection Process:
Your proposals will be distributed to Dr. Michael Cleary and the School of Medicine Awards Committee for review. That committee will select theTrack A & B preliminary proposals to represent the university. The applicants selected with revise the cover page per the sponsor's guidelines and will, with the assistance of his/her respective Research Process Manager (RPM) will obtain the signatures, including the Dean's. Preliminary proposals received at the Dana Foundation by the May 1, 2008 deadline will be considered for further development. Applicants will be informed within approximately twelve weeks from receipt of proposals of whether or not they are being invited to prepare full proposals. Selected grants will be funded starting in January 2009.
