USC Dornsife
USC Dornsife
USC Dornsife Office of Research Advancement
Descripton at end of newsletter                                                               Week of  July 31, 2023               

Greetings Dornsife Faculty,
This week's report includes
  -  Terrific external funding successes from 4 Dornsife faculty;
  -  One USC internal funding opportunity;
  -  Current and diverse external funding opportunities, including 2 limited submissions; and
  -  Memo from USC Research and Innvovation on NEW NSF mandated requirements for the responsible conduct of research.
Best regards,
Renee J. Perez, Vice Dean, Administration & Finance
Cathleen Crayton, Project Specialist

 External Funding Successes

Jody Agius Vallejo, Sociology, Black Flourishing: Race, Class, and Living Well in an Anti-Black City, Russel Sage Foundation

Yu Deng, Mathematics, Probabilistic aspects of dispersive and wave equations, National Science Foundation

Ann Owens, Sociology, Stratification at the Starting Gate: Investigating Heterogeneous Neighborhood Effects on School Readiness by Race/Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status, Russell Sage Foundation

Matthew Pennell, Quantitative and Computational Biology, Leveraging phylogenetic approaches to investigate the evolution of gene expression, National Institute of General Medical Sciences


USC Internal Funding Opportunity

Keck School of Medicine
Program: Epstein Breakthrough Alzheimer’s Research Fund Request for Proposals
Synopsis
: Supports innovative and interdisciplinary research in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) under a new research program supported by a generous gift from USC Trustee, Daniel J. Epstein. Funds will be awarded to promote and support research to advance the development of new therapies and /or preventive measures for AD across the spectrum from pre-symptomatic to symptomatic disease. Funding preference will be given to those projects that have the strongest potential to advance therapeutics in the next five years. Mr. Epstein has committed funds to support this collaborative effort for five years. This Request for Proposals is for year two of the five-year effort. In addition to required PIs from Keck, Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy, Ostrow School of Dentistry, Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, or Davis School of Gerontology, 1 or 2 PIs from any other school at USC is required. PIs should bring research expertise that complements expertise of the PI for the proposed research and offers a clear advantage in conducting innovative research project related to AD.
Award details: $125K to $250K per year. Anticipate making 4 to 8 awards.
Announcement: Epstein Breakthrough Alzheimer’s Research Fund
Letter of Intent due date: August 15, 2023. Submission portal opens August 7, 2023.
Full proposal due date: September 5, 2023.
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External Funding Opportunities

***Limited Submission***
NSF / Office of the Director — Office of the Chief Research Security Strategy and Policy
Program: Research Security and Integrity Information Sharing Analysis Organization (RSI-ISAO)
Solicitation #: NSF 23-613
Synopsis: Supports proposals that articulate a vision and actionable plan for the establishment of an independent Research Security and Integrity Information Sharing Analysis Organization (RSI-ISAO). NSF’s vision is that the RSI-ISAO will empower the U.S. research community to address foreign government interference, support security-informed decision-making, and serve as a conduit that connects research community stakeholders with one another and with U.S. government (USG) agencies via NSF. The duties of the RSI-ISAO may be categorized using the following three functional domains in research security: (1) tools & training, (2) Research Security and Integrity Information Sharing Analysis Organization (RSI-ISAO) 1 community engagement & inquiries, and (3) data analysis & reporting. An individual may serve as PI or co-PI on no more than one proposal but may serve as Senior Personnel on an unlimited number of proposals submitted in response to this solicitation.
Award details: The first year of funding will be up to $9.5M and will be committed upon award. Subsequent funding for years two through five, may be at least $10M per year, pending availability of appropriated funds, and subject to a satisfactory annual review of accomplishments relative to specified goals.
USC Internal Announcement: https://rii.usc.edu/limited-submissions/nsf-23-613/
Announcement on website: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23613/nsf23613.pdf  
USC Internal due date: August 11, 2023.
Letter of Intent due date: September 8, 2023.
Full proposal due date: October 30, 2023.
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***Limited Submission***
NSF / National Institute of Standards and Technology / Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering / Capital One Finance Corp / Intel Corporation / Simons Foundation
Program: National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Institutes Accelerating Research, Transforming Society and Growing the American Workforce
Solicitation #: NSF-23-610
Synopsis: Supports 2 new institutes for the expanding National AI Research Institutes. The program invites proposals for institutes that have a principal focus on one of the following themes aimed at transformational advances in a range of economic sectors, and science and engineering fields:    
  -  Group 1 - Awards anticipated in FY 2024: Theme 1: AI for Astronomical Sciences
  -  Group 2 - Awards anticipated in FY 2025: Theme 2: AI for Discovery in Materials Research Theme 3: Strengthening AI For the institute themes listed in Group 1,
NSF anticipates awards to start in FY 2024; and for themes listed in Group 2, NSF anticipates awards to start in FY 2025. Each group has a specific set of due dates and review timelines pertaining only to that group. More detail is found under Due Dates and in the timeline provided in the program description.
Award details: NSF plans to make two awards in Theme 1, one award in Theme 2, and two or more awards in Theme 3, subject to the availability of funds.
Institute awards will be made for between $16M and $20M for four to five years ($4M per year on average).
USC Internal Announcementhttps://rii.usc.edu/limited-submissions/nsf-23-610/
Announcement on website: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23610/nsf23610.pdf 
USC Internal due daate: September 15th, 2023 for all groups and themes.
Preliminary proposal due date for Group 1 theme (required): October 31, 2023.
Full proposal due date: February 16, 2024.
Preliminary proposal due date for Group 2 themes (required): January 12, 2024.
Full proposal due date: May 17, 2024.
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Association for Asian Studies
Program: 2024 Northeast Asia Council Japan Studies
Synopsis
: Supports a variety of grant programs in Japanese studies. These programs are designed to facilitate the research of individual scholars, to improve the quality of teaching about Japan on both the college and pre-college levels, and to integrate the study of Japan into the major academic disciplines in the United States. Applications are judged on project merits and financial needs, with strong consideration given to scholars who have limited or no access to funding from a home institution. Applicants must be current AAS members. Grants are available for a variety of activities including (partial)
  -  Short-term Research Grant in the History of Japanese Sexuality;
  -  Short-term research travel to Japan
  -  Research travel within the U.S.
Award details: Depending on the activity, grants range from $2.5K to $7K
Announcement on website: https://www.asianstudies.org/grants-awards/council-grants/aas-northeast-asia-council-japan-studies-grants/
Application due date: October 2, 2023. Project must begin after December 1, 2023,
and be completed by August 31, 2024.
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The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
Program: Curatorial Research Fellowship
Synopsis
: Supports curators at any stage of their careers, with or without institutional affiliation, working towards projects that will manifest at least two years after a grant is made. Strong proposals explore topics that are understudied and artists whose practices (or aspects of whose practices) are experimental, hard to categorize, and otherwise less well known to the general public, and are presented in narrative form. It is important to situate the research project in relation to historical and contemporary art precedents and practices. It can be helpful to discuss the origin of the applicant’s interest in the topic, and the work undertaken to date. IIt is expected that projects will evolve over the course of the research and outcomes need not be predicted.
Award details: $50K
Announcement on website: https://warholfoundation.org/grants/application-guidelines/curatorial-research-fellowships/
Application due date: Due dates are twice a year. The next due date is September 1, 2023.
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American Psychological Foundation
Program: Scott and Paul Pearson
Synopsis
: Supports research that seeks to increase understanding of the psychological pain and stigma experienced by adults living with visible physical disabilities, such as cerebral palsy. Early career psychologists must not be more than 10 years postdoctoral. Full-time graduate students are also welcome to apply.
Award details: $10K
Announcement on website: https://apf.apa.org/funding/pearsall-grant/
Application due date: October 1, 2023.
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American Psychological Association (APF)
Program: David H. and Beverly A. Barlow
Synopsis
: Supports innovative basic and clinical research on anxiety and anxiety-related disorders. APF encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds with respect to age, race, color, religion, creed, nationality, ability, sexual orientation, gender, and geography. Early career researchers who are no more than 10 years postdoctoral are eligible to apply. Full-time graduate students are eligible to apply.
Award details: Up to $8K
Announcement on website: https://apf.apa.org/funding/barlow-grant/
Application due date: September 15, 2023.
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Autism Science Foundation
Program: Profound Autism Pilot Grant Request for Applications
Synopsi
s: Supports projects that will either a) increase the opportunity for people with profound autism to participate in research or, b) will identify and characterize the underlying biological mechanisms of profound autism, or will c) develop treatments specifically for those with profound autism.  In addition, this RFA welcomes research broader in scope than the Lancet Commission’s definition of “profound autism” — that is, autistic people who are at least 8 years old, minimally verbal or nonverbal, have IQ below 50, are not able to advocate for themselves, and will likely require 24‐hour access to an adult who can care for them for the rest of their lives — to include research on severe and challenging behaviors including self-injury, aggression, and irritability, and research focused on children under age 8. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and hold a university faculty position or postdoc position. Applicants must provide a letter of support from an advocacy group involved in profound autism.
Award details: Up to $35K total award for 1 year.
Announcement on website: https://autismsciencefoundation.org/apply-for-a-profound-autism-pilot-grant/
Appl
ication due date: September 15, 2023.
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Gilead
Program: Research Scholars
Synopsis
: Supports innovative basic and clinical research from emerging investigators around the world to incorporate new perspectives in our pursuit of scientific understanding and progress. We believe that new voices and research topics are needed to advance scientific knowledge in areas of unmet medical need and create a healthier world. Investigators must have junior faculty status and meet the NIH definition of Early State Investigator (ESI) — An ESI is a Program Director/  Principal Investigator who has completed their terminal research degree or end of post-graduate clinical training, whichever is later, within the past 10 years and who has not previously competed successfully as a PI for a substantial NIH independent research award. In addition to retaining ESI status, recipients must have received their first faculty appointment within 5 years, have a strong interest in HIV research, and be willing to devote 50% professional time to their Gilead project. Awardees are expected to provide an abstract, manuscript, or publication after 2 years that will be the basis for further research.
Award details: Total award is $180K over two years ($90K per year).
Announcement on website: https://researchscholars.gilead.com/en/hiv_portal/program-information/program-overview
Application due date: September 16, 2023.
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National Endowment for the Humanities
Program: Collaborative Research
Synopsis
: Supports groups of two or more scholars seeking to increase humanistic knowledge through convenings, manuscript preparation for collaborative publications, the creation of scholarly digital projects, or the planning of an international collaboration. Projects must pursue significant research questions and lead to a tangible interpretive product. Collaborative work can be rooted in a single field or across disciplines. NEH encourages collaboration with scholars working in the natural or social sciences, but projects must focus on humanistic content and employ humanistic methods. The announcement includes a couple of new provisions for the 2023 competition.
Award details: Depending on the funding category, up to $250,000
Announcement on website: https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/collaborative-research-grants
Optional draft due date: September 18, 2023.
Application due date: November 29, 2023. The award starts October 1, 2024, to September 1, 2025.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Program: Identify and Evaluate Potential Risk Factors for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
NOFO #: RFA-TS-24-010
Synopsis: Supports investigator-initiated research that will further the understanding of potential risk factors for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), while supporting the National ALS Registry's mission. The National ALS Registry's goals are to estimate the number of new ALS cases each year, estimate the number of people who have ALS at a specific point in time, better understand who gets ALS, and identify what contributing factors, including environmental, may affect ALS.  More specifically, CDC / ATSDR is seeking  research that will identify and evaluate risk factors contributing to ALS,  with a preferred focus in this NOFO on factors related to military service, contact sports, traumatic brain injury, neuroinflammation, environmental exposures, and infectious agents. Research proposals on preferred topics can be funded under one of two funding options,  Funding Option A is intended to support ALS risk factor research investigations that have an existing, well-substantiated evidence base and would benefit from strengthened rigorous evaluation. Funding Option B is intended to support novel ALS risk factor research investigations that may or may not have an existing evidence-based foundation base, may be supported by limited and insufficient preliminary research, and are exploratory and developmental in nature. For Option A and B applicants may elect to use data from the National ALS Registry. Note, this is not compulsory and will not preclude the applicant from consideration.
Award details: Anticipated funding is $2,5M. Expect up to 8 awards to be made.
Announcement on website:  CDC/ALS
Letter of Intent due date: November 17, 2023.
Application due date: 12/19/2023.
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NSF / Directorate for Geosciences — Division of Innovation, Synergies, and Education / Directorate for Biological Sciences — Division of Environmental Biology / Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences — Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences
Program: Dynamics of Integrated Socio-Environmental Systems (DISES)
Solicitation #
: NSF-23-609
Synopsis: Supports research projects that advance basic scientific understanding of integrated socio-environmental systems and the complex interactions (dynamics, processes, and feedbacks) within and among the environmental (biological, physical, and chemical) and human ("socio") (economic, social, political, or behavioral) components of such a system. The program seeks proposals that emphasize the truly integrated nature of a socio-environmental system versus two discrete systems (a natural one and a human one) that are coupled. 
Award details: DISES Track 1 research awards will be up to five years in duration with a budget of up to $1.8M; DISES-EX Track 2 exploratory awards will be up to three years in duration with a budget of up to $750K.  DISES-RCN Track 3 research coordination network (RCN) awards will be four or five years in duration with a budget up to $500K.
Announcement on website: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23609/nsf23609.pdf?WT.mc_ev=click&WT.mc_id=&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
Application due date: November 17, 2023.
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NSF / Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences — Division of Materials Research
Program: Condensed Matter and Materials Theory (CMMT)
Solicitation #
: NSF 23-611
Synopsis: Supports fundamental research that advances conceptual understanding of hard and soft materials, and materials-related phenomena; the development of associated analytical, computational, and data-centric techniques; and predictive materials-specific theory, simulation, and modeling for materials research. First-principles electronic structure, quantum many-body and field theories, statistical mechanics, classical and quantum Monte Carlo, and molecular dynamics, are among the methods used in the broad spectrum of research supported in CMMT. Research may encompass the advance of new paradigms in materials research, including emerging data-centric approaches utilizing data-analytics or machine learning. Computational efforts span from the level of workstations to advanced and high-performance scientific computing. Areas of recent interest include, but are not limited to strongly correlated electron systems; topological phases; low-dimensional materials and systems; quantum and classical non equilibrium phenomena, the latter including pattern formation, materials growth, microstructure evolution, fracture, and the jamming transition; gels; glasses; disordered materials, hard and soft; defects; high temperature superconductivity; creation and manipulation of coherent quantum states; nanostructured materials and mesoscale phenomena; sustainable materials; polymeric materials and soft condensed matter; active matter and related collective behavior; biologically inspired materials, and research at the interfaces of materials with biological systems.
Award details: Awards supported by CMMT are generally, but not exclusively, in the range of $85,000 to $160,000 per year and of 2- 4 years duration.
Announcement on website: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23611/nsf23611.pdf
Application due date: Proposals accepted anytime.
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NIH  / National Cancer Institute / National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) / National Institute on Aging (NIA) (/ National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
Program: Secondary Analysis and Integration of Existing Data to Elucidate Cancer Risk and Related Outcomes
FOA #:
PAR-23-255
Synopsis: Supports secondary data analysis and integration of existing datasets and database resources, with the ultimate aim to elucidate cancer risk and related outcomes (e.g., risk prediction or reduction, survival, or response to treatment, etc.). The goal of this initiative is to address key scientific questions relevant to cancer by supporting the analysis of existing clinical, environmental, surveillance, health services, vital statistics, behavioral, lifestyle, genomic, and molecular profile data. Applicants are encouraged to leverage and perform innovative analyses of the existing data. Applications may include new research aims that are being addressed with existing data, new or advanced methods of analyses, or novel combinations and integration of datasets that allow the exploration of important scientific questions in cancer research.
Award details: Direct costs are limited to $275K over a two-year project period, with no more than $200K in direct costs allowed in any single year.
Announcement on website: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-23-255.html
Application due date: Multiple due dates through mid-2026 for new, revised, resubmissions. The next due date for new projects is October 16, 2023.
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NIH / National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NBIB)
Program: National Centers for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NCBIB) (P41—Biotechnology Resource Grants)
NOFO #:
PAR-23-235
Synopsis: Supports national resource centers for conducting research and development on new technologies that are driven by the needs of basic, translational, and / or clinical researchers. NCBIB also makes their technologies available to other investigators, trains members of the research community in the use of the technologies and disseminates the technologies broadly. 
Award details: Typical direct costs for NCBIB range between $600K and $750K In addition, up to $500K can be requested for special-purpose equipment during a five-year funding period. This budget is restricted only to acquiring special-purpose equipment.  
Announcement on website: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-23-235.html
Letter of Intent due date: 3 months before application submission due date.
Application due date: Multiple due dates through May 2026. Next eligible due date: January 25, 2024.
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Announcement of Interest for Dornsife Investigators
USC Office of Research and Innovation
Please see memo from Senior Vice President of Research and Innovation, Ishwar Puri, Ph.D, outlining the new NSF mandated requirements for training in the responsible conduct of research (RCR). Memo is addressed to all faculty and other senior personnel named on NSF proposals and grants.





Book Cover: Little: A Novel (Graywolf Press, November 2022), David Treuer, English


University of Southern California Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences | Los Angeles, CA 90089 US
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