Research

In Review // Limit: 3  // Tickets Available: 0

R. Schomer (School of Plant Science)

B. Tanriover (Medicine)

S. Dickinson (Pharmacology)
 

Program updates: 

After evaluating some of our processes with the Mathers Board, we are making two key changes to our Grants Program that will be implemented in the 2024 Fall Cycle.

First, we are decreasing the number of nominees institutions can submit for each grant cycle from four (4) to three (3). Our Grants Program has evolved into a national limited competition over the last several years. We have since received 300+ LOI applications per cycle, and the numbers grow annually. Reducing the amount of LOI applications we accept will allow us to continue to select, in a timely manner, the most appropriate projects for a Formal Proposal.  

Second, we are reducing the total project budget range from $600,000-$750,000 to $600,000-$700,000.  This revised budget range for our three-year grant awards is closely aligned with other funding organizations, including many NIH research awards. 

All other LOI Application Instructions will remain the same.

The mission of The G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Foundation is to advance knowledge in the life sciences by sponsoring scientific research that will benefit mankind. The foundation’s grants program seeks to support basic science, ideally with potential translational applications. Immunology, microbiome, genomics, structural biology, cellular physiology, neuroscience, etc., are some noteworthy examples of current research support. 

For many years the Foundation has enjoyed special recognition in the research community for supporting “basic” scientific research, realizing that true transformative breakthroughs usually occur after a thorough understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying natural phenomena. More recently, and with the advent of newer investigative methodologies, technology, and tools, the Foundation now embraces innovative translational research proposals.

The grant duration must be three years. The budget should be reasonable based on the aims of the project. Indirect costs may not exceed 10%. Preliminary Budgets are required during the LOI phase. A detailed budget justification is not required until the proposal phase.  The Foundation’s grant award is not intended to be utilized for purchasing capital equipment (“bricks-and-mortar”) for the lab and is intended only to support the actual investigation. The Foundation assumes and expects that capital equipment must be provided by the research institution or university.
 

Application Guidance:

• Grant budgets cannot exceed $600,000-$700,000.
• The Foundation primarily supports basic science, ideally with potential translational applications.
• Immunology, microbiome, genomics, structural biology, cellular physiology, neuroscience, etc., are some noteworthy examples of current research support.
• Covid-19-related research projects (aims or sub-aims) will not be considered for support.
• Medical imaging technology-related projects and/or electrical engineering technology development projects will not be considered for support.
• Plant Biology Research, Oceanography, Space Exploration. and Global warming-related research will not be considered for support.
• As technology continues to advance, it is apparent that investigations in the area of basic science and translational research may become more and more reliant on collaborative, interdisciplinary projects. It is important to note that any interdisciplinary project proposals may require additional information regarding the collaborator(s)’ achievements and relevant expertise.
• Feedback for declined LOI Requests will not be provided; LOIs or Formal Proposals that have been declined should not be resubmitted at a later date for consideration.
• Renewal applications for the same or related research will not be accorded priority consideration. It is strongly advised that any re-application for grant renewal consider a new direction based on prior research or emphasize some new potential translational aspects and not merely an extension of previously funded research.
• Requests for funding previously federally supported research and/or applications pending federal approval will not be accorded priority consideration.
• Requests for support of clinical trials or drug discovery will not be approved. The Foundation will not support projects which we consider pre-clinical drug development.

Fall 2024

Portal Registration due date: September 20, 2024 (Friday)
Late registrations for our Portal will not be approved for the Fall 2024 review cycle. 

LOI due date: October 4, 2024 (Friday)
Applicants notified of proposal invitation or LOI rejection within a month of the due date.

Due date for invited proposals: December 6, 2024 (Friday)
Applicants are notified of proposal approval or rejection within 75 days of the due date.

Limit: 5 // Tickets Available: 4

F. Baker ( Nutritional Sciences and Wellness)

 A maximum of 5 applications will be accepted from 1 institution in any 1 grant cycle.

The INSPIRE Research Challenge will prioritise innovative, bold and creative proposals with the potential to catalyse rapid and impactful advances in cancer prevention, treatment and survivorship.

This is a new grant call aimed at early career investigators. It will run in parallel with our existing grant programmes and is open to investigators worldwide.

The programme is open to early career individuals – defined as not less than 2 years, but not more than 6 years post-doctoral degree (PhD or MD research).

Applicants must be employed on a research contract within a department at a research institution affiliated with a university or medical school.

Proposed projects must have direct relevance to cancer prevention, treatment or survivorship and may address any or all stages of the cancer journey.

Proposals should address modifiable factors including both lifestyle – such as diet, nutrition, physical activity – and environmental factors – such as pollution/contaminants and pathogens.

Particular priority will be given to novel exposures including stress, sleep and host factors such as immune function.

No Applicants // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1 

Only one application per institution (identified by having a unique NIH IPF number) is allowed.

The objective of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to solicit applications to conduct institutional climate assessments using validated survey instruments and to develop action plans for positive change in the recruitment, hiring, retention, and advancement of faculty, including those from groups underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral research (see NIH Interest in Diversity).

The plans for self-studies should lead to institutional culture change by identifying perceptions, attitudes, and concerns, about, for example, inequities, micro-aggressions, institutional racism, and bias. The self-studies should provide a foundation for the development of an action plan to enhance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) outcomes in the recruitment, hiring, retention, and advancement of faculty.

Components of Participating Organizations:
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
National Cancer Institute (NCI)

No Applicants  // Limit: 5 // Tickets Available: 5 

Applicant institutions are limited to both: 

• No more than a total of five pre-applications or applications as the lead institution in a single- or multi-institutional team.
• No more than one pre-application or application for each PI at the applicant institution.

Extreme-scale science recognizes that disruptive technology changes are occurring across science applications, algorithms, computer architectures and ecosystems. Recent reports point to emerging trends and advances in high-end computing, massive datasets, visualization, and artificial intelligence on increasingly heterogeneous architectures. Significant innovation will be required in the development of effective paradigms and approaches for realizing the full potential of scientific computing from emerging technologies. Proposed research should not focus on a specific science use case, but rather on creating the body of knowledge and understanding that will inform future advances in extreme-scale science. Consequently, the funding from this FOA is not intended to incrementally extend current research in the area of the proposed project. It is expected that the proposed projects will significantly benefit from the exploration of innovative ideas or from the development of unconventional approaches.

Submit ticket request  // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1

SIA provides funding for innovative science in both basic and clinical neuroscience. The objective of the SIA 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.

Funding Preferences:

• Funding is to be directed at projects that may be too innovative and speculative for traditional funding sources but still have a high likelihood of producing important findings. This should be a unique project for senior investigators who are encouraged to stretch their imagination into areas that can substantially change an area of research.
• Funding of research projects that will likely lead to successful grant applications with NIH and other public and private funding entities.

*This internal competition is run on an anticipated deadline. New guidelines will posted in early April, applicants will be informed of any relevant updates. 

Institutionally Coordinated // Limit: 1 // L. Folks (Semiconductor Strategy)

Please contact the Center for Semiconductor Manufacturing (CSM)  for more information. 

Eligible applicants can only submit one concept plan paper under this NOFO.

Program Priorities

“Advanced packaging” refers to many chips with diverse functions assembled tightly together on a substrate in two or three dimensions at extremely fine dimensions. This method achieves function, performance, and power savings far greater than can be achieved with conventionally packaged chips on a printed circuit board. Recent advances in artificial intelligence, for example, would not be possible without advanced packaging.

Advanced packaging can be a transformative capability that helps U.S. manufacturers compete globally, but there are many technological challenges to solve. The CHIPS Research and Development Office has established the CHIPS National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program to address these challenges, including:

• How do we design and assemble chips so tightly that they behave like a single traditional large chip, but with the production efficiency and cost savings of advanced packaging?

• How do we supply power to and dissipate heat from such tightly coupled assemblies?

• How do we test and repair such complex assemblies?

• How do we ensure their reliability since traditional methods of visual inspection cannot be performed on such small, tightly packaged dimensions?

The CHIPS NAPMP will enable the development of a robust domestic advanced packaging ecosystem by:

• Establishing an advanced packaging piloting facility (or facilities) that accelerates the transfer of innovations in packaging, equipment, and process development into manufacturing;

• Driving the development of digital tools to reduce the time and cost of advanced packaging engineering; and,

• Establishing and supporting partnerships among industry, academia and training entities, and government to contribute to an advanced packaging workforce.

The six priority research investment areas of the CHIPS NAPMP are:

• Materials and substrates

• Equipment, tools, and processes

• Power delivery and thermal management for advanced packaging assemblies

• Photonics and connectors that communicate with the outside world

• A chiplet ecosystem

• Co-design of multi-chiplet systems with automated tools

No Applicants // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1 

These grants fund new research protocols and therapies that hold promise for improved outcomes and accelerates cures from the laboratory bench to the bedside of children and teens with highrisk cancers. This Grant is given to single or multi-institutional programs that involve open, cancer clinical trials or consortia, and implement new approaches to therapy. Applicants must be a PhD and/or MD.

Limit:1 // E. Thornley (College of Medicine -Phoenix) 

These grants are designed to support Post-Doctoral Fellowships and Clinical Investigator training for emerging pediatric cancer researchers to pursue exciting research ideas. Applicants must have completed two years of their fellowship or not more than two years as a junior faculty instructor or assistant professor at the start of the award period. These grants encourage and cultivate the best and brightest researchers of the future.

No Applicants  //  Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1 

These grants fund basic science, translational and/or clinical state of the art pediatric cancer research initiatives. These grants fund work that is the basis for childhood cancer research, helping to move science in the direction of improved treatments and eventually finding a cure. They are designed to move hypothesis-driven research into the clinic providing support for important preclinical projects that are necessary to move a study from the pre-clinical arena into a clinical trial. Applicants must be a PhD (with a least two years as a junior faculty or assistant professor) and/or MD

No Applicants  // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1 

An institution may submit only one Partner Hub (and related Projects) proposal or one Community Engagement Resource Center proposal. There are two (2) funding opportunities through this unique award mechanism; an individual may apply for only one of these opportunities:

1. Health Equity Research Network (HERN) on Community-Driven Research Approaches – Partner Hub
   Required pre-proposals due by Tuesday, March 26, 2024
   The key outcome of this HERN is the establishment of new models for community-driven research that can be scaled and used as a foundation for shifting norms, paradigms and practices within all domains of health research. Each Partner Hub must have two research projects and be represented by a community-based organization and an academic institution. The collaborations between and among the Partner Hubs build momentum around both systems change and knowledge of a particular issue, making it an ideal mechanism to meet the interrelated objectives.  
    
2. Health Equity Research Network on Community-Driven Research Approaches – Community Engagement Resource Center
   Required pre-proposals due by Thursday, March 28, 2024
   The Community Engagement Resource Center (CERC) will, under leadership of the Director, incorporate a multidisciplinary approach to provide capacity building, training, evaluation, and the management of a Community of Practice for the full Network. The CERC will facilitate engagement across the Partner Hubs and service as a coordinating center, facilitating capacity building, study optimization, communication, evaluation, and a Community of Practice. 

This funding mechanism will establish a collaborative, multi-center network with a specific focus on innovative methodological approaches for community-driven research and developing new scalable models for doing research differently, with greater shared authority with CBOs. The Network will create, implement, and make available to the broader scientific community a body of evidence- driven approaches that will support academic and community-based partners in working as equal partners to conduct research that meets the needs of the local community.  Specific deliverables will include a “playbook” of best practices for community-driven research and a compendium of published materials and key outcomes.  In addition, through opportunities provided to the program the training of trainees, this mechanism will help to develop the next generation of researchers and CBO staff who are experienced in working collaboratively to promote the health and well-being of all individuals in their communities.