NOSTER & Science Microbiome Prize

Essays due January 24

No one walks alone. Every human is enveloped by and contains trillions of microorganisms. The past decade’s research has revealed the essential nature of the relationships with these other organisms for healthy development and adult life. Research on the microbiome has blossomed thanks to technological advances in genomics and bioinformatics. Already, many surprising discoveries have been made about the fundamental role the microbiota play in inflammation, cancer, obesity and many other chronic non-communicable diseases that assail humans. The groundwork has been laid for a shift of gear from mapping microbial associations with health and disease states to working out the mechanistic details and the dynamics of the interactions between hosts and their microbiota. This growing field promises to translate fundamental discoveries and help answer questions about healthy human development, metabolism, and immunity.

The NOSTER Science Microbiome Prize has been established to reward innovative research by young investigators working on the functional attributes of the microbiota of any organism that has potential to contribute to our understanding of human or veterinary health and disease or to guide therapeutic interventions.

Grand Prize winner receives: cash prize in the amount of $25,000 and travel and accommodation for the prize ceremony. The Grand Prize winner will also receive a free five (5) year digital subscription to Science, and will have their winning essay published in Science (print and online).

Runner(s) Up receives: award plaque and travel and accommodation for the prize ceremony. The Runner(s) Up will also receive a free one (1) year digital subscription to Science, and will have their winning essay published in Science online. Maximum number of Runners Up is 2.

Eligibility:

For 2019, entrants must be younger than thirty-five (35) years of age, must hold an M.D., PhD.or M.D./Ph.D at the time of entry, and have received their degree in the last 10 years. 

The applicant must have done or directed all of the work and it must have been performed in the past three years.

Submission:

The Prize will be judged on the basis of 1,000-word essay and supporting documents. The essay should describe the innovative research performed by the applicant that reveals exciting novel functions of the microbiota that has potential to contribute to our understanding of human or veterinary health and disease or to guide therapeutic interventions. See more details about the application process here.

L'Oreal USA For Women in Science Fellowship Program

Applications due January 31

Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to contact adele.white@vumc.org for assistance with proposal development.

The L’Oréal USA For Women in Science fellowship program honors female scientists at a critical stage in their careers with grants of $60,000 each. Since 2003, the program has awarded 80 postdoctoral women scientists over $4 million in grants. The program is seeking five exceptional female scientists looking to advance their research and serve as role models for the next generation of girls in STEM.

Candidates are selected from a variety of fields including the life and physical/material sciences, technology (including computer science), engineering, and mathematics. Candidates must have completed their PhD and have started in their postdoctoral position by the application deadline.

The application and more information about the L’Oréal USA For Women in Science program can be found at www.lorealusa.com/forwomeninscience. 

LIVESTRONG Solution Grants

Letters of Intent due February 21

Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to contact cfr@vumc.org for assistance with proposal development.

The LIVESTRONG Solution Grants program recognizes and funds organizations who are developing through cutting edge, inventive, and sustainable solutions to overlooked cancer problems. LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes' mission: To rethink the full range of cancer care, from prevention to diagnosis, treatment, survivorship and end-of-life care — all with a focus on the patient’s needs, values and preferences.

LIVESTRONG focus areas and funding priorities:

• Post-treatment care
• Patient and caregiver education
• Comprehensive quality of life services
• Streamlining systems and care

Project eligibility:

• All projects must be aligned with the LIVESTRONG mission, LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes mission and funding areas/priorities.
• Projects must have been established for longer than nine months.
• Projects must demonstrate how they currently generate impact.
• Projects must have measurable outcomes and be sustainable for the duration of the grant.
• LIVESTRONG Transformation Grant projects also need to be scalable over the duration of the grant.

LOI Deadline: Feb. 21 & Application Deadline: April 13

Transformation Grants: $25,000 - $100,000

Acceleration Grants: Amounts between $5,000 - $20,000

Click to learn more about project eligibility or read about the focus areas.

2020 SFARI Collaboration on Sex Differences in Autism

Letters of Intent due April 21

SFARI Collaborations are a new funding mechanism which will provide substantive and stable funding support to multi-disciplinary teams of investigators tackling critical issues in the autism research field. Collaborations will be led by a director who oversees interdisciplinary, synergistic research efforts across multiple laboratories. Investigative groups within a Collaboration will focus on the same conceptually unified topic but will incorporate different scientific disciplines, multiple levels of analysis, and will include a robust data-sharing infrastructure.
 
SFARI Collaborations have a maximum budget of up to $8,000,000, including 20 percent indirect costs, over an initial period of four years, with a possible three-year extension.
 
For their first Collaboration RFA, SFARI solicits applications to investigate sex differences in autism. They welcome proposals that will use an array of modern technologies to examine sex differences in brain function, within and across species, including humans, to identify key differences in gene, cell and circuit function that account for the observed differential sensitivities of the two sexes to ASD. A successful Collaboration must enhance our understanding of the biological bases for sex-specific differences in ASD and set the stage for development of novel interventions.

Collaborations will be led by a director who oversees interdisciplinary, synergistic research efforts across multiple laboratories. Investigative groups within a Collaboration will focus on the same conceptually unified topic but will incorporate different scientific disciplines and multiple levels of analysis, and will include a robust data-sharing infrastructure.

National Institute on Aging- Leadership Award for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Research (R35 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Letters of Intent due May 19

NIA is seeking applications from investigators looking to enhance their research programs to address selected NIH Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias  Research Implementation Milestones. Investigators will be provided protected time to produce a program of investigation specific to selected goals/milestones. Investigators and their institutions will also be expected to advance more junior researchers' capacity to address selected goals/milestones.

Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Research Implementation Milestones

These milestones represent a framework guide for the scientific field and are an opportunity to build multidisciplinary programs with them as their focus. The milestones can be found in NIA's online database. They span basic, translational, clinical, and health services research. The milestones were  developed based on recommendations from over 350 leading academic and industry experts, innovators, and public advocates participating in strategic research summits over the last eight years. Applicants should select one milestone or a set of milestones on which to focus. The choice of milestones should reflect the competencies and research experiences of the award recipient. Applicants must demonstrate how their expertise, institution, and research program will address the specific milestones.

Mentoring

This leadership award will provide resources to foster outstanding scientists to expand their potential to make significant contributions to the goals/milestones of the NIH Alzheimer's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) Summits. Applicants are required to serve as research mentors for New Investigators and Early Stage Investigators (NI/ESI).