A key goal of the institutional strategic plan for research, endorsed by the LLU Board of Trustees, is to expand the population of faculty involved in extramurally funded research.  One mechanism for meeting that objective is to encourage faculty from different backgrounds and capabilities to collaborate in the design of innovative, interdisciplinary research proposals.

Research Affairs is pleased to announce the Request for Application for the 2014 Grants for Research and School Partnerships (GRASP) program. These awards will provide support for new investigators from different schools to cooperate in pioneering research projects. The intent of the GRASP awards is to create a training ground for collaborative partnerships that will have the capability to apply for new extramural grant applications. More information can be found on the GRASP page.

GRASP Letters of Intent due by Monday, October 13, 2014, 5:00 PM
GRASP Proposal Submissions due by Monday, October 27, 2014, 5:00 PM

Grants to Promote Collaborative and Translational Research (GCAT)

The Office of the Associate Dean of Basic Science and Translational Research is pleased to announce the fourth annual administration of Grants to Promote Collaborative and Translational Research (GCAT). These grants are designed for teams of basic and clinical scientists, who will work together to develop insights and approaches to clinically-relevant issues that have the potential to make a difference in the lives of patients. In addition, these awards will promote collaborations between clinical and basic scientists within the School of Medicine, and allow the awardees to obtain preliminary data that will help them compete successfully for external funding. Funds from the School of Medicine are to be matched 1:1 by the clinical department, for a total award of up to $75,000 to be spent over a two-year funding period.

GCAT Letters of Intent due by August 1, 2014, 5:00 PM  
GCAT Proposal Submissions due by September 2, 2014, 5:00 PM  

The three newest videos for your viewing enjoyment (and if not enjoyment, then at least you might learn something new from them) are:

Status for PD/PIs (PD/PI Only)

This video reviews the steps for accessing the features available to a Program Director (PD) / Principal Investigator (PI) in the Status module. The video also examines the search options and organization of the Status Result screen table.

Detailed Status Information (SO & PD/PI)

Video 5 of this series looks at the Detailed Status Information screen. The Detailed Status Information screen is the culmination of the latest information about your grant application, including critiques, scores, NIH contact information, award information, and more.

Accessing the Summary Statement (PD/PI Only)

Video 6 of the Status series looks at the steps a Principal Investigator (PI) takes to access the Summary Statement. Additionally, the video summarizes, at a high level, the review process for grant applications. It is this review process that generates an evaluative document called the Summary Statement.  Because the Summary Statement is considered an evaluation, it is only

www.ndriresource.org

The National Disease Research Interchange (NDRI) provides project-driven human biospecimen service to academic and corporate scientists for biomedical research. NDRI’s extensive recovery network has the experience and capability to provide nearly every human tissue and organ.   Our high quality biospecimens are commonly utilized to establish primary cell cultures and for rigorous molecular methodologies such as RNAseq.  Frequently requested biospecimens and delivery service options include:

• Whole heart, atrium, AV valve, SL valve, ventricle, and blood vessels
• Whole lungs, bronchus, lung lobe, trachea, and blood vessels 
• Intact organs and gross anatomical structures
• Region/ area-specific tissue samples
• Rapid biospecimen preservation and delivery intervals
• Shipped frozen, fixed or on ice in culture media with antibiotics

If you have any questions, please contact Thomas Bell at 1-800-222-NDRI, extension 247 or tbell@ndriresource.org. 

*Please note that there have been changes in funding for the Innovation Award. Changes to the award are highlighted in red.

Advances in cancer research often originate from innovative thinking and ingenious approaches. Securing funding for these truly out-of-the box ideas remains a challenge, especially to early career scientists.

The Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award provides support for the next generation of exceptionally creative thinkers with "high-risk/high-reward" ideas that have the potential to significantly impact our understanding of and/or approaches to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. This award is specifically designed to provide funding for extraordinary early career researchers who have an innovative, new idea but lack sufficient preliminary data to obtain traditional funding. The research supported by the award must be novel, exceptionally creative and, if successful, have the strong potential for high impact in the cancer field.

Eligible applicants (including non-U.S. citizens) must be conducting independent research at a U.S. institution. Institutional nominations are not required and there is no limit to the number of applications that can be received from a particular institution. Basic and translational/clinical projects will be considered and individuals with a background in multiple disciplines are especially encouraged to apply.

The initial award will be for two years, $150,000 per year ($300,000 total) with the opportunity for up to two additional years of funding (up to four years total for $600,000). Continued support for years three and four will be granted to those awardees who demonstrate significant progress on their proposed research during years one and two of the award. A complete award program description and application guidelines are available on our website (www.damonrunyon.org). Applications are due July 1, 2014.

Please feel free to contact the Foundation at 212.455.0520 or awards@damonrunyon.org with any questions.

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation wants to emphasize that applications for the Innovation Award will be accepted from all scientific disciplines (e.g., Chemistry, Computer Sciences, Mathematics, Engineering, Physics--not just biomedical) provided that the proposed research meets the selection criteria. Please distribute this notice to all appropriate departments in your Institution and encourage eligible candidates to apply.

Detailed program information, including online applications, instructions on how to apply, and a list of participating laboratories, are available on the NRC Research Associateship Programs Web site (see link above).

Questions should be directed to the NRC at 202-334-2760 (phone) or rap@nas.edu.

There are four annual review cycles.

• Review Cycle:  August; Opens June 1; Closes August 1
• Review Cycle:  November; Opens September 1; Closes November 1
• Review Cycle:  February; Opens December 1; Closes February 1
• Review Cycle:  May; Opens March 1; Closes May 1

Applicants should contact prospective Adviser(s) at the lab(s) prior to the application deadline to discuss their research interests and funding opportunities.