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Descripton at end of newsletter Week of April 8, 2024
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Greetings Dornsife Faculty,
This week's report includes
- Honors for 2 Dornsife faculty;
- Terrific external funding success for 6 Dornsife faculty;
- External funding opportunities, including 3 limited submissions;
- Announcement of Center for Excellence in Research workshop; and
- Open invitation to join Office Hours with Dornsife Research Administration staff on Wednesdays.
Best regards,
Renee J. Perez, Vice Dean, Administration & Finance
Cathleen Crayton, Project Specialist
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Accolades
Greta Panova, Mathematics, has been named a 2024 Simons Fellow in Mathematics, Simons Foundation and Simons Foundation International
Amy Powell, Art History, has been named a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton for 2024-25
External Funding Successes
Vadim Cherezov, Bridge, Structural Biology Of G Protein-Coupled Receptors, National Institute of General Medical Sciences
Tadeja Gracner, Center for Economic and Social Research, The Sweetlife: The Long-Term Effects of Excess Sugar Consumption in Early Childhood, National Institute on Aging
Scott Kanoski, Human and Evolutionary Biology, Control of feeding behavior by melanin-concentrating hormone, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
David Knapp, Center for Economic and Social Research, Michigan Retirement and Disability Research Center FY24-FY28; UM24-04 Pathaways and Persistence of Labor Force Transitions during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Regents of the University of Michigan
Francisco Perez-Arce, Center for Economic and Social Research, Michigan Retirement and Disability Research Center FY24-FY28; UM24-05 Inflation’s Impact on Vulnerable Older Workers’ and Retirees’ Economic Outcomes, Regents of the University of Michigan
Joshua Swanson, Mathematics, Combinatorial Representation Theory of Quantum Groups and Coinvariant Algebras, National Science Foundation
External Funding Opportunities
**Limited Submission***
(One proposal for Alliance Development Grant (ADG) and Alliance Proposals (Bridge to the Baccalaureate (B2B, STEM Pathways Implementation-Only (SPIO) and STEM Pathways Research Alliance (SPRA)
NSF / Directorate for STEM Education — Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM
Program: Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP)
Solicitation #: 24-563
Synopsis: Supports student success to create a new generation of STEM discoverers for the national STEM enterprise. The program takes a comprehensive approach to the STEM Learning Ecosystem to impact STEM student development and retention. LSAMP is an alliance-based program, whereby a group of institutions of higher education (IHEs) work together to diversify the nation’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce by increasing the number of STEM baccalaureate and graduate degrees awarded to persons from LSAMP populations. LSAMP populations are defined as persons from groups underrepresented in the STEM enterprise: Blacks and African-Americans, Hispanic and Latino Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. The LSAMP program provides funding to alliances that implement comprehensive, evidence-based, innovative, and sustained strategies that ultimately result in the graduation of well-prepared, highly competitive students from LSAMP populations who pursue graduate studies or careers in STEM, while also supporting knowledge generation, knowledge utilization, assessment of program impacts, dissemination activities and dissemination of scholarly research into the field.
Award details: Anticipated awards and funding levels by project type.
USC Internal announcement: https://rii.usc.edu/limited-submissions/nsf-24-563/
External funding announcement: https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/louis-stokes-alliances-minority-participation/nsf24-563/solicitation
USC Internal due date for all alliances: April 26, 2024.
External due dates: Varies by alliance. See the USC internal announcement for dates.
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***Limited Submission***
(1 application available for Associate or Full Professor)
Brain Research Foundation
Program: Scientific Innovations Award
Synopsis: Supports projects that may be too innovative and speculative for traditional funding sources but still have a high likelihood of producing important findings. It is expected that investigations supported by these grants will yield high-impact findings and result in major grant applications and significant publications in high-impact journals. Invites nominations for senior faculty (Associate and Full Professors) from eligible institutions.
Award details: $150K over 2 years.
USC Internal Announcement: https://rii.usc.edu/limited-submissions/brf-sia/
External Announcement on website: https://www.thebrf.org/scientific-innovations-award/
Request for Proposal / Guidelines: https://www.thebrf.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2025_SIA_Guidelines.pdf
USC Internal due date: May 3, 2024.
Letter of Intent due date: June 25, 2024.
External due date: October 8, 2024.
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***Limited Submission***
(Institutions may submit one proposal per session)
Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation
Program: Mallinckrodt Grants
Synopsis: Supports supports early-stage biomedical investigators engaged in basic and translational research that has the potential to make fundamental advances in biomedical science. Eligible candidates are tenure track faculty members in their first to fourth year, at American Institutions, who hold M.D. and / or Ph.D. degrees. The grant provides start-up funds support to move the project forward to the point where R01 or other independent funding can be obtained. Applicants with current R01 funding should not apply.
Award details: $75K per year, for direct costs, for up to 3 years. No indirect costs included.
USC Announcement: https://rii.usc.edu/limited-submissions/mallinckrodt/
External announcement on website: https://emallinckrodtfoundation.org/guidelines
USC Internal due date: May 17, 2024.
External due date: August 1, 2024.
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First Nations Development Institute / The Henry Luce Foundation
Program: Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellowship – 2025
Synopsis: Supports a select cohort of fellows as they work to further Indigenous knowledge creation, dissemination, and perpetuation in Indigenous communities. This fellowship intends to support exceptional creativity, progressive and critical thinking, and Native knowledge holders and knowledge makers as they move forward in their field in ways that will ultimately lead to broad, transformative impacts for Indigenous communities.
Award details: $75K over 2 years. 10 fellowships will be awarded.
Announcement on website: https://www.firstnations.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Luce-Fellowship-2025-RFP.pdf
Application due date: May 7, 2024.
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Brown University / The George A. and Eliza Gardner Hope Foundation
Program: 2025-2026 Fellowships – Art History, Architecture and Visual Culture
Synopsis: Supports mid-career scholars and artists whose field of work is focused on Art History, Architecture, or Visual Culture. Applicants should have a record of publications and other forms of public visibility for their work. Note that fellowship funds are intended mainly to support time for the creation of the work; they do not underwrite costs of equipment, exhibitions, performances, or publication. Fellowship is intended to augment paid sabbatical leaves.
Award details: $40K
Announcement on website: https://www.brown.edu/howard-foundation/about
Application due date: November 1, 2024. Applications open ~July 1, 2024.
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George Washington Presidential Library
Program: 2025-2026 Research Fellowships
Synopsis: Supports academics, public historians, independent scholars, and others for 1-, 3- and 6-month fellowships at George Washington’s Mount Vernon in Virginia. The research collections hold materials related to the 18th and 19th centuries. Prospective applicants are encouraged to browse through the Library’s catalogs to see if there are specific materials that will supplement research at the library. Access to the online catalogs may be found on the website.
Award details: Housing and stipend. 1-month fellowship: $3K; 3-month fellowship: $10K; 6-month fellowship: $20K.
Announcement on website: https://www.mountvernon.org/library/fellowships/fellows-program/
Application due date: December 31, 2024.
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American Psychological Foundation
Program: Kenneth and Mamie P. Clark Grant
Synopsis: Supports research and demonstration activities that promote the understanding of the relationship between self-identity and academic achievement with an emphasis on children in grade levels K-8. This grant alternates every other year between an early career psychologist and a graduate student. In 2024 this grant is available to graduate students. Familiarity with the Clarks’ work is essential. The Kenneth B. and Mamie P. Clark Fund was established in 2003 to honor the Clarks and to perpetuate their work as pioneers in understanding the psychological underpinnings of race relations and in addressing social issues such as segregation and injustice.
Award details: $9K
Announcement on website: https://apf.apa.org/funding/clark-grant/
Application due date: June 19, 2024.
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Simons Foundation
Program: Pivot Fellowship Request for Applications
Synopsis: Supports researchers with a strong track record of success and achievement in their current field, and a deep interest, curiosity, and drive to contribute to a new discipline. The fellowship will consist of one training year in which the fellow will be embedded in a lab of a mentor to learn the new discipline and its culture. Mentorship and support are essential for learning a new discipline and culture. In addition to the qualifications and potential of the applicant, the suitability of the mentor and the environment for mentorship will be strongly considered in the application process. Fellows and mentors must hold a Ph.D., M.D., or equivalent degree in the natural sciences (astronomy, biology, chemistry, earth sciences, neuroscience, and physics), engineering, mathematics, data science, or computer science — and all sub-disciplines therein — and be faculty at an academic institution or hold an equivalent position, and must demonstrate the fellowship will be in a new discipline, distinct from their current fields mentioned above.
Award details: One year of salary support of the fellow’s academic-year salary, whether normally paid over 9 or 12 months, and a $10K research, travel, and professional development allowance during the fellowship training year. Mentors will receive a $50K research fund during the fellowship year. The mentor’s research funds may be used for salary support for the mentor and lab personnel, small and large equipment (including major research instrumentation), supplies, travel, publication, tuition, and other research expenses. Indirect expenses are limited to 20%.
Announcement on website: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/pivot-fellowship-request-for-applications/
Application due date: May 15, 2024.
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National Multiple Sclerosis Society
Program: Career Transition Fellowships
Synopsis: Supports young scientists who have the potential to make significant contributions to MS research and help ensure the future and stability of MS research. The Career Transition Fellowship targets current postdoctoral trainees who demonstrate both commitment and exceptional potential to conduct MS-related research. Applicants must hold a doctoral degree (M.D., Ph.D., or equivalent) and be in a research-oriented postdoctoral training program at an academic, government, or non-profit research institution. Applicants must have more than two years of postdoctoral research experience and no more than five years of postdoctoral research experience at the time of application. (Clinically related training periods such as medical residencies or subspecialty fellowships will not be counted towards postdoctoral research experience.)
Award details: $600K over five years to support two years of advanced postdoctoral training in MS research and the first three years of research support in a new faculty appointment.
Announcement on website: https://www.nationalmssociety.org/For-Professionals/Researchers/Society-Funding/Training-Grants-and-Fellowships/Career-Transition-Fellowships
Pre-Application due date: May 10, 2024.
Full application due date (invited): August 14, 2024.
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Health Resources & Services Administration / Maternity and Child Health Bureau – Division of Healthy Start and Perinatal Services
Program: Supporting Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Screening and Intervention
Funding Opportunity #: HRSA 24-046
Synopsis: Supports projects focused on reducing alcohol use during pregnancy and improving developmental outcomes for children and adolescents with a suspected or diagnosed FASD the program’s long-term goals are to:
- Improve the ability of Primary Care Providers (PCPs) to screen for alcohol use during pregnancy, provide brief intervention, and refer high-risk people to specialty care.
- Improve the ability of PCPs serving children and adolescents to screen their patients for prenatal alcohol exposure and manage and provide referrals to necessary services for those identified with FASD.
The program objectives to be accomplished by the end of the period of performance in 2029 include:
- At least 90% of PCPs educated through this program have more knowledge about the hazards of drinking during pregnancy, options for screening for alcohol use, and prenatal alcohol exposure among children and adolescents suspected of FASD.
- At least 75% of PCPs educated through this program have applied this knowledge and use a recommended approach of screening, intervention, and referral to services.
Award details: Up to $950K for one cooperative agreement. The project comprises 12-month budget periods over 5 years, with evaluation after the first budget to determine further funding.
Announcement on website: FASD
Application due date: June 21, 2024.
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Environmental Protection Agency / Office of Science Advisor, Policy and Engagement / Office of Research Development – Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Program
Program: Air Quality Information: Making Sense of Air Pollution Data to Inform Decisions in Underserved Communities Overburdened by Air Pollution
Funding Opportunity #: EPA-G2024-STAR-D1
Synopsis: Supports research projects that involve substantial engagement with communities, community-based organizations, and/or Tribes to address both of the following priorities:
- methods and tools for data integration and analysis to characterize community exposures to air pollution in underserved communities
- effective communication of air quality information to communities and decision-makers to support actions to address air pollution concerns in underserved communities
For purposes of this funding opportunity, underserved communities are “populations sharing a particular characteristic as well as geographic communities that have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate equitably in aspects of economic, social, and civil life.” Equity means the consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including those in underserved communities.
Award details: Total maximum award is $1.250M over 4 years.
Announcement on website: Air Quality Information
Application due date: June 26, 2024.
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NASA / Space Technology Directorate
Program: Space Technology Research Grants Program – Early Stage Innovation Appendix
Solicitation #: NNH24ZTR001N-24ESI-B2
Synopsis: Supports early-stage innovation (ESI) projects to develop a unique, disruptive, or transformational space technology that has the potential to lead to dramatic improvements at the system level — performance, weight, cost, reliability, operational simplicity, or other figures of merit associated with spaceflight hardware or missions. The projected impact at the system level must be substantial and identified. Although system-level demonstrations are likely not possible or expected under an ESI award, meaningful Technology Readiness Level advancement is required. Proposals must address one of two topic areas
- Computational Materials Engineering for Lunar Metals Welding. The goal of this topic is to advance the state of the art for in-space assembly and manufacturing (ISAM) metal welding processes through computational physics-based materials engineering.
- Passive Lunar Dust Control through Advanced Materials and Surface Engineering. The goal of this topic is to advance the development of technologies to control lunar dust surface adhesion passively through advanced materials and surface engineering technologies.
Award details: The total award value may not exceed $750K, and the amount in any one year may not exceed $250K. The maximum project period is 3 years. 6 awards will be made.
Announcement on website: Early Stage Innovation Appendix
Notice of Intent due date: May 9, 2024.
Proposal due date: June 6, 2024.
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Department of Defense (DoD) /Office of Naval Research
Program: FY24 Department of Navy (DON) Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education and Workforce Program
ONR Announcement #: N0001424SF003
Synopsis: Supports STEM education programs and activities, which is formal or informal education that is primarily focused on physical and natural sciences, technology, engineering, social sciences, and mathematics disciplines, topics, or issues (including environmental science education or stewardship). STEM education programs and activities that could be supported by this FOA include one or more of the
following as the primary objective:
- Develop learners’ knowledge, skills, or interest in STEM.
- Attract students to pursue certifications, licenses, or degrees (two-year degrees through postdoctoral degrees) or careers in STEM fields.
- Provide growth and research opportunities for post-secondary, college, and graduate students in STEM fields, such as working with researchers or conducting research that is primarily intended for further education.
- Improve mentor/educator (K-12 pre-service or in-service, post-secondary, and informal) quality in STEM areas.
- Improve or expand the capacity of institutions to promote or foster STEM fields.
This FOA will not consider research applications, except those whose primary purpose is intended to further education (as described in the third bullet above) and that are not expected to generate intellectual property.
Award details: Up to $200K per year for up to 3 years.
Announcement on website: https://www.nre.navy.mil/assets/2023-12/N00014-24-S-F003.pdf
White Paper due date: April 12, 2024.
Application due date: August 30, 2024.
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Department of Energy (DoE) / Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
Program: Vehicle Technologies Office Research and Development, FY2024
Funding Opportunity Announcement #: DE-FOA-0003248
Synopsis: Supports the administration's goals of building a clean and equitable
energy economy and addressing the climate crisis, which is a top priority of the
Biden Administration. This FOA will advance the transportation sector
decarbonization to achieve the overall goal of economy-wide decarbonization by
2050. The Department of Energy is committed to pushing the frontiers of science and engineering, catalyzing clean energy jobs through research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D), and ensuring environmental justice and inclusion of underserved communities. Broadly (details in the solicitation) the six areas of interest are
- Next Generation Phosphate-Based Cathodes
- Na-ion Battery Seedling Projects for Electric Vehicle Applications
- Low GHG Concepts for Off-Road Vehicles
- Saving Energy with Connectivity
- Domestically Produced E-Steels
- Cybersecurity for Smart and Secure Electric Vehicle Charging
Award details: EERE expects to make a total of approximately $45.8 M of federal funding available for new awards under this FOA, subject to the availability of appropriated funds. EERE anticipates making approximately 17-29 awards under this FOA. EERE may issue one, multiple, or no awards. Individual awards may vary between $1M and $10M. The solicitation includes award ranges for each of the six areas of interest.
Announcement on website: Vehicle Technologies Office Research and Development (EMMA)
Concept Paper due date (required for submission of full application): May 2, 2024.
Application due date: June 24, 2024.
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NIH / National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
Program: Preclinical Proof of Concept Studies for Rare Diseases (R21 — Exploratory / Developmental Research Grant)
NOFO #: RFA-TR-24-023
Synopsis: Supports research on a broad range of diseases that are defined as rare; that is, diseases affecting fewer than 200K individuals in the United States. While individually, each rare disease affects a limited number of individuals, when viewed collectively, rare diseases represent a significant unmet medical need. Approximately 30 million people in the United States are living with one of the estimated 10K rare diseases; many of which affect children and are serious or life-threatening. Despite efforts to advance understanding of the mechanism of rare diseases, effective treatment remains elusive for over 95% of diseases. This dearth is a result of myriad interconnected factors including: 1) low disease prevalence resulting in fewer patients, clinicians, and researchers; 2) fewer resources given a smaller market size; 3) high developmental failure rates resulting from a lack of high-quality preclinical data in disease-specific models.
Award details: The combined budget for direct costs for the two-year project period may not exceed $275K, with no more than $200K may be requested in any single year.
Announcement on website: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-TR-24-023.html
Application due dates: Annual due dates through 2026. The next due date for new, resubmissions, renewals, and revisions is June 3, 2024.
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NIH / Office of Strategic Coordination
Program: Pilot Projects Enhancing Utility and Usage of Common Fund Data Sets (R03 — Small Grants Program)
NOFO #: RFA-RM-24-006
Synopsis: Supports small research projects (R03) encouraging the use of Common Fund data sets. Awards are intended to enable novel and compelling biological questions to be formulated and addressed, and/or to generate cross-cutting hypotheses for future research. The NIH Common Fund has supported many transformative research programs that generate new technologies, methods, and data. Many of these programs generate rich public data sets containing multi-dimensional molecular and phenotypic data from several organisms, including mice and humans. To maximize the impact of these data, NIH engages a broader community of end-users for wider adoption of these data sets and seeks to obtain feedback from successful applicants to enhance the data resources. Please see the NOFO for data sets that are already available to be resourced, as well as a list of projects with the intent of generating preliminary and/or validation data for subsequent funding, a couple of which we mention here
- Applying new artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning/deep learning approaches for metadata harmonization to aid in data integration;
- Developing research methods or analytic tools to support data visualization, harmonization, and integration; and
- Incorporating machine learning and computational approaches to imaging data for data harmonization.
Award details: The maximum budget request is $200K for direct costs for one year.
Announcement on website: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-24-006.html
Application due date: June 27, 2024, for all types of applications.
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NIH / National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Program: Education Activities for Responsible Analysis of Complex, Large-Scale Data (R25 – Education Projects)
NOFO #: RFA-DA-25-039
Synopsis: Supports training and educational activities for responsible analyses of complex large-scale data involving brain, behavioral, genomic, and socio-environmental data that complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation's biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. Topics of interest include (partial)
- Analytical approaches for large-scale, longitudinal data
- Ethical conduct of biomedical and behavioral research, including consideration of social constructs such as race/ethnicity and gender, and the potential for stigmatization
- Estimated meaningful associations, including population inferences, effect sizes, control of covariates, and interpretation of associations
Award details: Maximum award is $300K direct costs for a project period of 3 years.
Announcement on website: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DA-25-039.html
Application due date: December 18, 2024.
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Announcements of Interest for Dornsife Investigators
USC Office of Research and Innovation / Research Initiatives and Infrastructure
Center for Excellence in Research
Upcoming Workshop
How to Create a Team Agreement to Set Expectations
In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn how to quickly set expectations across your team using Team Agreements — a tool that captures how the team will manage the work while collaborating to perform tasks. At the end of the session, you’ll walk away with a complete framework for creating a Team Agreement as well as tips for how to involve your team in the process. This is for anyone looking for a complete, tactical tool to clarify expectations across their team.
Date: April 16, 2024 Time: 10:00 AM -12 noon
Zoom Registration: https://rii.usc.edu/cer/
Presenter: Emily Parcell, Leadership Coach
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Dornsife Research Administration
Dornsife Research Office is offering weekly online office hours on Wednesday afternoons from 3 pm-4 pm via Zoom. Feel free to drop in with a question and connect with Dornsife research staff.
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Book Cover: Agents Without Empire : Mobility and Race-Making in Sixteenth-Century France (Fordham University Press, March 2024) Antónia Szabari, French and Italian
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