***** PROTEOMICS SEED GRANT RFP (BMGC 2005) ***** PURPOSE The University of Minnesota s BioMedical Genomics Center (BMGC) announces the availability of seed funds to assist investigators interested in developing research programs involving proteomics related technologies. The purpose of the program is to enable investigators to take advantage of the new technological advances in proteomics and to obtain preliminary data for the development of extramurally funded programs. The BMGC proposes to be an active co-funding participant on several investigator-led initiatives as part of its ongoing efforts in promoting the use of genomics and proteomics research at the University of Minnesota. At this time, the BMGC will consider requests to support from 8 to 20 projects with funding in the range of $10,000 to 25,000 each for proteomics related studies. There is no restriction to the type of proteomics experiment or model organism the applicant may select, as long it is performed in collaboration with the proteomics associated facilities at the University of Minnesota s BioMedical Genomics Center or at other University of Minnesota proteomics core facilities. The complete list of facilities is appended with this announcement and is also available at the URL: www.bmgc.umn.edu. With this announcement, BMGC plans to develop a strong, multidisciplinary basic research program, drawing from the biomedical, bioengineering, and computational biology community at the University of Minnesota, and aimed at adapting and applying proteomics techniques to the general problems in biomedical research. The creation of collaborative teams that will develop innovative approaches for using and analyzing proteomics data is encouraged. It is expected that the funds will be used for activities that: (i) demonstrate the feasibility of their research methods; (ii) obtain preliminary identification of proteins that may underlie basic biological processes; and, (iii) obtain preliminary data for the development of extramurally funded programs. Funding for this program is provided by a core grant from the Academic Health Center. The BMGC anticipates providing similar funding in future depending on availability of funds following this round of applications. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Applications may be submitted by any member of the faculty engaged in biomedical, bioengineering, or computational biology research at the University of Minnesota. The creation of collaborative teams that will develop innovative approaches for using and analyzing proteomics data is encouraged. 1
PROGRAMMATIC AREAS OF INTEREST Applications encompassing all areas of biomedical research will be considered. Current areas of research that are considered relevant include but are not limited to: Cancer research Cardiovascular research Computational Biology Dental sciences Environmental biology Genetic basis of complex traits Immunology research Metabolic disorders Microbial pathogenesis Pharmacology and pharmacogenomics Public health research Stem cell biology Veterinary medicine APPLICATION PROCEDURES Relevant Dates and Deadlines. Proposals must be received by May 23, 2005. Applicants will be notified regarding awards by June 13, 2005. Earliest possible start date is July 1, 2005. Funds must be expended during fiscal year 05-06. What to submit. An original and two copies of the entire application package must be received by the close of business on May 23, 2005 at the address provided below. The proposals should contain enough detail to allow the BMGC to determine research merit and/or training opportunity, and special emphasis must be given on how the studies will be used to obtain preliminary data for extramural support. The request for the supplemental award MUST include the following: 1. A completed face page, including appropriate signatures, from Grant Application Form PHS 398 (Revised 9/04). Include the title of the grant on line 1 and enter BMGC Proteomics Seed Grants Program on line 2. 2. A description (maximum 5 pages) prepared by the principal investigator that includes: (i) A brief summary of the abstract and specific aims of the proposed project. (ii) A detailed description of the proposed proteomics experiments and relatedness to ongoing research in the laboratory, including methodology and resources in terms of materials and personnel available. (iii) Detailed description of how the applicant proposes to analyze and interpret the results of the proteomic analyses. (iv) Information on how the proposed research will be leveraged in an extramural grant application must also be included. The inclusion of any pre-existing intellectual property rights issues or collaborations associated with the acquisition of tissues, reagents and potential generated experimental results should also be detailed in the proposal. 3. For applicants that have received prior support from the BMGC, a brief (one-page maximum) statement of progress on each of the specific aims must be included. 2
Copies of all relevant abstracts, publications, invention disclosures, detailed listing of grants submitted, and notices of grant award must also be appended. 4. An itemized proposed budget entered on the budget pages from Grant Application Form PHS 398. Detailed justification of funding for personnel (if used), reagents and supplies, and animals (if used) must be provided in order to be considered for funding. 5. A completed NIH style biosketch of the Principal Investigator and co-investigators or other relevant personnel and collaborators. 6. A list of current and pending support for the PI and co-investigators. 7. Should the proposed research require animal experimentation, approval by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) must be provided. 8. A Proposal Routing Form (BA23) should be completed and signed by the department head and dean. (DO NOT SEND THE PROPOSAL TO SPONSORED PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION). Where to submit. An original and two copies of the entire application package must be received by the close of business on May 23, 2005 at: BMGC Proteomics Seed Grants Program c/o Rachel Surber 220 Cargill Building University of Minnesota 1500 Gortner Avenue St. Paul, MN 55108 The request should be sent directly to the office of the Director of the BMGC and will be reviewed by an internal scientific review committee comprised of the mass spectrometry and proteomics advisory group. MECHANISM OF REVIEW All applications will be checked for completeness and responsiveness by BMGC program staff. Proposals will then be evaluated for technical merit by an ad hoc selected peer review group of scientists from the BMGC steering committee. Final decisions will be based on criteria detailed below. REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS The types of grants that will be funded will be those that seek to test a well-defined hypothesis and include experiments such as those that: (i) Monitor comprehensive protein profiles under normal versus altered experimental conditions; (ii) Validate results of microarray and related genomics screens; and, (ii) Seek to identify known or novel proteins involved with normal, pathogenic, or developmental states. General review considerations will include: Significance and potential to advance biomedical research and initiate new areas of scientific discovery at the University of Minnesota Approach Innovation Investigator(s) Availability of appropriate resources and environment 3
AWARD CRITERIA Criteria that will be used to make award decisions include: Scientific merit and likelihood of success in obtaining extramural funding (as determined by peer review) Programmatic priorities and program balance Collegiate balance Availability of funds FUNDS AVAILABLE BMGC intends to commit approximately $200,000 to fund from 8 to 20 new grants in response to this RFA. An applicant may request a project period of up to 1 year. Because the nature and scope of the research proposed may vary, it is anticipated that the size of each award will also vary but NOT exceed $25,000. Although the financial plans of BMGC provide support for this program through a core grant from the AHC, awards pursuant to this RFA are contingent upon the receipt of a sufficient number of applications of outstanding scientific and technical merit. There is a strong possibility of a future round of funding, contingent on availability of funds following financial allocation for this phase of funding. MECHANISM OF SUPPORT The maximum award per grant is $25,000 although smaller budgets are acceptable. The funds must be designated for the direct support of the research. Budgets are intended to support the purchase of supplies, reagents and scientific services. Given the size of the awards, funds may not be used towards salary support for faculty. Post doctoral scientist of technician salary support is discouraged but will be permissible up to 10% of the total budget. Exceptions to this restriction will be considered for bioinformatics focused proposals. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS The following are special requirements for applicants and awardees for the grants program: Conference and Workshop on proteomics. All awardees are required to attend and present a poster of the research conducted under their seed grant at a one-day Conference and workshop on proteomics that will be sponsored by the BMGC. The Conference and workshop will highlight cutting-edge proteomics related research programs and detail considerations for design of experiments, statistical treatment of data, and interpretation of results biological standpoint. It is anticipated that such a workshop will be sponsored by the BMGC during September of 2005. Acknowledgement of services utilized. Recipients of grant awards from the BMGC will be required to acknowledge the organization in general and the service/s 4
used in specific in all abstracts, publications and other scientific output generated from their research funded by the BMGC. TERMS OF AWARD Awardee responsibilities. The awardee will assume responsibility for (a) the conduct of all experiments as detailed in their research proposal; (b) attending the Conference and workshop; (c) attending and presenting at the grantees workshop; (d) preparation and submission of a final report detailing results of the investigations; (e) updating BMGC staff on any and all publications and grants that result from the research award. CONTACTS Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact Vivek Kapur (vkapur@umn.edu) with scientific or programmatic questions regarding this RFP or the BMGC. Administrative questions may be directed to Rachel Surber (612-624-6681). 5