2016 Chancellor’s Discovery Program RFP
THE 2016 CHANCELLOR’S DISCOVERY PROGRAM RESEARCH FUND
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Ready for distribution: October 1, 2015
Application Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET, November 24, 2015
The Chancellor’s Discovery Program, developed by the Chancellor’s Science Advisory Council under Dr. Victor Dzau and approved for continued funding by Chancellor A. Eugene Washington, is intended to fuel new opportunities for innovative research projects at Duke Medicine that can lead to long-term externally funded research support. Approaching its fourth year of operation, the Discovery Program will fund up to five one-year awards of $75,000 in 2016 to initiate support for exciting new research projects led by regular-rank faculty members, at the rank of Assistant Professor or higher, with primary appointments in basic and clinical departments of the Duke Schools of Medicine and Nursing. 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.
The Program permits competition between new and renewal applications (see below for instructions).
TERMS OF THE AWARDS
Each award will consist of $75,000 for one year, with an expected start date of February 15, 2016. 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, 2017 for 2016 awardees). Previous recipients may apply for renewal for an additional year of funding (in competition with new applications and with the same deadline of Nov. 24). When requested, all awardees will be expected to provide updates of publications and long-term grant support that originated from the award.
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). Faculty with start-up or discretionary funds must provide a justification as to why those funds cannot be used for the proposed project.
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.
Inclusion of Investigators Outside Duke’s Schools of Medicine and Nursing
The intent of the Chancellor’s Discovery Award Program is to foster new lines of investigation by School of Medicine and School of Nursing faculty. While proposals may include co-investigators from and/or activities occurring outside these schools or outside of Duke, the bulk of the proposed activities and expenditures should occur within these schools. Salary support to investigators outside of Duke is not allowed; salary support to investigators whose primary appointment is at Duke but outside the Schools of Medicine and Nursing will be considered with appropriate justification. All proposals that include investigators from and/or work performed outside the Duke Schools of Medicine and Nursing must provide (1) a budget using the NIH PHS 398 form page 4 (a non-modular budget; URL provided below), and (2) a thorough budget justification for each budgeted category.
Collaborative Proposals
All applications, including collaborative proposals, must identify only a single project leader/principal investigator (PI); multiple-PI proposals are not allowed. Note that proposals including investigators and expenditures outside the Schools of Medicine and Nursing must include a budget and budget justification. Salary support to investigators outside of Duke is not allowed; salary support to investigators whose primary appointment is at Duke but outside the Schools of Medicine and Nursing will be considered. Remember that the bulk of the activities and expenditures should occur within the Duke Schools of Medicine and Nursing.
ELIGIBILITY
Only faculty members at the rank of Assistant Professor or higher on any regular-rank track with primary appointments in basic or clinical departments of the Duke University Schools of Medicine and Nursing are eligible to submit a proposal and to be identified as PI. Each eligible faculty member is permitted to submit ONLY ONE application as PI. Current members of the Science Advisory Council are not eligible.
SELECTION PROCESS
Applications will be reviewed by the Chancellor’s Science Advisory Council with ad hoc reviewers added as necessary to provide content-area expertise. Applications will be discussed by the Science Advisory Council, and the top applications ranked for priority funding. The top five applicants will be contacted to verify no new overlapping funds have been awarded; if necessary alternate awardees will be contacted in priority order. Applications for projects that are perceived to overlap currently or recently funded lines of investigation will be triaged without scientific review. Given the number of applications expected, applications that fail to meet the formatting requirements (below) are likely to be triaged without scientific review. The Council’s recommendations for funding will be reviewed by Chancellor Washington for approval.
APPLICATION PROCEDURES FOR INITIAL PROPOSALS:
Proposals must include:
· A title page that includes ONLY the following: title of the proposal, a brief abstract that summarizes the project and its expected impact (not to exceed 250 words), the PI’s name, primary appointment, faculty rank and contact information, and the names and primary affiliation of other senior/key personnel, other significant contributors, and consultants (using the NIH definitions for these categories, available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/senior_key_personnel_faqs.htm ). Note that all applications must identify only a single PI. Note also that if any project personnel are from outside the Schools of Medicine and Nursing, a budget and justification will be required (see below).
· 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 toward the page limit.
· An NIH-style biosketch of the PI (new format; 5 page maximum). See instructions and sample at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/SF424R-R_biosketchsample_VerC.docx; all recently completed funding (within 3 years) should appear on the biosketch.
· A listing of all current and pending research support in the format of NIH Other Support (official departmental signature is not required for the application; official other support will be verified at time of award). Include any start-up and/or discretionary funds, and explain why those funds cannot be used for the proposed project. If any listed funding appears to have overlap with the proposed research, you should carefully describe how the proposed research represents a new direction in your research program (each overlap statement not to exceed 500 words).
· Any proposals including investigators and/or expenditures outside the Duke Schools of Medicine and Nursing must also include (1) a budget, using the NIH PHS 398 form page 4 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/fp4.docx), and (2) a budget justification; the budget page and justification page(s) do not count in the narrative page limit. The budget justification should be three pages or fewer, with 1 inch margins on all sides, single spaced, minimum of Arial 11 point font.
APPLICATION PROCEDURES FOR COMPETING RENEWALS:
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 for the project, it will be ineligible for Discovery Award renewal.
· The narrative section of the renewal application is limited to six pages total including the following: preliminary data including the progress from year one (~3 pages), summary of plans if continued funding is granted (~2 pages), and a brief summary of the innovative nature of the proposed research plus a statement summarizing the PI’s plan to obtain external funding (~1 page). As above, tables, figures and images are included in the 6-page limit; references are not.
· Renewal applications must also provide one-page planned specific aims for an upcoming R01 (or equivalent) submission (one page). This page should be titled “Specific Aims – Planned Submission” and is not counted in the 6-page limit. This page should be formatted according to the requirements of the intended funding agency/organization.
· A list of any manuscript(s), published or submitted, that resulted from (and acknowledge) support of the Chancellor’s Discovery Award. This list is not included in the page limits.
· If investigators and/or expenditures outside the Schools of Medicine and Nursing are included in plans for the continuation year, a budget and budget justification must be provided as described above.
This 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) to facilitate successful competition for external funding in the near future.
APPLICATION DEADLINE
The application deadline is 11:59 p.m., Tuesday, November 24, 2015. Please contact Rebecca Kameny at 919-681-1840 or with any questions.
SUBMISSION
The online submission tool will become available on November 3, 2015; submission will close at 11:59 p.m. ET, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015. All documents must be submitted in pdf form. Submission will use Foundant, the same online submission system used for a number of internal funding opportunities, including CTSA-supported pilot project applications. To apply, visit
https://www.grantinterface.com/Common/LogOn.aspx?eqs=ApVvmgXCk2UXZYibx4Ypgw2 . If necessary, click on “Create New User” and follow the instructions. Note that the system will send you an email including your password when the registration process is complete. When submission is opened on Nov 3, “2016 Chancellor’s Discovery Program” will appear as an available funding opportunity after logging in. To apply, you will click that link and follow the instructions.
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