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Descripton at end of newsletter Week of April 22, 2024
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Greetings Dornsife Faculty,
Today's report includes
- Honor for one Dornsife faculty member;
- External funding success for 4 Dornsife faculty;
- Diverse and current external funding opportunities, including one limited submission;
- Announcements from the Office of Culture, Ethics and Compliance on the availability of a new online reference tool to assist researchers; and an announcement from the Dornsife Research Office with a standing invitation to Wednesday Office Hours.
Best regards,
Renee J. Perez, Vice Dean, Administration & Finance
Cathleen Crayton, Project Specialist
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Accolade
Jefferey Moore Sellers, Political Science, International Relations and Spatial Sciences, has been honored by the editorial board of the Urban Affairs Review for its selection of Dr. Seller’s article, "Re-placing the Nation: An Agenda for Comparative Urban Politics" (2005), to be reprinted for the journal’s 60th Anniversary. The Urban Affairs Review is the flagship journal of the American Political Science section on Urban and Local Politics.
External Funding Success
Cornelius Gati, Bridge, Molecular basis of complement anaphylatoxin receptor activation, regulation, selectivity and signaling bias, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Manuel Pastor, Equity Research Institute, Solidarity Economics for Racial Justice, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Lila Rabinovich, Center for Economic and Social Research, Michigan Retirement and Disability Research Center FY24-FY28; UM24-03 Application decision-making for SSI for children: a qualitative study with beneficiary and non-beneficiary families, University of Michigan
Travis Williams, Chemistry, Chemical Hydrogen Storage Media with Value-Added Co-Products, Department of Energy
External Funding Opportunities
**Limited Submission***
(1 application from USC)
NSF / Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships - Innovation and Technology Ecosystems
Program: NSF Regional Innovation Engines
Synopsis: Supports the creation of regional-scale, technology-driven, inclusive innovation ecosystems throughout the U.S. by accelerating key technologies, addressing regional, national, societal, and / or geostrategic challenges, driving economic growth, creating and retaining quality jobs, expanding equitable pathways into careers, and strengthening national competitiveness and security. Each NSF Engine represents a formal coalition of regional partners, led by a full-time Chief Executive Officer (CEO), tasked to carry out an integrated and comprehensive set of activities spanning use-inspired research, translation of innovation to practice, entrepreneurship, workforce development, community engagement, and ecosystem building, to nurture and accelerate the growth of regional innovation ecosystems grounded in technological innovation and regional, national, societal, and/or geostrategic challenges. The mission of an NSF Engine must be clearly rooted in regional interests and reflect the aspiration that a regional innovation ecosystem can help build strong communities where all residents can thrive. This includes the equitable development of regional talent, intentional community engagement, and attention to impacts on a region's identities and cultures. The NSF Engines program is a placed-based innovation funding initiative, where the emphasis on "regions" expresses NSF's aim to stimulate innovation-driven economic growth within a particular place or region of service. The emphasis of the NSF Engines program further includes creating new business and economic growth in sectors that are critical to American competitiveness and in those regions of America that have not fully participated in the technology boom of the past several decades.
Award details: Projects can receive funding for up to 10 years in the following amounts: Up to $15M for years 1&2; up to $15M per year for years 3,4, & 5; up to $20M per year for years 6-10. The overall number of awards will be determined by the number of high-quality proposals received and the availability of funds appropriated by Congress.
USC Internal announcement: https://rii.usc.edu/limited-submissions/nsf-24-565/
Announcement on website: https://nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/nsf24565.pdf?VersionId=hcYRzpFBTUj8hotidtmycSqfmLv32oLF
USC Internal due date: May 17, 2024.
Letter of Intent due date: June 18, 2024.
Preliminary Proposal due date: August 6, 2024.
External proposal due date: February 11, 2025.
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UCLA / Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (CMRS)
Program: Ahmanson Research Fellowships for the Study of Medieval and Renaissance Books and Manuscripts
Synopsis: Supports postdocs and graduate students for the use of any of the UCLA Library Special Collections’ extensive holdings in medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and printed books. Some of these holdings include the Ahmanson-Murphy Aldine and Early Italian Printing Collections; the Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana; the Orsini Family Papers; the Bourbon del Monte de San Faustino Family Papers; the Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts Collection; the Richard and Mary Rouse Collection of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts and Early Printed Books; and the Medieval and Renaissance Arabic and Persian Medical Manuscripts.
Award details: $3K per month for up to 3 months. To accept the award, non-UCLA graduate students will be required to obtain Visiting Graduate Researcher status and pay the associated fee. Independent postdoctoral scholars or those holding faculty positions at other institutions must obtain approval as Visiting Scholars or Researchers to accept the award. CMRS-CEGS staff will assist you with these processes.
Announcement on website: https://cmrs.ucla.edu/awards-fellowships/ahmanson/
Application due date: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
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Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood
Program: Early Childhood Welfare; Early Childhood Education and Play; Parenting Education
Synopsis: Supports promising research and development projects that appear likely to improve the welfare of young children, from infancy through 7 years, in the United States. Welfare is broadly defined to include physical and mental health, safety, nutrition, education, play, familial support, acculturation, societal integration and childcare. Grants are only made if a successful project outcome will likely be of significant interest to other professionals, within the grantee’s field of endeavor, and would have a direct benefit and potential national application. The Foundation’s goal is to provide seed money to implement those imaginative proposals that exhibit the greatest chance of improving the lives of young children on a national scale. Because of the Foundation’s limited funding capability, it seeks to maximize a grant's potential impact.
Award details: Recent grants range up to $50K+. USC has had success with this agency.
Announcement on website: https://earlychildhoodfoundation.org/
Letter of Intent due date: May 31, 2024. Selected applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal.
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The Herb Block Foundation
Program: Encouraging Citizen Involvement
Synopsis: Supports projects that increase citizen involvement in activities that advances participation in American democracy. Many of those projects which have already received funding involve community-based organizations with university partners.
Award details: $10K to $15K
Announcement on website: https://www.herbblockfoundation.org/grant-programs/encouraging-citizen-involvement
Letter of Intent due date: June 4, 2024.
Full proposal (invited): July 9, 2024.
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Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation
Program: Neuroimaging and CSF Biomarker Program
Synopsis: Supports the development and validation of established biomarkers for which there is a clear clinical need in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Novel biomarkers of neuroinflammation, synaptic integrity, autophagy and TDP-43 are high priority. Other target areas of interest include (partial): neuronal loss, vascular injury and blood-brain barrier integrity, mitochondria and metabolic function, and protein misfolding. This RFP prioritizes biomarkers with a defined context of use, a clear advantage over other relevant biomarkers, and a path to commercialization and / or clinical use. Specifically, this RFP focuses on:
- Developing novel PET ligands for clinical trials
- Supporting novel CSF biomarkers
- Validating innovative MRI approaches in larger cohorts
- Developing novel measures of functional activity such as EEG
Award details: Up to $600K for direct costs only for 1 year (with potential for follow-on funding).
Announcement on website: https://www.alzdiscovery.org/research-and-grants/funding-opportunities/biomarkers
Letter of Intent due date: September 30, 2024.
Full Proposal (invited): December 9, 2024.
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National Endowment for the Humanities (forecasted)
Program: Fellowships
Synopsis: Supports individual scholars pursuing projects that embody exceptional humanistic research, rigorous analysis, and clear writing. Applications must clearly articulate a project’s value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both. Fellowships provide recipients time to write, to travel, and to conduct research and other project-related activities. Projects may be based on original research or provide a synthesis of ideas. They may be at any stage of development. NEH invites research applications from scholars in all disciplines, regardless of geographic or chronological focus, and encourages submissions from independent scholars and junior scholars. Anticipated deliverables will be books (including e-books), monographs, peer-reviewed articles, translations, digital materials etc.
Award details: $5K per month for 6-12 months
Announcement on website: https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/fellowships
Application due date: April 9, 2025. (Applications available January 9, 2025)
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U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) / Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Program: Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR)
Funding Opportunity #: 693JJ324NF00008
Synopsis: Supports research that will yield diverse pedestrian data, and encourage novel approaches for analysis of data in support of increasing the safety and mobility of all people. There are two tracks. Track A is for projects proposing the collection and preparation of diverse pedestrian data, as described above. The collection should include close partnerships with relevant diverse stakeholders and communities throughout the process from research design and collection through data curation and access management. The collection should consider a balance between providing ease of use of the data by qualified researchers and privacy protection to individuals represented in the data. The data preparation should consider the use of novel methods to reduce the manual burden and improve the quality of pedestrian detection and classification. Track B is for projects proposing to conduct research designed to take advantage of diverse pedestrian data. The research, like Track A, would benefit from partnerships with relevant stakeholders and communities throughout the process. Proposals should provide clear research objectives, for example, use of pedestrian data for design of safety countermeasures; explain how diversity of pedestrian data is necessary for the research objectives; and include metrics to demonstrate if and to what extent results improve traffic safety, mobility, or convenience for all or specific groups of pedestrians.
Award details: $2M program funding. Cost sharing required for this cooperative agreement.
Announcement on website: EAR
Application due date: June 5, 2024.
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Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H)
Program: Building Resilient Environments for Air and Total HEalth
(BREATHE)
Program Solicitation #: ARPA-H-SOL-24-107
Synopsis: Supports projects that aim to develop diagnostic and therapeutic indoor air system technologies that automatically detect and react to airborne pathogens and allergens. BREATHE envisions buildings embedded with sensors that autonomously and continuously monitor biological content of interior air, software that evaluates and models health risks in buildings based on sensor data and other environmental data streams, and smart automation systems that react to health risk reports by adjusting conditions inside buildings in cost-effective ways to promote well-being of occupants. These technologies will synergize to create an unprecedented ability to manage indoor air quality to the benefit of anyone who spends time indoors.
Award details: Multiple Other Transaction (OT) Awards anticipated.
Announcement on website: Draft BREATHE solicitation
Hybrid Proposer’s Date: May 2, 2024. Register by April 30, 2024. https://arpa-h.gov/research-and-funding/programs/breathe
Anticipate Solution Summary due date: June 7, 2024.
Anticipated Proposal due date: August 12, 2024.
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Department of Defense (DoD) / Defense Health Program
Program: Multiple Sclerosis Research Program Investigator-Initiated Research Award
Funding Opportunity #: HT942524MSRPIIRA
Synopsis: Supports investigator-initiated research that addresses the following areas
- Central Nervous System Repair, Protection and Regenerative Potential in MS;
- Correlates of Disease Activity and Progression in MS
- Biology and Measurement of MS Symptoms
- Mechanisms Contributing to or Associated with MS Etiology, Prodrome, Onset, and Disease Course
These are broad categories, Please check out the solicitation for the details. This funding opportunity includes the New Investigator option, designed to support the continued development of promising independent investigators that are early in their faculty appointments. Applications from Established Investigators and New Investigators will be peer and programmatically reviewed in separate groups. PIs applying under the New Investigator option are encouraged to strengthen their applications through collaboration with investigators experienced in MS research and / or possess other relevant expertise as demonstrated by a record of funding and publications.
Award details: Total requested budget is $1M (or less) for a maximum 3-4 years project period. Indirect costs are to be budgeted in accordance with USC’s negotiated rate. Collaborating organizations should budget associated indirect costs in accordance with each organization’s negotiated rate. All direct and indirect costs of any subaward or contract must be included in the direct costs of the primary award, of course.
Announcement on website: Investigator Initiated Multiple Sclerosis Research
Pre-Application due date: June 10, 2024.
Application due date (invited): October 7, 2024.
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Department of Defense (DoD) / Defense Health Program
Program: Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) Research Program Exploration-Hypothesis Development Award
NOFO #: HT942524TSCRPEHDA
Synopsis: Supports the initial exploration of innovative, high-risk, high-gain, and potentially groundbreaking concepts in the TSC research field. The studies supported by this award mechanism are expected to generate preliminary data for future avenues of scientific investigation. The proposed research project should include a well-formulated, testable hypothesis based on a strong scientific rationale and study design. Applications should demonstrate the ability to achieve interpretable results in the absence of preliminary data supporting the hypothesis. Encourages applications in mechanistic studies, animal model development, biomarkers, therapeutics, and patient-centered studies that address one or more of the following Focus Areas:
- Understanding, preventing, and treating the features of TSC-Associated Neuropsychiatric Disorders and reducing their impact, including pharmacological, behavioral, and surgical interventions.
- Strategies for preventing and eradicating tumors and cysts associated with TSC (e.g., angiomyolipomas, Subependymal Giant Cell Astrocytomas, Lymphangioleiomyomatosis [LAM], etc.), including gaining a deeper mechanistic understanding of tumor microenvironment, TSC signaling and mTOR-independent pathways.
- Preventing epilepsy, improving treatment, and mitigating neurodevelopmental and adverse outcomes associated with TSC-related seizures.
- Developing, assessing, and testing emerging technologies including imaging and molecular therapeutic strategies, such as gene therapy, to improve outcomes in TSC. If the proposed research project does not address one or more of the Focus Areas, justification that the proposed research project addresses an important problem or unmet need related to TSC research and / or patient care must be provided.
Award details: Maximum award is $150K direct cost for the duration of the 2 year project.
Announcement on website: Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) Research
Pre-Application due date: June 12, 2024.
Application due date: August 1, 2024.
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Department of Defense (DoD) / Army
Program: Rare Cancers Research Program Concept Award (RCRP)
Funding Opportunity Number: HT942524RCRPCA
Synopsis: Supports high-risk studies in rare cancers that have the potential to reveal entirely new avenues for investigation. Applications must describe how the new idea will enhance the existing knowledge of rare cancers or develop an innovative and novel course of investigation. Research completed through a Concept Award may generate sufficient preliminary data to enable the PI to prepare an application for future research. For this award “rare cancers” are those that affect 6 people out of 100,000 folks in the United States. Preliminary data is not required. Investigators at or above the level of postdoctoral fellow (or equivalent) are eligible to be named as a PI on an RCRP Concept Award application. Proposals for the FY24 RCRP Concept Award must address at least one of these three Focus Areas:
- Biology: Identify disease-defining molecular pathways, cell context, and microenvironment.
- Research: Develop and validate rare tumor-specific models that can support clinical trial readiness.
- Therapy: Identify novel therapeutic strategies, including drug repurposing.
Award details: $100K for direct costs over 2 years.
Announcement on website: Rare Cancer Concept Award
Pre-Application due date: July 15, 2024.
Full proposal due date: August 26, 2024.
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NIH / Across most Institutes; Office of Research on Women’s Health; Office of Data Science Strategy
Program: Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (Parent K08 — Clinical Independent Investigator Award) – Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed
NOFO # PA-24-182
Synopsis: Supports, specifically, applicants proposing research that does not involve leading an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or an ancillary clinical trial. Under this NOFO applicants are permitted to propose a research experience in a clinical trial led by a mentor or co-mentor. Providing salary and research support for a sustained period of “protected time” (3-5 years) to support didactic study and / or mentored research for individuals with clinical doctoral degrees, the K08 award may be used by candidates with different levels of prior research training and at different stages in their mentored career development. For example, a candidate with limited experience in a given field of research may use an award to support a career development experience that includes a designated period of didactic training followed by a period of closely supervised research experience. A candidate with previous research experience and training may not require extensive additional didactic preparation, and may use an award to support a career development experience that focuses on an intensive, supervised research experience.
Award details: Award budgets are composed of salary and other program-related expenses as described in the solicitation.
Announcement on website: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-24-182.html
Application due date: Multiple annual due dates through 2027. Next due date for new applications is June 12, 2024; next due date for renewal, resubmissions and revised applications is July 12, 2024; next due date for AIDS applications is September 7, 2024.
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NIH / Across most Institutes; Office of Research on Women’s Health; Office of Data Science Strategy
Program: Mentored Quantitative Research Development Award (Parent K25)
NOFO #: PA-24-191
Synopsis: Support those investigators whose quantitative science and engineering research has thus far not been focused primarily on questions of health and disease. The K25 award will provide support and "protected time" for a period of supervised study and research for productive professionals with quantitative (e.g., mathematics, statistics, economics, computer science, imaging science, informatics, physics, chemistry) and engineering backgrounds to integrate their expertise with NIH-relevant research. Additionally, this NOFO seeks to increase the numbers of quantitative researchers who can conduct biomedical, behavioral or bioengineering studies, relying on these investigators to inform new directions in these areas. Finally, this NOFO provides a unique opportunity for candidates holding degrees in quantitative science or engineering to embark on 3-5 years of special study, including coursework, seminars, meetings and mentored research, to achieve goals. No clinical trials allowed.
Award details: Award budgets are composed of salary and other program-related expenses as described in the solicitation.
Announcement on website: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-24-191.html
Application due date: Multiple due dates for all kinds of applications through 2027. The next due date for new applications is June 12, 2024; the next due date for resubmissions, renewals and revised application is July 12, 2024; and the next due date for AIDS applications is September 7, 2024.
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NIH / Multiple Institutes
Program: Interventions to Reduce Sleep Health Disparities
NOFO #: PAR-24-110
Synopsis: Supports non-pharmacological interventions to promote sleep health, reduce sleep health disparities, and examine sleep as a modifiable factor to reduce disparities for other health outcomes among populations that experience health disparities. Interventions should be based on conceptual models that propose mechanisms of action and pathways explaining sleep health or sleep health disparities, and must focus on one or more NIH-designated populations that experience health disparities in the U.S. and its territories (Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, or Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander persons, socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, underserved rural populations, sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals, and persons living with disabilities). Projects that focus on rural populations, SGM individuals, or persons living with disabilities should prioritize examining the intersections with race and ethnicity or socioeconomic disadvantage. Areas of interest include (partial):
- Studies examining health behavior change (e.g., physical activity, nutrition, alcohol use, caffeine intake etc.);
- Strategies to mitigate the negative effects of climate change-related factors on sleep health, such as natural disasters, displacement, poor air quality, and extreme health among populations experiencing health disparities; and
- Development of community-driven, evidence-based interventions to reduce sleep-related neurological health disparities for one or more populations that experience health disparities that take into account: uptake and sustainability, Social Determinants of Health barriers, cultural and linguistic adaptations tailored to the population(s) of interest up to the point of clinical trial readiness.
Award details: Application budgets are not limited but should reflect the needs of the proposed 5-year project.
Announcement on website: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-24-110.html
Application due dates: Multiple due dates through 2027. Next due date for new applications is October 5, 2024; next due date for renewal, resubmission, and revised application is November 5, 2024; next due date for AIDS application is January 7, 2025.
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Announcements of Interest for Dornsife Faculty
USC Office of Culture, Ethics and Compliance (OCEC)
OCEC has developed a one-sheet guidance library in partnership with the research community to provide targeted and issue-specific guidance regarding key compliance obligations in order to assist researchers and administrators in our shared endeavor to promote the ethical and compliant conduct of research at USC. Each one-sheet provides an overview of the most important requirements to keep in mind, links to relevant university resources where additional information can be found, and key contacts to reach out to in the event you have additional questions. For more information and to access the one-sheet library please click here.
Dornsife Research Administration
Dornsife Research Office is offering weekly online office hours on Wednesday afternoon from 3pm-4pm via Zoom. Feel free to drop in with a question and connect with Dornsife research staff.
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Book: Cusanus Today — Thinking with Nicholas of Cusa between Philosophy and Theology (Catholic University Press, Forthcoming July 2024) David Albertson, ed., Religion
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