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THE 2013 CHANCELLOR’S DISCOVERY PROGRAM RESEARCH FUND
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Ready for distribution: October 19, 2012
Application Deadline: December 1, 2012 The Chancellor’s Discovery Program, developed by the Chancellor’s Science Advisory Council and approved for funding by Chancellor Victor Dzau, is intended to fuel new opportunities for innovative research projects at Duke Medicine that can lead to long-term externally funded research support. The Discovery Program will fund five one-year awards of $75,000 in 2013 to initiate support for exciting new research projects led by regular-rank faculty members with primary appointments in basic and clinical departments of the Duke Schools of Medicine and Nursing. The Program will also fund five awards of $75,000 in each of the following four years, with competition between new and renewal applications. Every applicant is required to provide clear documentation that the project represents a new, unfunded line of investigation; lack of such documentation will result in triage. In addition, every submission must convey the innovative nature and likely impact of the project and clearly explain how this level of funding will be used to support the subsequent application for major research funding; innovation may involve the proposed science and/or generation of unique collaborations. TERMS OF THE AWARDS Each award will consist of $75,000 for one year, with an expected start date of February 15, 2013. A report summarizing financial expenditures and a one-page summary of the outcome of the project is required at the close of the funding year (to be submitted to the Council no later than April 1, 2014). In lieu of the one-page final summary of the outcome, recipients may instead apply for renewal for an additional year of funding (in competition with new applications). Awardees will be expected to provide updates of publications and long-term grant support that originated from the award when requested, to monitor the long-term impact of the Discovery Program. CRITERIA Proposals will be judged by the following criteria:
Innovation, which may involve the proposed science and/or the generation of unique collaborations
Strong scientific merit, feasibility and potential for leading to long-term external funding Lack of overlap with existing funding – applications will be triaged if it is not clear that they
represent a novel research avenue for the faculty member(s)
RESTRICTIONS Awarded funds must be used to conduct the project proposed. Discovery Funds can be used to purchase reagents or materials or to pay for the time/effort of a person conducting work as part of the project, or other expenses directly incurred as a part of the proposed project. ELIGIBILITY Regular rank faculty members with primary appointments in basic and clinical departments of the Duke
Schools of Medicine and Nursing are eligible to submit a proposal. Only one proposal per faculty member is permitted, and current members of the Science Advisory Council are not eligible. SELECTION PROCESS Applications will be reviewed by the Science Advisory Council, whose recommendations for funding will be evaluated by the Chancellor for Health Affairs, who will make the final decisions. Applications for projects that are perceived to overlap currently or recently funded lines of investigation will be triaged without scientific review. APPLICATION PROCEDURES FOR INITIAL PROPOSALS: Proposals must include:
A title page that includes the title of the proposal, a brief abstract that summarizes the project and its expected impact (not to exceed 250 words), the faculty member’s name, primary appointment, faculty rank and contact information.
A narrative (3 page maximum; 1 inch margins on all sides, single spaced, minimum of Arial 11 point font) that includes: 1) a more complete description of the project, including any relevant preliminary data (not required), planned experiments and rationales, and expected milestones, 2) a brief statement summarizing the innovative nature of the proposed research, 3) a summary of the expected impact on the faculty member’s future research directions and external funding potential. Tables, figures and images are included in the three-page limit; references do not count towards the page limit.
An NIH-style biosketch of the PI (4 page maximum). See http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/biosketchsample.doc for instructions.
A listing of all current and pending research support in the format of NIH Other Support; all recently completed (within 3 years) funding should appear on the biosketch in accordance with NIH format. If any of the listed grants appear to have overlap with the proposed research, you should carefully describe how the proposed research represents a new direction in your research program (overlap statement not to exceed 500 words).
APPLICATION PROCEDURES FOR COMPETING RENEWALS (BEGINNING IN 2014): When excellent progress has been achieved in the first year but additional support is needed to bring the project to a competitive level for external funding, application for one competing renewal will be allowed (these will compete with new applications and are not guaranteed).
Competing renewal applications should include the title page, NIH biosketch, and listing of support as described above for new submissions. Note that if other funding support has been obtained, the project will be ineligible for Discovery Award renewal.
The narrative section of the renewal application would be more expansive and form the basis of an upcoming R01 (or equivalent) application. The competing application narrative can include up to three pages of preliminary data including the progress from year one and up to two pages summarizing the plans for the coming year under continued funding. As above, tables, figures and images are included in the page limits, but references are not.
Renewal applications should include a brief summary of the innovative nature of the proposed research and a statement summarizing the PI’s plan to obtain external funding (one page total for innovation and planned external applications).
Renewal applications should also provide the planned specific aims for an upcoming R01 (or equivalent) submission (one page).
A list of any manuscript(s), published or submitted, that resulted from (and acknowledge) support of the Chancellor’s Discovery Award.
This more expanded application format for renewal should demonstrate the PI’s commitment to submit for external funding in the near future. The review process for competing renewals will include the provision of feedback to the PI (regardless of whether the renewal application is funded) as an added bonus to facilitate successful competition for external funding in the near future. APPLICATION DEADLINE The application deadline is December 1, 2012. Please contact Joanna Downer at 919-681-8272 or [email protected] with any questions. Submit your application electronically at the following web site: Chancellor's Discovery Program Online Application at https://redcap.dtmi.duke.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=XV7rpW. The application tool will require that you upload three separate files: (1) the Title page plus 3-page narrative, (2) your NIH-style biosketch, and (3) your NIH-style “Other Support” document. PDF format is preferred.
