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• Active Internal Calls for Limited Submission Nominations 
• Active Calls for NON-Limited External Opportunities

Contact us...

• Email LSO@vanderbilt.edu if you are interested in an opportunity not listed below or have questions regarding the LSO submission process.

 

Have you been awarded a Limited Submission recognition?

Please let us know at LSO@vanderbilt.edu

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Special Research Focus: COVID-19 Funding Opportunities

Curated collections of funding opportunities

Edge for Scholars offers curated list of COVID-19 funding opportunities

Updated regularly. Check the site often for updates about research funding opportunities, including to special calls & announcements, in response to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Vanderbilt University sites showcase public and private COVID-19 funding

Lists of application opportunities related to COVID-19 have been shared by Office of the Vice Provost for Research (Public funders) and the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations (Private funders). Updated regularly. 

GrantForward funding database provides list of COVID-19 funding opportunities

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Active Internal Calls for Limited Submission Nominations 

Internal review process required to choose institutional nominees

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Limited Submission Eligibility Guidelines

The following tags serve as a guide for submission instructions.

 Vanderbilt (VU + VUMC):  

• VU and VUMC submit collaboratively to this LSO. ALL investigators should follow the guidelines posted on this site.

 VUMC :

• VU and VUMC submit separately to this LSO. VUMC investigators should follow the guidelines posted on this site. VU investigators should apply through InfoReady and address any questions to VU-LSO@vanderbilt.edu.

FEATURED OPPORTUNITY

• High-profile or prestigious awards of particular interest to Vanderbilt investigators

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2022 Pew Biomedical Scholars Program

VUMC:  These instructions are for VUMC investigators. VU investigators should apply through InfoReady and address any questions to VU-LSO@vanderbilt.edu.

Applications due March 4

VUMC may nominate one candidate for the Pew Charitable Trusts' 2022 Pew Biomedical Scholars Award. The award supports Assistant Professors of outstanding promise in science relevant to human health. The award provides $300,000 in flexible support—$75,000 per year for a four-year period. Not more than 8 percent of the total award may be allocated for overhead costs.

Strong proposals will incorporate particularly creative and pioneering approaches. Candidates whose work is based on biomedical principles, but brings in concepts and theories from more diverse fields, are encouraged to apply.  Risk-taking is encouraged. Successful applications should not look like typical R01 grant applications with incremental research steps and safe hypotheses supported by existing data.

Selection of candidates will be based on a detailed description of the work that the applicant proposes to undertake, evaluations of the candidate’s performance, and notable past accomplishments, including honors, awards, and publications. The Committee gives considerable weight to evidence that the candidate is a successful independent investigator and has published significant work.

This program is distinct from the Pew-Stewart Scholars Program, but candidates may apply to both internal competitions.

Eligibility:

• Must have doctorate in biomedical sciences, medicine or a related field
• As of Sept. 1, 2021, must hold full-time appointments at the rank of Assistant Professor. (Appointments such as Research Assistant Professor, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor Research Track, Visiting Professor or Instructor are not eligible. Associate Professors are not eligible.)
• Must not have been appointed as an assistant professor at any institution prior to June 14, 2017, whether or not such an appointment was on a tenure track.
  • Time spent in clinical internships, residencies, in work toward board certification, or on parental leave does not count as part of this three-year limit. Candidates who took parental leave should indicate this in their internal application.
  • Please note that eligibility criteria have been temporarily expanded to account for COVID-related lab shutdowns and research disruptions. Please direct any questions to the program office at scholarsapp@pewtrusts.org.
     
• It is expected that Pew scholars will spend at least 80 percent of their time in work or activities related to the accomplishment of their overall research goals (which are not restricted to the specific aims proposed for this award).
• The selected candidate may not be nominated more than two times in total, regardless of institution. 
• Funding from the NIH, other government sources, and project grants from nonprofit associations do not pose a conflict with the Pew Scholars program.

Scope of Research:

• Strong proposals will incorporate particularly creative and pioneering approaches to basic, translational, and applied biomedical research. Candidates whose work is based on biomedical principles but who bring in concepts and theories from more diverse fields are encouraged to apply.
  • Ideas with the potential to produce an unusually high impact are encouraged.
  • For examples of Pew scholar projects, a directory of past scholars can be found here, including previous Vanderbilt awardees (John Karijolich ’18, Lauren Parker Jackson ‘16; Ethan Lee ‘04; David Cortez ‘03).
• Projects that are solely clinical research are not within the scope of Pew-funded research

See the program details for more information.

Internal Application Process:

Anyone interested in being considered as Vanderbilt’s nominee must submit the following (in a single PDF) to LSO@vanderbilt.edu by 5 p.m. on March 4: 

1. Brief research plan including summary budget (2 page max);
2. Letter of support from department chair/center director;
3. NIH Biosketch or abbreviated CV (5 page max)

Submissions should reference "PEW BIOMEDICAL SCHOLARS" in the subject line of the email. 

Following the internal review, the nominee’s name will be submitted to the Pew Charitable Trusts by May 17 and complete application will be due September 1, 2021.

Any questions about this opportunity or the LSO process may be directed to LSO@vanderbilt.edu.

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2022 Pew-Stewart Scholars for Cancer Research Program

Vanderbilt (VU + VUMC): This is a joint competition for VU and VUMC investigators. All investigators should follow these instructions.

Applications due March 4

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center may nominate one candidate for the Pew Charitable Trusts' 2022 Pew-Stewart Scholars for Cancer Research Program. This program supports Assistant Professors of outstanding promise in science relevant to the advancement of a cure for cancer. The award provides $300,000 in flexible support—$75,000 per year for a four-year period. Not more than 8 percent of the total award may be allocated for overhead costs.

Candidates should demonstrate outstanding promise as contributors in science relevant to the field of cancer. Strong proposals will incorporate particularly creative and pioneering approaches to basic, translational, and applied cancer research. Candidates whose work is based on biomedical principles but who bring in concepts and theories from more diverse fields are encouraged to apply. This program does not fund clinical trials research.

Ideas with the potential to produce an unusually high impact are encouraged. Selection of the successful candidates will be based on a detailed description of the work that the applicant proposes to undertake, evaluations of the candidate’s performance, and notable past accomplishments, including honors, awards, and publications. In evaluating the candidates, the Committee gives considerable weight to evidence that the candidate is a successful independent investigator and has published significant work.

This program is distinct from the Pew Biomedical Scholars Program, but candidates may apply to both internal competitions.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Candidates must have been awarded a doctorate in a field related to biomedical sciences or medicine.
• As of September 9, 2021, candidates must hold full-time appointments at the rank of Assistant Professor. (Appointments such as Research Assistant Professor, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor Research Track, Visiting Professor or Instructor are not eligible. Associate Professors are not eligible.)
• Must not have been appointed as an assistant professor at any institution prior to June 14, 2017, whether or not such an appointment was on a tenure track. Time spent in clinical internships, residencies, in work toward board certification, or on parental leave does not count as part of this three-year limit. (Candidates who took parental leave should note this on their internal application to make their eligibility clear.)  
  • Please note that eligibility criteria have been temporarily expanded to account for COVID-related lab shutdowns and research disruptions. Please direct any questions to the program office at Pew-Stewart@pewtrusts.org.
• Qualified candidates should be conducting creative, interdisciplinary, basic, or translational cancer research. Public health projects and those that are solely clinical research are not within the scope of Pew-funded research.
• The selected candidate may not be nominated more than two times in total, regardless of institution. 
• Funding from the NIH, other government sources, and project grants from non-profit associations do not pose a conflict.

Internal Application Process:

Anyone interested in being considered as Vanderbilt’s nominee must submit the following (in a single PDF) to LSO@vanderbilt.edu  by 5 p.m. on March 4: 

1. Brief research plan including summary budget (2 page max);
2. Letter of support from department chair/center director;
3. NIH Biosketch or abbreviated CV (5 page max)

Submissions should reference "PEW-STEWART SCHOLARS" in the subject line of the email. 

Following the internal review, the nominee’s name will be submitted to the Pew Charitable Trusts by May 17 and complete application will be due September 9, 2021.

Any questions about this opportunity or the LSO process may be directed to LSO@vanderbilt.edu.

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NIH Collaborative Program Grant for Multidisciplinary Teams (RM1)

Applications due March 8

 VUMC:  These instructions are for VUMC investigators. VU investigators should apply through InfoReady and address any questions to VU-LSO@vanderbilt.edu.

Overview:

VUMC may submit one proposal to the May 2021 cycle of the NIH Collaborative Program Grant for Multidisciplinary Teams (RM1). The program is designed to support highly integrated research teams of three to six PD/PIs to address ambitious and challenging research questions that are important for the mission of National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) and are beyond the scope of an individual or a few investigators. Collaborative program teams are expected to accomplish goals that require considerable synergy and managed team interactions. Project goals should not be achievable with a collection of individual efforts or projects. While applications may request research program budgets of up to $1.5 million direct costs per year, it is anticipated that most awards will be between $700,000-$900,000 direct costs.

Eligibility:

Applications may address any area of science within the NIGMS mission, which is to support basic research that increases understanding of biological processes at a range of levels, from molecules and cells to tissues, whole organisms and populations. NIGMS also supports research in a limited number of clinical areas that affect multiple organ systems (see here for scientific areas supported by NIGMS).

Truly new interdisciplinary ideas for approaching significant biological problems are encouraged. Applications that bridge the research interests of more than one NIGMS division are also encouraged, but must remain within the scope of the NIGMS mission. Consultation with NIGMS staff prior to preparing an application is strongly encouraged.

We recommend that applicants review the RFA in detail to review the research areas that are within the NIGMS mission. Applications that focus solely on a specific organ or disease state and that are within the mission areas of other NIH Institutes and Centers are not appropriate for this FOA. Applications that employ specific cells or tissues to address a fundamental biomedical question are appropriate.

Applications that are mainly focused on the creation, expansion, and/or maintenance of community resources, creation of new technologies or infrastructure development are not appropriate for this FOA. NIH-defined clinical trials are not allowed.

See the solicitation for more information.

Internal Application Process:

Anyone interested in being considered to submit VUMC’s proposal must submit the following (in a single PDF) to LSO@vanderbilt.edu by 5 p.m. on March 8:

• Brief project description including summary budget and role of each PI (2 page max);
• Letter of support from department chair/center director;
• NIH Biosketch for all PIs

Full applications are due to NIH by May 27, with an LOI requested 30 days prior. Any questions about this opportunity or the LSO process may be directed to LSO@vanderbilt.edu.

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Human Immunology Project Consortium (HIPC)- Research Program Site (U19)

Applications due March 16

Vanderbilt (VU + VUMC): This is a joint competition for VU and VUMC investigators. All investigators should follow these instructions.

NOTE: These instructions are for the HIPC research program site (U19) opportunity. To apply for the HIPC Coordinating Center (U01) opportunity, find instructions on the OOR limited submissions site.

Vanderbilt (VU+VUMC) may submit one application to the NIH Human Immunology Project Consortium (HIPC)- Research Program Site (U19) opportunity.

The goal of this RFA is to support institutions to participate in a network of human immunology profiling research groups in the area of infectious diseases, including HIV. NIAID established the HIPC to employ established and recent advances in immune profiling technologies to study the human immune system (1) before and after vaccination against an infectious disease; (2) before and after administration of an adjuvant that selectively targets immune components; and (3) during or following naturally-occurring infections, including HIV.

Studies supported under this FOA will measure the diversity and commonalities of human immune responses under a variety of conditions and longitudinally using high-throughput systems immunology approaches coupled with detailed clinical phenotyping in well-characterized human cohorts. The resulting data will be used to develop molecular signatures that define immune response profiles and identify biomarkers that correlate with the outcomes of vaccinations, vaccine adjuvants or natural infections in humans. An additional goal of this program is to promote rapid public access to HIPC-supported data and meta-data through public portals such as ImmPort. 

All proposed research (non-HIV and HIV-focused applications) must include unbiased, data-gathering, quantitative systems biology experimental approaches with human samples (e.g., genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, RNAi screens, proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, or glycomics) and correlate results with outcomes of infection or vaccination. Frequent, prospective, and longitudinal sampling linked with deep clinical phenotyping is strongly encouraged to enable the study of dynamic changes and identification of biomarkers.

Examples of research areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

·         Measurement of dynamic, longitudinal changes in immune profiles following vaccination, adjuvant administration, or natural infection with a pathogen that correlate with clinical outcome.

·         Comparison of longitudinal immune profiles among ethnically diverse or special populations (e.g., infants, neonates, older adults, atopic individuals, transplant recipients, patients with autoimmune disease) after natural infection or administration of a vaccine or adjuvant, including examination of differential responses in males versus females.

·         Analyses of cellular populations and tissue/organ compartments associated with development and maintenance of long-term immunological memory to infection and vaccination.

·         Identification of immune profiles that correlate with vaccine efficacy or surrogates of efficacy.

·         Comparison of immune profiles in vaccinated populations to immune profiles in populations with naturally acquired infections.

·         Identification of markers of mucosal, tissue/organ or skin immune responses that reflect or contrast with markers of systemic response.

·         Systems serology and other high throughput characterization of humoral immunity.

·         Dissociation of markers of protective immunity from markers of vaccine toxicity/reactogenicity.

·         Examination of the role of the human microbiome in modifying immune responses to vaccinations or natural infections.

See the solicitation for more information.

Internal Application Process:

Anyone interested in being considered as Vanderbilt’s potential nominee must submit the following (in PDF format) to LSO@vanderbilt.edu by 5:00 p.m. on March 16: 

·         Brief (2-page maximum) research plan including summary budget

·         NIH Biosketch or 5-page CV

·         Statement of support from department chair/center director

Any questions about this opportunity or the LSO process may be directed to LSO@vanderbilt.edu.

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Human Immunology Project Consortium (HIPC)- Coordinating Center (U01)

Applications due March 16

Vanderbilt (VU + VUMC): This is a joint competition for VU and VUMC investigators. All investigators should follow these instructions.

NOTE: These instructions are for the HIPC Coordinating Center (U01) opportunity. To apply for the HIPC research program site (U19) opportunity, find instructions on the OOR limited submissions site.

Vanderbilt (VU+VUMC) may submit one application to the NIH Human Immunology Project Consortium (HIPC)- Coordinating Center (U01) opportunity. NIAID established the HIPC to employ established and recent advances in immune profiling technologies to study the human immune system (1) before and after vaccination against an infectious disease; (2) before and after administration of an adjuvant that selectively targets immune components; and (3) during or following naturally-occurring infections, including HIV.

The goal of this RFA is to support a Coordinating Center for the HIPC. The HIPC will consist of 5-8 multi-project cooperative agreement (U19) awardees that will measure the diversity and commonalities of human immune responses under a variety of conditions and longitudinally using high-throughput systems immunology approaches coupled with detailed clinical phenotyping in well-characterized human cohorts.

The HIPC Coordinating Center supported by this FOA will be responsible for:

·         coordinating cross-HIPC data integration, analysis, and visualization;

·         developing and maintaining a public HIPC website and knowledgebase to support cross-HIPC data analysis and visualization;

·         fostering collaborations amongst HIPC-funded investigators by managing the HIPC subcommittees and an Infrastructure and Opportunity Fund to support collaborative studies.

See the solicitation for more information.

Internal Application Process:

Anyone interested in being considered as Vanderbilt’s potential nominee must submit the following (in PDF format) to LSO@vanderbilt.edu by 5:00 p.m. on March 16: 

·         Brief (2-page maximum) research plan including summary budget

·         NIH Biosketch or 5-page CV

·         Statement of support from department chair/center director

Any questions about this opportunity or the LSO process may be directed to LSO@vanderbilt.edu.

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NIBIB Enhancing Science, Technology, EnginEering, and Math Educational Diversity (ESTEEMED) Research Education Experiences (R25)

Applications due March 18

Vanderbilt (VU + VUMC): This is a joint competition for VU and VUMC investigators. All investigators should follow these instructions.

Vanderbilt (VU+VUMC) may submit one application to the NIH Enhancing Science, Technology, EnginEering, and Math Educational Diversity (ESTEEMED) Research Education Experiences (R25) program.

The NIH Research Education Program (R25) supports research education activities in the mission areas of the NIH. The overarching goal of this R25 program is to support educational activities that encourage individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those from groups underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, to pursue further studies or careers in research. To accomplish the stated over-arching goal, this FOA will support creative educational activities with a primary focus on:

• Courses for Skills Development

• Research Experiences

for undergraduate freshmen and sophomores from diverse backgrounds, including those from groups underrepresented in bioengineering or STEM fields relevant to bioengineering, such as engineering or the physical/computational sciences, which play key roles in biomedical technologies and innovation. The ESTEEMED program is intended to expose students to bioengineering research early in their college careers and interest them in potentially pursuing advanced studies in bioengineering or a related field. It will prepare students to join, in their junior and senior years, an honors program, supported by federal or institutional funds, that promotes STEM and entrance into a Ph.D. program. The ultimate goal is for the participants to pursue a Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. degree and a subsequent research career integrating engineering and the physical sciences with medicine and biology in academia or industry.

See the solicitation for more information.

Internal Application Process:

Anyone interested in being considered as Vanderbilt’s potential nominee must submit the following (in PDF format) to LSO@vanderbilt.edu by 5:00 p.m. on March 18, 2021. 

·         Brief (2-page maximum) research plan including summary budget

·         NIH Biosketch or 5-page CV

·         Statement of support from department chair/center director

Any questions about this opportunity or the LSO process may be directed to LSO@vanderbilt.edu.

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NIH Screening for Conditions by Electronic Nose Technology (U01)

Applications due March 25

 VUMC:  These instructions are for VUMC investigators. VU investigators should apply through InfoReady and address any questions to VU-LSO@vanderbilt.edu.

VUMC may submit 1 application to the NIH Screening for Conditions by Electronic Nose Technology (SCENT) (U01 Clinical Trial Optional) program. The RFA seeks applications for a portable sensing device to detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs, i.e. scents or odors) emanating from skin and to develop a catalog of VOCs as distinct signatures for at least 20 human diseases and conditions. These sensing devices must be able to associate VOC patterns using artificial intelligence to patients with various conditions for diagnostic purposes along with capabilities to incorporate and integrate vital signs. For VOC monitoring, these sensing devices can be Electronic-nose (E-nose) technology, Gas Chromatography (GC) or any sensing technology able to detect VOC patterns associated with disease.

To ensure project success, this RFA requires multidisciplinary collaborations and a team science approach. Groups may include a combination of the following: Biomedical engineers, material scientists, biosensing experts, software engineers, chemists, clinicians, clinical trialists, biostatisticians, data analysts and/or other relevant experts in academia and industry.

Leveraging Existing Research Resources: Applicants are strongly encouraged to leverage existing research resources for their studies whenever possible including improvements to existing prototypes. Additionally, NIH has developed innovative solutions that will improve the efficiency, quality, and impact of the process for turning observations in the laboratory, clinic and community into interventions that improve the health of individuals and the public through programs such as: NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program, patient data resources and repositories. Applicants are encouraged to leverage all available internal (e.g. home institutional) and external (e.g. external institutional, NIH, and NCATS) resources to identify clinically relevant patient populations.

Award Information: NIH anticipates funding 2 - 3 awards. Application budgets are limited to $650,000 direct cost per year for Years 1 and 2, and $800,000 direct cost per year for Years 3 - 5.

See the RFA for more information.

Internal Application Process:

Anyone interested in being considered to submit VUMC’s proposal must submit the following (in a single PDF) to LSO@vanderbilt.edu by 5 p.m. on March 25:

·         Brief (2-page maximum) research plan including summary budget

• Letter of support from department chair/center director

• NIH Biosketch

Any questions about this opportunity or the LSO process may be directed to LSO@vanderbilt.edu

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Active Calls for NON-Limited External Opportunities 

Internal review process NOT required- Submit directly to Sponsor​

The VUMC Corporate & Foundation Relations team provides hands-on proposal development assistance for non-federal awards. Contact cfr@vumc.org for more information.