July 5, 2023
Announcements
 
School of Medicine Applications for Bridge Funding Due July 25
Please note that the next UCI Office of Research deadline for Bridge Funding is Tuesday, August 1, 2023. Complete applications must include a signed letter of support by your department chair showing financial commitment. Bridge Funding applications are due to the School of Medicine Office of Research by Tuesday, July 25, 2023.

Deadline: Tuesday, July 25, 2023
 
Apply to the CFCCC Mentorship, Education and Training (MET) Program

The Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (CFCCC) Cancer Research Training & Education Coordination (CRTEC) is accepting applications for the Mentorship, Education and Training (MET) Program.

The CFCCC MET Program is a year-long mentoring program designed to engage the expertise of senior CFCCC members with the goal of supporting junior and mid-career CFCCC faculty (basic, clinical and population science) and to catalyze strategies for overcoming career and scientific challenges.

Learn more about the MET Program, including details on how to apply. Apply now until August 15, 2023.

 
Postdoctoral Funding Opportunity! A.P. Giannini Foundation Fellowship
The A.P. Giannini Foundation invites physician-scientists and junior researchers with 3 to 36 months of postdoctoral research experience (as of Dec. 31, 2023) to apply to the 2024 Postdoctoral Research Fellowship & Leadership Award.

The Fellowship and Leadership Award supports innovative research in the basic sciences and applied fields and trains fellows to become established investigators and to pursue scientific leadership positions in academia, industry, public and non-traditional career pathways. Research projects should advance the translation of biomedical science into preventions, treatments and cures for human diseases. Applicants with tenure-track research positions or faculty appointments are ineligible.

Fellows receive a competitive stipend for their research training. Candidates may be eligible to obtain additional salary support from their sponsoring institution. Fellows cannot concurrently hold a full fellowship from another source or a federally funded career development award. Fellows receive leadership training and support to maximize their postdoctoral experience. Fellows participate in workshops and receive one-on-one coaching to foster their communication and leadership skills. The Foundation requires that fellows participate in the Leadership Program.

For questions about the application process, reach out to Dr. Leslie Thompson (lmthomps@hs.uci.edu).

Deadline: Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023, 3 p.m.

 
Request for Information on Catalyzing the Development and Use of Novel Alternative Methods to Advance Biomedical Research
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) seeks public input on challenges and opportunities for the further development and use of novel alternative methods (NAMs) in biomedical research. NIH investment in these methods have proven beneficial tools across basic and clinical research studies, being developed and applied to interrogate cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, infectious disease, rare diseases and more. Each NAM approach has unique strengths and limitations that vary depending on the specific research question being addressed.

To identify areas in which the development and use of NAMs provide the most value to biomedical research, NIH sought the assistance of the Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD), an advisory group that provides advice on matters pertinent to NIH mission responsibilities in the conduct and support of biomedical research, medical science and biomedical communications. The purpose of this request is to inform the NIH and the development of the ACD’s recommendations on high-priority areas for future investment.

To support the activities of the ACD Working Group, NIH is requesting information from interested individuals and communities on challenges and opportunities for the development and use of NAMs in biomedical research. Input sought includes, but is not limited to, feedback on the following:

  • The use of novel alternative methods to study human biology, circuits, systems, and disease states.
  • Approaches for catalyzing the development and validation of novel alternative method technologies.
  • Strategies for maximizing the research value of novel alternative method technologies.

All comments must be submitted electronically here. It is not necessary to address each question/item. The comment period will close on August 16, 2023.

Deadline: August 16, 2023
 
Second Call for New Proposals: Basic and Translational Research Programs Requiring Wet Lab Space
There is a second call for new proposals for basic and translational research programs requiring wet lab space. This is a follow-up call to the original RFP in 2021. This call is for new proposals.

Please submit your proposals for research programs to Shauna Stark, starks@hs.uci.edu by Sept. 1, 2023. The School of Medicine’s Office of the Dean will reach out to you with recommendations for revision so they can be forwarded to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs by Oct. 15, 2023.

Deadline: Friday, Sept. 1, 2023
 
Join AAAS for Future Honorary Fellow Eligibility
Researchers are encouraged to become members of AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science). There are many member benefits and membership in this esteemed organization has been a time-honored tradition in the scientific community.

An important benefit of membership in AAAS is to position yourself to be elected as an AAAS Honorary Fellow. AAAS Fellows are a distinguished group of scientists, engineers and innovators who have been recognized for their extraordinary achievements. In a tradition stretching back to 1874, Fellows are elected annually by the AAAS Council. View the list of AAAS Fellows elected in 2022.

The UCI School of Medicine Awards Nominations Committee would like to nominate our researchers for consideration for election to AAAS Fellowship. One must be a continuous member of AAAS for the four-year period leading up to the year of nomination. Please make yourself eligible for this honor and become a member.
 
Have You Received a New Award?
Have you or someone on your research team received a new grant, i.e., research funding? The School of Medicine Office of Research would like to know! Please fill out this short New Funding/Grant Survey form.
Funding Opportunities Recently Added to Calendar
 
2024 Searle Scholars Program
UCI has the opportunity to nominate two candidates for the 2024 Searle Scholars Program, which recognizes outstanding new faculty with the potential to make innovative and high-impact contributions to research in biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, immunology, neuroscience, pharmacology, and related areas in chemistry, medicine and the biological sciences.

The Searle Scholars Program does not ordinarily support purely clinical research, but has supported research programs that include both clinical and basic components. Potential applicants who are unsure if their research is appropriate for this program are encouraged to examine the research interests of present and former Searle Scholars on their website and/or consult with UCI Corporate & Foundation Relations staff.

Eligibility: The candidate’s first appointment to an Assistant Professor, tenure-track position must have begun on or after May 1, 2022.

Interested applicants are asked to submit a preliminary application to the Office of Research via UCI Review.

Deadline: Monday, July 10, 2023
 
UC Noyce Initiative 2023 Call for Applications
The UC Noyce Initiative is a partnership between five University of California campuses (Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, San Francisco, Santa Barbara) that honors the legacy of Ann S. Bowers and Robert N. Noyce by advancing computing, information science and engineering for the benefit of society. To further this aim, the UC Noyce Initiative intends to support research efforts that are innovative, have the potential for high-impact, and hold a strong promise for follow-on funding. The UC Noyce Initiative is particularly interested in supporting high-risk, high-reward research that typically does not qualify for traditional or federal funding agencies. In 2023, the UC Noyce Initiative requests proposals in two thematic focus areas: (1) Computational Health; (2) Privacy and Security.

Researchers may apply for either a Multi-Campus Partnership Award (up to $1M over 2 years) or a Single Campus Award (up to $300K over 2 years). The initiative anticipates awarding up to four Multi-Campus Partnership Awards and up to 10 Single Campus Awards in 2023. For more information, please view/download the full RFP.

Deadline: Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023, at 6 p.m.
 
Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Administrative Supplement Program to Help Develop Alzheimer’s-Focused NIH Grants (NOT-AG-23-032)
Since 2017, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) has sponsored a successful Administrative Supplement program to stimulate the field of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and its related dementias (ADRD) (e.g., frontotemporal dementia, Lewy body dementia, Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia (VCID), and multiple etiology dementias). This program has especially been effective in bringing researchers into the AD/ADRD research realm. Once more, the participating Institutes and Centers (ICs) are inviting supplement applications to take advantage of this opportunity to support the value of their projects, consistent with the previously peer-reviewed objectives.

Therefore, as administrative supplements, the work proposed must be within the scope of the research or training that is already supported in order to be considered for funding. Active awards with project end dates in fiscal year (FY) 2025 or later are eligible. Center awards and resource awards are most likely to be able to justify these supplements, as they tend to have a broad content scope. Some research grants will also qualify if the current research is on a related topic (e.g., cognitive decline in aging, caregiving, the biology of neurodegeneration, genetics, imaging, computational methods, pain perception, or biostatistical tools that have application to research on AD/ADRD). Awards that currently focus on research on AD/ADRD are not eligible for this program.

Review the NOSI to view Institute-, Center-, and Office-specific information.

Deadline: Monday, Oct. 2, 2023
 
For More Funding Opportunities
For more funding opportunities and resources for your funding search, visit the Funding Opportunities page on the new and updated website for the UCI School of Medicine.

For a curated, searchable and filterable list of funding opportunities by NIH in their weekly NIH guide listserv, check out the School of Medicine Funding Search Tool.
Upcoming Seminars & Events
 
NCI Drug Development Workshop II: Specialized Topics in Preclinical Development of Small Molecule Cancer Drugs
This workshop will encompass a series of six webinar-based lectures. They will address specialized topics that are important for the preclinical development of small molecule cancer drugs. The intention is to help investigators mitigate the translational risk of selected candidates during their later stages of product development and increase the chances of entering clinical evaluation. The intended audience is translational scientists who are interested in preclinical development of cancer drugs. Junior faculty, staff and trainees are encouraged to attend this workshop. Sessions start at 10 a.m. PT, and includes 60–90 minutes of lectures and 15 minutes of facilitated discussion. View the agenda for more information about this workshop.

June 22 to July 28, 2023, on selected Thursdays and Fridays, at 10 a.m. PT
Register
 
UCI Conte Center Seminar Series

Reinforcement Learning, Monoamines and the effort to connect neurochemical dynamics to Human Perception, by Read Montague, PhD, Virginia Tech Carilion Vernon Mountcastle Research Professor; Director, Center for Human Neuroscience Research; Franlin Biomedical Research Institute, Virginia Tech.

Tuesday, July 11, 4 to 5 p.m. PT
Location: Hybrid event at Plumwood House (across from Medical Education) and via Zoom
Register
 
ICTS Community Health Research Exchange Presents: Community-Academic Partnered Research Presentations 
​​​​​​Come engage with academic-community research teams to discuss important aspects of partnerships, partnership development for research projects, potential pitfalls to avoid, and managing competing interests. They will discuss their research partnerships within the context of the Campus-Community Research Incubator (CCRI) projects they completed.

Speakers: 

  • Karen Lindsay, PhD, RDN (UCI) & Trina Robertson, MS, RDN (Dairy Council of CA)
  • Dave Lugo (CEO MOMS OC) & Heike Thiel de Bocanegra, PhD, MPH, MA (UCI)

Friday, July 14, 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Register
 
Statistics Workshops, presented by Insight Research Services Associated
Insight Research Services Associated, an Australia-based company, is presenting workshops online May through July at a time suitable for participants in North America. The workshop in July will cover an Introduction to Structural Equation Modelling.

There is a registration fee. These workshops are aimed at non-statisticians as well as statisticians new to these fields. For questions, contact Mark at m.griffin@insightrsa.com. Keep up to date with the training programs we deliver by joining our email list. Register and learn more about our workshops.

July 17-20, 1 to 4 p.m. PT

Register
 
CHOC Research Education: NIH Grant Writing: Funding Success Part 2
Speakers: Sheila Cherry, PhD, and Jessica Lerch, PhD
Topics:
  • How to tailor your proposals to grant reviewers
  • How to position your research and yourself to make reviewers your research advocates

Wednesday, July 19, noon to 1:15 p.m.
Register
 
Making a Difference in Human Subjects Research: Empowering Participants, Engaging Communities, and Protecting Data
​​​​​​Interested in spending two informative days with the HHS Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) and your fellow colleagues in the human research protection world? If so, make plans to attend this in-person event, highlighting the ethical challenges and opportunities presented by AI technologies and innovations in academic-community partnerships.

Be sure to check out the 
line-up of speakers which includes experts from the NIH Office of Science Policy (OSP). Don’t miss this valuable and engaging opportunity to share challenges and learn best practices on how to manage, share and protect research data from HHS experts and your institutional colleagues.

Sept. 26–27, 2023 
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan 
Register
 
Grand Rounds and CME Symposia
For Continuing Medical Education (CME) opportunities, view the weekly Grand Rounds & CME Symposia email.
Research Resources
 
NIH Biosketch Info Session Recording
The Research Development Unit (RDU) recently held a NIH Biosketch info session. View the recording and slide deck. If you have any questions or would like the RDU to review your biosketch to ensure compliance, please email somrd@hs.uci.edu.
 
New Intake Forms for Research Development Support!
If you would like grant support and/or assistance with letters of support, the RDU now has intake forms for grant support and letters of support requests. If you have any questions or feedback, please email somrd@hs.uci.edu.
 
The Modernized ClinicalTrials.gov Website Is Here
The modernized ClinicalTrials.gov website has an updated design that is visually appealing and easy to read. Read more here.
 
Submitting for a UCOP funding opportunity? Remember this!
UCOP is not an internal sponsor because the funding originates from off-campus, so all UCOP projects need to be routed via the standard KR process.  For questions, please direct to your Contract & Grants Analyst.
 
Are you considering applying for Limited Funding Opportunities?
In most cases, interested applicants submit a pre-proposal to the Office of Research where a committee reviews all submissions and makes a recommendation to the Vice Chancellor for Research about which proposal should go forward from UCI. Limited opportunities are advertised on fundopp.uci.edu with a link to apply. However, if you do not see a limited opportunity listed, please contact the Research Development Unit. We can relay your application plans to the UCI Office of Research so they are aware of the number of interested PIs/units on campus and, if necessary, coordinate PIs or create a review process.
 
Grants Preparation Material Request Form
This Grants Preparation Material Request Form includes numerous NIH templates and checklists (e.g., diversity supplements, RCR, K applications and the PEDP) as well as boilerplate material.

Save yourself time by requesting and taking advantage of these documents. Please review the Grant Preparation Material Request Form, spread the word among your colleagues about this resource, and contact the Research Development Unit (somrd@hs.uci.edu) if you have any questions or suggestions.
 
What is Research Development?
Research Development encompasses strategic, proactive, and capacity-building activities designed to support individual faculty and teams of faculty in obtaining extramural research funding and also increase institutional competitiveness. The UCI School of Medicine Research Development Unit (RDU) meets individual faculty to provide information regarding research resources and assistance with grant proposals.

Do you want funding opportunities matching your research program automatically emailed to you? The RDU can also help you set up a Pivot account in minutes via Zoom and answer any questions you may have. Read more about Pivot and other Funding Search Tools. Reserve a slot here!
 
Intramural & Foundation Funding Opportunities Lists
The Research Development Unit (RDU) has created lists of intramural funding opportunities and foundation funding opportunities. If you have additional opportunities that should be included, please do not hesitate to email at somrd@hs.uci.edu.
COVID-19 Information
 
COVID-19 Reminders
With California’s COVID-19 state of emergency having ended on February 28, 2023, employees and students are reminded to continue to report their COVID-19 cases to Contact Tracing and Vaccine Navigation Services, which continues to investigate and contact trace cases. Free face coverings and antigen tests continue to be available on campus.

Please note that the end of the emergency does not mean the end of COVID-19, so individuals should continue to gauge their risk and take steps to protect themselves and their communities by staying up to date with vaccinations and boosters, staying home if sick, testing, washing hands and wearing masks when appropriate.

For the latest information on campus status and operational updates, please visit UCI Forward.
For UCI Health updates, please visit UCI Health's COVID-19 page on SharePoint.
Contribute to Research Insider!
 
Submit your funding opportunities and events to next week's email here: Seminar/Event or Funding Opportunity.
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