Each month, the KRU will provide a link to the previous month’s grant awards.  The list will include 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.  We have provided it here in this format for your reference.  The list includes five new grants over $500K in annual costs awarded to Mei Chen, Dermatology ($1M), Paul Thomas, Preventive Medicine ($1M), Junfeng Zhang, Preventive Medicine ($1M), Tasneem Naqvi, Surgery ($641K) and Ricky Bluethenthal, Preventive Medicine: IPR ($583K). Congratulations to all the principal investigators on their awards!  Click here to view the awards.

We wish to remind all faculty members about the Grant Proposal Development Services offered by the Office of Research Advancement. Previously, limited to a part-time grants writer, services now encompass the efforts of the entire Research Advancement team and cover the gamut from collaborator match-making, to budget development, to writing and editing, to assembling NIH biosketches, to pulling together data for tables. The Grant Proposal Development Services page can be accessed from the RESEARCH tab located at the top of the Keck School’s new website. Touch the tab to view the drop down menu. Under the RESEARCH ADVANCEMENT header, click the Research Development link. This will bring you to the appropriate submenu. Call us, we are here to help!

The NIH recently released expanded guidelines for Responsible Conduct in Research (NOT-OD-10-019, issued Nov 24, 2009; Please click here to read the full notice.) As part of the new guidelines, NIH recognizes that “active involvement in the issues of responsible conduct of research should occur throughout a scientist’s career, at the undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, predoctoral, postdoctoral, and faculty levels”.  In order to meet the intent of these guidelines, we will be offering dean’s seminars that provide continuing education in the responsible conduct of research, suitable for researchers at all levels. The first of these seminars will be delivered by Dr. Fred Grinnell, and will take place on Tuesday, at noon in the Aresty Auditorium (please see events listing below for details). Attendance is at the discretion of the researcher, however sign-in/ sign-out sheets will be available for documentation of participation if you choose to attend. If you view the seminar remotely, your participation will be automatically documented via the IT system.

The USC Office for Research has announced the following internal funding opportunities:

• A request for proposals has been issued for the USC Core Instrumentation Fund & NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Acquisition. Proposals are due Dec 3, 2010.  Please click here for more information.
  
  
• The application guidelines for the 2011 Zumberge Individual Research Grant competition have been released. These internal grants provide up to $25,000 in research support. The application deadline for the Zumberge Individual grant program is Jan 19, 2011. Please click here for more information.
  
  
• The call for applications for the 2011 Zumberge Multi-School Inter-disciplinary Research Grant program has been released.  These internal grants provide seed funding of up to $50,000 for broad, collaborative research activities that are interdisciplinary and involve groups of faculty from multiple schools across USC. Letters of intent are due Jan 19, 2011.  Please click here for more information.

The following internal NIH pilot program funding opportunities have also been announced:

• The USC Research Center for Liver Diseases plans to fund pilot projects for one year beginning April 1, 2011. Direct costs of each award will be between $10,000-$50,000. The Center provides seed money for worthy projects in the field of liver and digestive tract function and disease. Collaborative projects among different laboratories are encouraged. Projects of high merit that appear likely to be successful in leading to R01 funding will be given preference. Letters of Intent are due Dec 1 and the application deadline is Jan 12. For complete details on this funding opportunity click here.
  
  
• The Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center (SCEHSC)  is now accepting pilot project proposals. The SCEHSC will award one-year pilot projects to support investigators with the opportunity of collecting preliminary data to establish the feasibility of a research project and/or to validate the utility of specific procedures or techniques. The goal of this program is to advance environmental health research and to enable investigators to seek external (especially NIEHS) funding to pursue larger scale projects.  Budgets of up to $35,000 are appropriate, but under exceptional circumstances projects with larger budgets will be considered. A Letter of Intent is due on Nov 29, and the full application is due on Dec 17. Click here for additional information
  
  

The USC Office for Research has announced the following institutionally-limited funding opportunities:

• The Ellison New Scholar Award supports outstanding junior faculty members conducting basic biomedical research relevant to aging.  These awards are intended for investigators who are in the first three years of their research careers following their post-doctoral fellowship experience. We have been asked to provide two candidates to the USC Office of Research. Please provide a CV and one page research summary to Gigi Petrovich by November 29. Click here for more details. 
  
  
• NIH Director’s Early Independence Awards (DP5) – The NIH Common Fund is establishing the new NIH Director’s Early Independence Award  to provide a mechanism for exceptional, early career scientists to omit traditional post-doctoral training, and move into temporary, independent academic positions at U.S. institutions directly upon completion of their graduate degrees (Ph.D, M.D. or equivalent).  USC has two slots for this program; the NIH deadline for Letters of Intent is Dec 21.  Please provide CVs and research summary by Nov 23.  

Please Note: Institutionally-limited funding opportunities are competitions for awards by outside agencies for which USC can nominate a limited number of candidates. Please contact Gigi Petrovich if you wish to be considered for an application. Please click here to learn about the internal selection process.

The LCRP Early Detection Clinical Consortium Award mechanism is being offered for the first time in FY10. The intent of the award is to fund clinical studies focused on characterizing, developing, and/or improving early detection modalities for lung cancer. All projects shall be limited to clinical research and clinical trials. Animal studies are excluded from consideration. Click here for more information.

The International Clinical Research Fellows (ICRF) Program is a post-doctoral program for medical residents and fellows, as well as scientists with PhDs engaged in health-related post-doctoral programs. The Program is based on mentored clinical research and orientation towards global health and supports one-year of mentored clinical research only in a developing country setting. Both US and non-US candidates are eligible to apply, provided the non-US candidates propose to work with an pre approved site. The ICRF program is sponsored by the Fogarty International Center at the NIH and several collaborating NIH institutes and centers. For the first time, the application is now online, with a deadline of December 1, 2010 for fellowships to be conducted from July 2011 to June 2012. Please click here for more information.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced a new funding opportunity to study the health impacts of Deepwater Horizon (DWH) Gulf oil spill. NIH has issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) soliciting proposals from one or more consortia of university-community partnerships. These partnerships will address health issues of concern to the residents of the Gulf States affected by the DWH disaster, enhance capacity to respond to potential future disasters, and prevent or minimize adverse health effects arising from them. NIH will provide $5.3 million for three to four awards. Applications are due to NIH by January 21, 2011. Please click here for the full FOA. 

The Center for Mental Health Services Research (CMHSR) at Washington University in St. Louis invites applications to the Implementation Research Institute (IRI). This week-long training institute is specially designed for MD/PHD graduate researchers who want to understand and pursue clinical translational research. Funded by a five-year R25 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health and the Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) through the Department of Veterans Affairs, this unique interdisciplinary training program will help launch a research career in implementation science. Click here for more information.

NIH has announced the publication of the revised NIH Grants Policy Statement (NIHGPS, rev. 10/1/2010). This revision is applicable to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements with budget periods beginning on or after October 1, 2010. This revision supersedes, in its entirety, the NIH Grants Policy Statement (12/03) as a standard term and condition of award. However, the December 2003 NIHGPS continues to be the standard term and condition for all NIH grants and cooperative agreements with budget periods that began between December 1, 2003 and September 30, 2010. This revision incorporates NIH policy changes since the December 2003 version, policy clarifications, public policy changes, terminology changes, new chapters, chapter revisions, reorganization of the document, as well as other document enhancements such as a new chapter numbering schema. A document summarizing significant changes is also being made available. Read the new statement.

Starting January 25, 2011, NIH, AHRQ and NIOSH will be eliminating the correction window from the application process.  This means that any application submitted after 5pm local time of the applicant organization will be subject to late policies.  View NOT-OD-10-123.

Starting January 25, 2011, NIH will implement a new time limit between the submission of a New, Renewal, or Revision¹ application and a Resubmission (A1 version) of that application.  The NIH will not accept a Resubmission that is submitted later than thirty-seven months after the receipt date of the initial New, Renewal, or Revision application. Applications must be submitted for the dates listed in the appropriate Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). For more information, please click here.

The new issue of NIH Extramural Nexus has been posted. This issue highlights a new OER web site promoting research integrity and providing related resources. Other articles highlight the NIH Director’s Early Independence Award Program and new guidance for subaward reporting. The issue also announces the appointment of Dr. Della Hann as Deputy Director of the Office of Extramural Research. Since 2008, Dr. Hann, psychologist, has been acting in the OER Deputy Director position, while at the same time serving as the Acting Director for the Office of Autism Research Coordination at the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH).

• 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.

Mon Nov 15
12:00-1:00 pm – KSOM Research Seminar – Frederick Grinnell, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Cell Biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center. “Fibroblast Motility and Mechanics in Three-Dimensional Collagen Matrices”. Host are Tai Lan Tuan & Cheng Ming Chuong. Aresty Auditorium, NRT-LG, HSC.  Pizza will be served. Info: resadv.temp@med.usc.edu

Tue Nov 16
12:00-1:00 pm – Dean's Translational Medicine Seminar Series – Frederick Grinnell, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Cell Biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center. “New Challenges to Human Research Protections in Post Genomic Medicine”. Host is Bob Decker. Reserve your space online at http://keckapps.usc.edu/esvp/ Code: Grinnell. Watch the live webcast: http://keckapps.usc.edu/esvp/webcast.php. Reception at 11:30am. Aresty Auditorium, NRT-LG, HSC. Info: resadv.temp@med.usc.edu

Wed Nov 17
4:00-6:00 pm – Center for Excellence in Research Advancement Workshops – “Developing and Submitting a DoD and DoE Basic Research Grant Application”. Due to limited space, RSVP is required at usccer@usc.edu. Click here for more information. Credit Union Building, Room 329, UPC.

Thur Nov 18
12:00-1:00 pm – Research Seminar Series – Simon W. Beaven, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Digestive Diseases and Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles. “From Fat to Fibrosis: Liver X Receptors in the Spectrum of Liver Disease”. Pizza will be served. Hastings’ Auditorium-HMR Building.

4:00-6:00 pm – Center for Excellence in Research Advancement Workshops – “Developing NIH Grant Applications”. The course, led by Steve Moldin, executive director of the USC Washington, D.C., Office of Research Advancement, is designed for new and established USC investigators who wish to submit a grant application to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Due to limited space, RSVP is required at usccer@usc.edu. Click here for more information. NML, East Conference Room, HSC.

Fri Nov 19
8:30am-3:30pm - USC Energy Institute Retreat – “Biomedical Nanoscience Retreat”. The fourth annual BioNano Retreat features USC speakers as well as guest speakers. Due to limited space, RSVP is required at usccer@usc.edu. Click here for more information.

Mon Nov 22
12:00-1:00 pm – KSOM Research Seminar – Louis Dubeau, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pathology, Keck School of Medicine, USC. Pizza will be served at 11:40am. Aresty Auditorium, NRT-LG. Info: resadv.temp@med.usc.edu

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