The list includes new grants, competitive renewals, transferred grants to KSOM, supplements, and non-competing continuations. The data for this list was obtained via the USC SCera portal and the Contracts and Grants database.  Congratulations to all the principal investigators on their awards! Click here to view the awards.

New HSC Department of Contracts & Grants address starting Friday August 26:

Soto Street Building
2001 Soto Street
Los Angeles, CA 90089-9235

The USC Physical Sciences in Oncology Center (PSOC), is offering a short course focused on a physical sciences approach to understanding cancer.  The short course is scheduled for Monday, October 17, 2011 at the Davidson Conference Center, located at the UPC campus (3415 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90089).  There is no cost to attend this short course.  However, registration is required and space is limited.  

Two outstanding leaders and researchers have joined the leadership team of the Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI).
 
Sarah Hamm-Alvarez, Ph.D., joins the CTSI as Director of the Office of Research
Development (ORD). The ORD is charged with identifying needs and opportunities in
clinical and translational science, putting together interdisciplinary teams to address those
needs and opportunities, and overseeing the CTSI pilot grant program. Sarah brings to the ORD extensive experience in team building and research development in her roles as Chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Associate Dean for Research Affairs in the USC School of Pharmacy.
 
Anthony El-Khoueiry, M.D., joins the CTSI as Interim Director of the Center for Human
Studies (CHS). The CHS provides infrastructure and expertise to support the conduct of early phase clinical trials and human mechanistic studies. Primary resources in the CHS are two Clinical Trials Units, one located in University Hospital on the USC Health Sciences Campus and the other located in the Saban Research Institute at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Anthony brings to the CHS extensive experience in clinical trials support through his roles as director of the Clinical Investigations Support Office and director of the phase I drug development program in the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.  He will work closely with Ed Gomperts, M.D., and John Wood, M.D., Ph.D., director and co-director of the Clinical Trials Unit at CHLA, to provide integrated support for clinical studies.

The call for nominations for this year’s Associates Awards in Creativity in Research has been released.  The USC Associates Awards are the highest honors the university faculty can bestow on its members based on their distinguished career of creativity, research and scholarship.  Nominations in all fields and disciplines, including areas of artistic expression, are invited.  Two awards of $7,500 are presented each year at the Academic Honors Convocation in April. 

BWF’s Career Awards at the Scientific Interface provide $500,000 to bridge advanced postdoctoral training and the first years of faculty service. These awards are intended to foster the early career development of researchers with backgrounds in the physical/mathematical/computational sciences and engineers whose work addresses biological questions. These awards are open to U.S. and Canadian citizens or permanent residents as well as to U.S. temporary residents. Eligible candidates for this award may self-nominate by submitting a pre-proposal by no later than September 1, 2011. Click here for full grant details. 

Concern Foundation funds pediatric and adult cancer researchers studying many forms of cancer, primarily in the areas of immunology, immunotherapy, and the genetics of cancer. The Foundation specifically funds researchers who lack financial support for their first major research project and provides critically needed start up funds for promising projects.  Funding is $60,000 for one year with consideration for a second year of funding at the same amount. More information about the grant criteria and application process can be found on the Concern website at http://www.concernfoundation.org/grants.  LOIs can be submitted through Proposal Central via https://proposalcentral.altum.com.

The Department of Defense’s (DOD) Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) released links to Grants.gov for $8.7 M in Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 funding through its Vision Research Program (VRP), which is available to all research, including international investigators. TATRC has posted all Program Announcement details, including research gaps and a timeline, on its Website:

• Investigator-Initiated Research Awards, with estimated total program funding of $7 M and awards capped at $1 M. The awards must address DOD-identified gaps in defense-related vision research as listed in the Program Announcement. The IIRA awards will fund research that focuses on making an important contribution toward understanding mechanisms of initiation or progression of and/or improving patient care for a condition related to at least one of the DOD-identified research gaps. This can range from basic research to translational research, including pre-clinical trials. The award may not be used to fund clinical trials, although it can be a correlative study associated with an existing clinical trial. Click here for complete details.
  
  
• Hypothesis Development Awards, with estimated total program funding of $1.7 M and awards capped at $250,000.  The awards must address DOD-identified gaps in defense-related vision research as listed in the Program Announcement.  The HDA awards support the exploration of highly innovative, untested, high-risk/high-gain concepts, theories, paradigms, and/or methods that address an important problem in traumatic vision injuries, and may lead to proof-of-principle to address a further hypothesis. Click here for more information.
  
  

The FY12 Topics of the Department of Defense Multi-University Research Initiative (MURI) have been released. The MURI program supports basic science and/or engineering research at U.S. institutions of higher education that is of potential interest to DoD. The program is focused on multidisciplinary research efforts that intersect more than one traditional science and engineering discipline to address issues of critical concern to the DoD. The grants provide $1-1.5M/yr for up to five years. Please click here for a full description of the program and the current topics of interest.   The white paper due date is Sept 15, 2011.  The due date for the full proposal is Nov 10, 2011. Please click here to find other DOD funding opportunities. 

The NIH Bench-to-Bedside Program is soliciting proposals for the next funding cycle.
 
Once again, CTSAs, AIAMC (Alliance for Independent Academic Medical Centers) and NIH investigators will be able to initiate applications jointly for Bench-to-Bedside research projects. Up to $135K per year for two years is available to support these intramural/extramural partnerships in clinical research. As in prior years, intramural investigators in all Institutes/Centers are eligible to serve as project leaders on proposals.
 
Extramural principal investigators (PIs) with an existing NIH grant are invited to initiate proposals in one of two ways:

• Extramural investigators may seek an intramural partner at NIH who would function as the project leader and serve as the point of contact. To identify an intramural collaborator, extramural investigators can consult the NIH’s intramural research database. Extramural investigators also may contact the Bench-to-Bedside Program Office for assistance in identifying an intramural partner.
• Extramural investigators may initiate proposals and serve as project leaders. In this role, extramural principal investigators will develop letters of intent and, if approved, may develop full proposals. In this scenario, extramural investigators are required to identify an intramural collaborator on the project. On behalf of the lead extramural PI, the intramural investigator will be responsible for submitting both the letter of intent and full proposal electronically using proposalCentral.

For the 2012 awards, a letter of intent must be submitted by September 28, 2011.
 
The NIH Bench-to-Bedside program was originally established in 1999 to integrate the work of basic and clinical intramural scientists. Since 2006, it has been open to partnerships between intramural and extramural programs.
 For additional information, visit the Bench-to-Bedside Program website or contact BenchtoBedside@mail.nih.gov.

The Pioneer Program seeks to fund individual investigators who propose creative and transformative approaches to addressing challenges in the fields of biomedical and behavioral research.  Applications are due October 7, 2011.

The New Innovator Award seeks to fund a small number of early-stage investigators who propose bold and highly-innovative research with the potential for unusually high impact.  The New Innovator Award seeks to address two goals: stimulating highly-innovative research and supporting promising new investigators. Applications are due October 14, 2011.

Similar to the Pioneer Award, the New Innovator Award is a High-Risk Research Initiative of the NIH Common Fund, which supports exceptionally innovative programs that are inherently high-risk but have the potential for high-payoff by catalyzing research across all of NIH’s institutes and centers (ICs).  The NIH Director's New Innovator Award program is different from traditional NIH grants in several ways. It is designed specifically to support unusually creative new investigators with highly innovative research ideas at an early stage of their career when they may lack the preliminary data required for an R01 grant. The emphasis is on innovation and creativity; preliminary data are not required, but may be included. The procedure for evaluating applicants' qualifications is distinct from the traditional NIH peer review “study section” process and will emphasize the individual’s creativity, the innovativeness of the research approaches, and the potential of the project, if successful, to have a significant impact on an important biomedical or behavioral research problem.  Click here for more information about the New Innovator Award.

The A.P. Giannini Foundation provides fellowships to postdocs who have completed no more than 3 years of postdoctoral research experience and are US citizens or permanent alien residents and hold or will complete a PhD, MD or equivalent degree before they activate the fellowship. If you are interested in this funding opportunity, kindly contact Gigi Petrovich in the KSOM Office of Research Advancement. Note: all applications will be forwarded to the Foundation through our office.  Please submit your applications to Gigi Petrovich by the internal deadline of November 1, 2011. Interested applicants should work closely with their mentors in preparing their applications. Questions can be directed to Gigi Petrovich or to Dr. Cheryl Craft, director, Postdoctoral Scholars Program. For COMPLETE APPLICATION INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES, click here.

The Brain Research Foundation has announced their Scientific Innovations Award in Neuroscience (SIA).  USC has one slot to submit a Letter of Intent.  If you are interested in being considered for application for this award, please submit a single-page project abstract and CV/biosketch to Gigi Petrovich no later than August 30th.  The objective of the program is to support projects that may be too innovative and speculative for traditional funding sources but still have a high likelihood of producing important findings.  To be eligible, the nominee must be a professor or associate professor working in the area of brain function in health and disease.  Note:  “Current major NIH or other peer-review funding is preferred but evidence of such funding in the past three years is essential.”  Funding amount is up to $150,000 for a period of one to two years.  Click here for complete application guidelines and eligibility.

We are soliciting nominations for the Microsoft Research Faculty Fellowship award.  This program is institutionally limited; USC has one slot.   If you are interested in this completion, please send your CV/biosketch and 1-page research summary to Gigi Petrovich by August 31.

NSF has announced their call for the Advancing Digitization of Biological Collections (ADBC) program.  USC has one slot.   If you are interested in being considered for application to this funding opportunity, contact Gigi Petrovich in the Office of Research Advancement as soon as possible. 

The objective of this program seeks to enhance and expand the national resource of digital data documenting existing vouchered biological and paleontological collections and to advance scientific knowledge by improving access to digitized information (including images) residing in vouchered scientific collections across the United States.

Please note:  Proposals that address the goals of specimen digitization through innovative plans, strong collaborations among large and small institutions, and mechanisms to build up existing digitization projects are strongly encouraged.  Proposals that increase the efficiency of the digitization effort (e.g. by reducing the time and sot per specimen, or by developing new workflows) will have a stronger priority for funding.

Anticipated funding amount: 
•TCN (Thematic Collections Networks) proposals “should support the scope of the work proposed” and up to 4 years.
•PEN (Partners to Existing networks) proposals may be for 1 to 3 years with a maximum request of $150,000.

For Program information, click here.

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund has released its call for the PATH award: Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease. USC has two slots for this program.  If you are interested in this funding opportunity, please send your CVs/biosketches and one-page research summary to Gigi Petrovich no later than noon of Friday, Sept 9th.  

Five-year awards provide $500,000 for opportunities for accomplished investigators at the assistant professor level to study pathogenesis, with a focus on the intersection of human and microbial biology.  Areas of particular interest include:
•             Cell/pathogen interactions
•             Host/Pathogen interactions
•             Novel routes to disease causation

The Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center (SCEHSC) is seeking applications for their 2012 Environmental Health Research Pilot Project Grants. The SCEHSC awards one-year pilot projects (up to $35,000) that aim to promote the understanding of environmental exposures, host factors, and human disease. The goal of the program is to provide investigators with an opportunity to collect preliminary data and/or validate the utility of specific methods or techniques to establish the feasibility of larger-scale research projects and ultimately seek external (especially NIEHS) funding.

Eligible applicants include faculty or graduate students/postdoctoral researchers with a faculty sponsor. Young investigators are particularly encouraged to apply, and with all other factors equal, will receive funding priority.

Applicants should submit a one-page Letter of Intent describing their proposed projects by Wednesday, September 14, 2011 to Ms. Katie Cettie at cettie@usc.edu. Applications must be electronically received by Wednesday, September 28, 2011.

For more information, contact Katie Cettie at (323) 442-2101 or cettie@usc.edu.

Medical Faculty Women's Association (MFWA) Research Fund is accepting proposals for Seed Money for Pilot Projects  Emergency Interim Funding to Continue Ongoing Projects. Applications require a research plan of no more than 3 pages. Applications are due October 1, 2011.  All proposals must be submitted by email to Dr. Florence M. Hofman.  Funding of $10,000 for one year will be based on scientific merit and need. For further information and proposal guidelines contact Dr. Florence M. Hofman.

Navigating an Ocean of ‘Omics Data with Bioinformatics/ Biostatistics Collaboration symposium, sponsored by the Vice President of Research, Dr. Randolph Hall and presented by the Norris Medical Library,  will be held on Wednesday August 31st in the Aresty Auditorium, of the Health Science Campus . This symposium on interdisciplinary collaboration was designed to promote awareness of the research and collaboration interests of the top USC bioinformatics/biostatistics faculty members, give information on various bioinformatics services at USC and network collaborators for grant proposals. All attendees must click here  to register. Click here for more information and to view the symposium agenda and list of speakers.

The  USC Host-Pathogen Interactions retreat will be held at Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge on Thurs, Sept. 8th, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.  This event is free of charge, so please RSVP  to the USC Pharmacy Office of Research Affairs at this e-mail address (llewellc@usc.edu) by Sept 1st, so that we can confirm numbers for catering etc.  There will be a poster presentation session during lunch, with prizes for the best student, postdoc presentation. Please encourage your trainees to attend and join in the conversation in this exciting research area.  Click here for further details.  For questions contact Llewellyn Cox (323) 442-1737, llewellc@usc.edu.

Please save the date of September 29 for the Ming Hsieh Institute for Engineering Medicine for Cancer symposium, to be held in the Aresty Auditorium within the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Harlyne J.Norris Research Tower on the Health Science Campus. The symposium will address opportunities for translation research in nanomedicine, and include both industry and academic participants. President Nikias will deliver the welcoming address at the symposium. Suggestions for speakers are appreciated. Please send these to vpres@usc.edu. Details on how to RSVP will be provided in August.

The Keck School of Medicine of USC and Children's Hospital Los Angeles are partnering as co-organizers for the upcoming World Stem Cell Summit, to be held Oct. 3–5 at the Pasadena Convention Center.  Now in its seventh year, the Summit is an international gathering of scientists, advocates, government representatives and other stakeholders involved with stem cell research.  More than 170 prominent scientists, business leaders, regulators, policymakers, advocates, economic development officers and experts in law and ethics will discuss the latest scientific discoveries, business models, legal and regulatory solutions, and best practices.  Current USC speakers include Paula Cannon, Tracy Grikscheit, Mark Humayun, Wange Lu, Brent Polk and David Warburton.  Martin Pera, founding director of the Eli & Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine & Stem Cell Research at USC will also be presenting.  Keck School Dean Carmen Puliafito will provide introductory remarks at the opening of the Summit. 

The deadline for the poster forum has been extended to September 2.  Contact Alan Fernandez for questions at alan@genpol.org.

Discounts on registration are available for anyone associated with USC. These rates are only available to USC faculty, staff, students and postdocs.
The following codes are entered on the 2nd page of the registration process at www.worldstemcellsummit.com

1wsUSCcs1N
USC Non-Profit / Faculty / Staff Rate
$695.00

1wsUSCcs1S
USC Student / Postdoc Rate
$395.00

The UC San Diego Clinical and Translational Research Institute (CTRI) and Nature Medicine would like to invite you to attend the 6th Annual Frontiers of Clinical Investigation Symposium on October 13-15, 2011. The theme for the meeting will be "Vascular Disease 2011" which will explore innovative approaches to bridge laboratory investigation and clinical research in disorders affecting the vasculature, including cancer, inflammatory disease and cardiovascular disease.

Multi-disciplinary sessions will include basic, translational, and clinical presentations on cutting edge research to provide an integrated approach to understanding the pathogenesis and treatment of vascular disease, as well as novel clinical trial designs and imaging modalities for development of new therapeutic agents. This symposium will provide unique insights and tools for optimizing and streamlining clinical investigation from discovery to drug approval.  For further information and registration visit their website at http://cme.ucsd.edu/b2b2011/

Piotr Grodzinski, Director of the National Cancer Institute for Nanotechnology in Cancer and the National Cancer Institute will present a seminar on the advances in nanotechnology in cancer on Tuesday, October 18th from 1:30pm to 2:30pm in Aresty Auditorium. Click here for complete details on the seminar.

The 2011 Mobile Health (mHealth) Winter Institute will be held December 5-9, 2011 in Washington DC.  The Institute’s application deadline is August 26. Click here for further details.

The purpose of the Institute is to bring together leaders in mobile technology, behavior sciences, and clinical research to lead a cross-training event for early career investigators with an interest in mHealth.  Applicants should be early career investigators who have not yet received R01 funding and have received a doctoral level degree (PhD, ScD, MD, DDS, DVM, etc.) within the last five years in any of the following: Social and Behavioral sciences, Medical Health and Dental sciences, Biological, Physical or Earth sciences, Computational sciences and Mathematics, Engineering. 

The Center for Excellence in Research Workshops provide training and forums for dialogue on research topics spanning all academic disciplines, covering proposal development, book preparation, funding strategies and academic scholarship. Inquires  and registration can be directed to the Office of Research at 213-740-6709 or usccer@usc.edu. RSVP is required. Click here for full fall schedule with speakers and workshop titles.

• Thursday, Sep 1st – Publishing Quantitative Research in the Social & Behavioral Sciences: Statistical & Methodological Considerations in Optimizing Success, by Merril Silverstein – 12 pm in Doheny Library DML 240
  
  
• Thursday, Sep 8th – Faculty Curation: Developing a Digital Archive to provide both Content & Context, by Marcus Levitt – 12pm in Doheny Library DML 240
  
  
• Wednesday, Sep 14th – Developing Funded Research Programs, by Randy Hall – 12pm in CUB 329
  
  
• Thursday, Sep 15th – Preparing and Submitting NSF Proposals, by Timothy Pinkston – 2pm in RTH 526
  
  

• Extramural Nexus (NIH Office of Extramural Research)
• National Postdoctoral Association POSTDOCket
• Academic Medicine Online
• Science Translational Medicine
• Science Magazine
  
  

• Weekly NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices
• Weekly Foundation RFP Bulletin
  

To download an event to your Outlook calendar, please click the relevant hyperlink and at the bottom of the new page choose 'export entry to V-calendar'.

For a comprehensive calendar displaying all research activities currently scheduled, please visit the online Calendar of Events.

Wed Aug 31st

1:00pm - 5:30pm - USC Symposium on Bioinformatics/ Biostatistics Collaboration Symposium - Navigating an Ocean of ‘Omics Data with Bioinformatics/ Biostatistics Collaboration symposium, sponsored by the Vice President of Research, Dr. Randolph Hall and presented by the Norris Medical Library,  will be held on Wednesday August 31st in the Aresty Auditorium, of the Health Science Campus .

To keep up-to-date on available research funding opportunities, visit these institutions and organizations:

• The National Institutes of Health
• The National Science Foundation
• The Foundation Center
• California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
• Office of Research, University of Southern California
• Keck Office of Research Advancement
• Los Angeles Basin Clinical & Translational Science Institute
• Programs in Biomedical & Biological Sciences (PIBBS)
• Links to Professional Societies Promoting Biomedical Research