Current Limited Submissions

DE-FOA-0002517: Scientific Infrastructure Support for Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research

Slots: 1. USC is only eligible to submit to the GSI subcategory of this application.

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Friday, October 8, 2021, 5pm PT

LOI: N/A

External Deadline: November 11, 2021, 7pm ET

Award Information

Anticipated Award Amount: Average of $250,000 per project period.

Who May Serve as PI: In accordance with 2 CFR 910.126(b), eligibility for award is restricted to U.S. universities and colleges. Underrepresented Groups and Minority-Serving Institutions (e.g., Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribal Serving Institutions) are encouraged to apply.

Link to Award: https://neup.inl.gov/SiteAssets/FY2022_Documents/NEGTN02-%23234443-v11-FY_2022_Scientific_Infrastructure_Support_for_CINR_FOA.pdf

Process for Limited Submissions

PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Office of Research Application Portal: https://orif.usc.edu/oor-portal/.

Materials to submit include:

(1) Single Page Proposal Summary (0.5” margins; single-spaced; font type: Arial, Helvetica, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 1-page limit will be excluded from review.
(2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Note: The portal requires information about the PIs and Co-PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#, Gender, and Ethnicity. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.

Purpose

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) provides funding to support crosscutting nuclear energy research and development (R&D) and associated infrastructure support activities to develop innovative technologies that offer the promise of dramatically improved performance for advanced reactors and fuel cycle concepts, while maximizing the use of DOE resources.

The development of nuclear energy-related infrastructure and basic capabilities in the research community is necessary to promote R&D that supports nuclear science and engineering (NS&E), DOE-NE’s mission, and the Nation’s nuclear energy challenges. Accordingly, DOE intends to facilitate the education and training of nuclear scientists, engineers, and policymakers through graduate and undergraduate study, two-year programs, and R&D that is relevant to the Department and the U.S. nuclear energy industry in general.

• Under [the GSI section of this] FOA, applications can be submitted for equipment, software, instrumentation, and associated non-reactor upgrade requests that support nuclear energy-related R&D or education.
• Funding requests may include, but are not limited to, equipment and instrumentation for specialized facilities, classrooms and teaching laboratories, and non-reactor NS&E research.
• Infrastructure requests that support the sharing and use of equipment and instrumentation by multiple campuses of a university, multiple universities, or national laboratories are encouraged.
• Equipment and associated upgrades specifically for university research reactors are the subjects of the University Research Reactor Upgrades Infrastructure Support opportunity discussed in Part I, Section C.1.

Budgetary Requirements: For university participants, cost sharing is not required, but is encouraged.

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.

NSF-21-625: Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSEC)

Slots: 1.

Only one MRSEC preliminary proposal may be submitted by any one organization as the lead institution in this competition. An institution proposing research in several groups should submit a single MRSEC proposal with multiple Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs). A MRSEC proposal must contain a minimum of 2 IRGs and a maximum of 3 IRGs. The IRGs in a Center may be thematically related, or they may address different aspects of materials science typically supported by DMR. A single Center at an organization allows efficient usage of resources, including common infrastructure, and better coordination of education and other activities of the Center.

Institutions that were awarded a MRSEC in the FY 2020 competition as the lead institution are not eligible to submit a MRSEC proposal as a lead institution in this competition.

MRSEC full proposals may be submitted by invitation only.

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Monday, November 1, 2021, 5pm PT

LOI (Preliminary Proposal): June 20, 2022

External Deadline: November 22, 2022

Award Information

Award Type: Cooperative Agreement

Estimated Number of Awards: 8

Anticipated Award Amount: $25,000,000

Who May Serve as PI: No restrictions or limits.

Link to Award: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2021/nsf21625/nsf21625.htm

Process for Limited Submissions

PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Office of Research Application Portal: https://orif.usc.edu/oor-portal/.

Materials to submit include:

(1) Single Page Proposal Summary (0.5” margins; single-spaced; font type: Arial, Helvetica, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 1-page limit will be excluded from review.
(2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Purpose

The Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSECs) program provides sustained support of materials research and education of the highest quality while addressing fundamental problems in science and engineering. Each MRSEC addresses research of a scope and complexity requiring the scale, synergy, and multidisciplinarity provided by a campus-based research center. The MRSECs support materials research infrastructure in the United States, promote active collaboration between universities and other sectors, including industry and international organizations, and contribute to the development of a national network of university-based centers in materials research, education, and facilities. A MRSEC may be located at a single institution, or may involve multiple institutions in partnership, and is composed of two to three Interdisciplinary Research Groups, IRGs, each addressing a fundamental materials science topic aligned with the Division of Materials Research, DMR.

Proposals addressing fundamental materials research problems in the following areas are of particular interest:

Artificial Intelligence (AI), including use of machine learning, deep learning, computer vision and other emerging data-centric approaches to address complex problems in materials science, and in particular as applied to traditional materials science problems in ceramics, metals, metallic alloys, and other materials classes. The use of AI and machine learning to enable advanced manufacturing, and using predictive design to program materials’ composition, structure, and function are also of interest.
Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology, including addressing materials challenges that hinder the advancement of incorporating synthetic biology techniques to the development of next-generation materials and living (functional) materials relevant to biotechnology; and fundamental materials research at the intersection of synthetic biology and abiotic materials and technologies, and of engineering biology and materials science. Efforts may include, but are not limited to, the development of materials, living materials, and/or materials systems that have the potential to impact the way we grow, store, and preserve food; to explore new materials that sustain the well-being of humans, non-human animals, and populations; development of knowledge of how to manufacture new biological materials for information storage and processing; development of new materials that are pluripotent and autonomous that can sense their environment and change properties; and new approaches to manufacture at scale materials that are safer, more sustainable, and novel (see https://roadmap.ebrc.org/2021-roadmap-materials/ for more information.)
Advanced Manufacturing, including new strategies for creating composite materials across materials classes (e.g., combining digital- and self-assembly), new tools for modeling and monitoring processing (e.g., in situ characterization), and developing the ability to print functionality, such as spatially resolved mechanical/chemical properties, in addition to structures; exploring opportunities for hierarchical materials by combining self-assembly (bottom-up) with top-down additive manufacturing and 4D printing; blending manufacturing approaches for heterogeneous (soft and hard) materials; precision synthesis and characterization of macromolecular/bespoke polymer materials.

In addition, further potential research topics to broaden the current MRSEC portfolio include, but are not limited to:

Structural Materials under Extreme Conditions: this effort addresses fundamental challenges in ceramic, metallic, and polymeric structural materials, and their composites for applications under extreme conditions.
Materials for Clean, Sustainable Energy: this effort addresses development of earth-abundant / non-toxic element-based materials and sustainable practices that support: materials for clean, sustainable energy harvesting, conversion and storage; and materials for energy-efficient processing, storage, and communication of information. Proposals in this area must address topics that are distinct from ongoing research efforts supported by other federal agencies.

Budgetary Requirements: Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited.

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.

PAR-21-339: Limited Competition: NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Program Research Education Grants Programs (R25 – Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Slots: 1. NCATS solicits the submission of one set of companion applications. With this solicitation for the R25 application, a separate, companion FOA solicits applications for a required UM1 (PAR-21-293: Clinical and Translational Science Award). The UM1 and initial R25 applications must be submitted concurrently; an R25 application without the required companion UM1 application will not be reviewed. The R25 application will only be awarded if the UM1 application is awarded. Resubmission of an R25 without the required UM1 will be allowed only if the UM1 application is awarded. The sponsoring institution must assure support for the proposed program. Appropriate institutional commitment to the program includes the provision of adequate staff, facilities, and educational resources that can contribute to the planned program

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: October 22, 2021, 5pm PT

LOI: 30 days prior

External Deadline: January 26, 2022

Recurring Future Deadlines: May 13, 2022; September 16, 2022; January 13, 2023; May 12, 2023; September 15, 2023; January 12, 2024; May 17, 2024; September 13, 2024

Award Information

Award Type: Grant

Estimated Number of Awards: The number of awards is contingent upon NIH appropriations and the submission of a sufficient number of meritorious applications.

Anticipated Award Amount: The maximum budget is $100,000 direct costs/year. The budget request for a given application needs to be adequately justified and reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. Yearly fluctuations in the project workload should be reflected in the requested budget.

Who May Serve as PI: The PD/PI should be an established investigator in the scientific area in which the application is targeted and capable of providing both administrative and scientific leadership to the development and implementation of the proposed program. The PD/PI will be expected to monitor and assess the program and submit all documents and reports as required.

The UM1 PD(s)/PI(s) may not be a PD(s)/PI(s) on the R25 award.

Link to Award: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-21-339.html

Process for Limited Submissions

PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Office of Research Application Portal: https://orif.usc.edu/oor-portal/.

Materials to submit include:

(1) Single Page Proposal Summary (0.5” margins; single-spaced; font type: Arial, Helvetica, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 1-page limit will be excluded from review.
(2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Purpose

The overarching goal of this R25 program is to provide support to recipients of Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) for research experiencess that complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation’s biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs. To accomplish this over-arching goal, this FOA will support creative educational activities with a primary focus on:

Research Experiences:
- Research experiences are expected to be relevant to NCATS’ mission of studying translation on a system-wide level, agnostic to a specific disease, to better understand the scientific and operational principles underlying each step of the translational process. The goal is not to focus on specific diseases, but on what is common among them and the translational science process. Examples of research experiences appropriate for career levels include, but are not limited to:
  - Undergraduates: to provide hands-on exposure to research that reinforces their interest in clinical and translational science and/or prepares them for graduate school matriculation and/or careers in clinical and translational science for graduate and medical, dental, nursing and other health professional students.
  - Postdoctoral Fellows and Medical Residents: to extend their skills, experiences, and knowledge base in order to engage in clinical and translational science research activities.
  - Junior Faculty: to enhance their research skills, experiences, and knowledge base relative to clinical and translational science by working with faculty members at a partnering institution.
Proposed research experiences should involve an innovative approach to provide hands-on exposure to clinical and translational science research in a laboratory or a field setting for a full-time (40 hours per week) period of 10 to 15 weeks in order to stimulate the interest and advance the knowledge base of participants to consider further education and training for future careers as clinical and translational science researchers. The proposed programs should provide research experiences that are not available through formal NIH training mechanisms.R25 programs that propose at least 10 weeks, but fewer than 15 weeks, of full-time research experiences are allowed to request continued part-time support for the participants to work on their research projects, up to the equivalent of 15 weeks of full-time participation, as long as the entire research experience is completed within a 12-month period. Successful participants may be appointed for additional periods of short-term research experiences.

Research education programs may complement ongoing research training and education occurring at the applicant institution, but the proposed educational experiences must be distinct from those training and education programs currently receiving Federal support. R25 programs may augment institutional research training programs (e.g., T32, T90) but cannot be used to replace or circumvent Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) programs.

Budgetary Requirements: This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.

2022 Moore Inventor Fellows

Slots: 2

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: October 15, 2021, 5pm PT

LOI: Nomination form due November 12, 2021

External Deadline: December 13, 2021

Award Information

Award Type:

Estimated Number of Awards: 50

Anticipated Award Amount: $34 million across awards.

Each fellow will receive $200,000 per year from the foundation for three years. In addition, the foundation will provide the host institution with $25,000 each year to cover costs associated with administering the grant, resulting in a total three-year award of $675,000.

Who May Serve as PI:

Candidates must be faculty, research scientists, postdocs or other full-time staff who can receive funding through their institutions. Candidates must be no more than 10 years past receiving the terminal advanced degree in their field (M.S., Ph.D. or M.D. received on or after 2012).

The scope of this call is intentionally wide: proposed projects do not need to fall within our current funding priorities but should be broadly within the program areas of foundation interest (science, environmental conservation and patient care). For patient care, inventions should resonate with our focus on improving the experience and outcomes of patients with solutions that improve clinical diagnosis.

We aim to support inventions at an early stage that could lead to proof-of-concept of an invention or advance an existing prototype that tackles an important problem. We seek innovations that promise to make a long-lasting and meaningful impact by addressing underlying problems in their field, but a clear path toward commercialization is not a requirement. We are not interested in supporting fundamental research projects or projects already at a stage where significant venture capital is available. As with all our grants, we seek to measure progress toward a defined goal during the three years of support. The foundation’s policy is that intellectual property that results from a grant must be managed and disseminated in a manner that leads to the greatest impact. Each award will include IP terms to reflect the
needs of that project.

We recognize real invention can take surprising turns, so we seek creative individuals who have big ideas, deep knowledge and the courage to take smart risks. We recognize inventors and innovators come from a diversity of backgrounds, disciplines and experiences and seek creative individuals across a broad array of academic programs and research institutions. Examples of such programs include but are not limited to environmental science and conservation, remote sensing, artificial intelligence, big data, climatology, emerging infectious diseases, oceanography, biology, engineering, physics, chemistry, materials science, neuroscience, and public health.

Link to Award: https://www.moore.org/docs/default-source/moore-inventor-fellows/moore-inventor-fellows-guidelines.pdf

Process for Limited Submissions

PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Gordon & Betty Moore link here: https://provost.sma.usc.edu/prog/moore/

Materials to submit include:

(1) Single Page Proposal Summary (0.5” margins; single-spaced; font type: Arial, Helvetica, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 1-page limit will be excluded from review.
(2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Purpose

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation announces the seventh competition for Moore Inventor Fellows. The foundation seeks to identify outstanding inventors and innovators who harness science and technology to enhance the conduct of scientific research, strengthen environmental conservation, or improve the experience and outcomes of patient care. The Moore Inventor Fellows fellowship focuses on supporting scientist-inventors at a critical prototyping stage to capture opportunities that otherwise might be missed. We seek to provide freedom and support to promising inventors with the most compelling ideas to pursue creative and disruptive innovations.

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.

RFA-DK-21-024: Pediatric Centers of Excellence in Nephrology (P50 Clinical Trial Optional)

Slots: 1

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: October 1, 2021, 5pm PT

LOI: October 18, 2021

External Deadline: November 18, 2021

Award Information

Award Type: Grant

Estimated Number of Awards: 3

Anticipated Award Amount: $2.63 million

Who May Serve as PI: The PCEN Director must be an established investigator with demonstrated research accomplishments and prior success in obtaining external funding.

Link to Award: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DK-21-024.html

Process for Limited Submissions

PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Office of Research Application Portal: https://orif.usc.edu/oor-portal/.

Materials to submit include:

(1) Single Page Proposal Summary (0.5” margins; single-spaced; font type: Arial, Helvetica, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 1-page limit will be excluded from review.
(2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Purpose

The goals of the PCEN program are: 1. to attract new scientific expertise to the study of human pediatric renal physiology, kidney development, and pediatric kidney disorders; 2. to encourage multidisciplinary research in these areas; and 3. to develop the pediatric nephrology research community through a national research symposium, broad sharing of research resources, and a national Pilot and Feasibility grant program. These efforts are expected to lead to innovative approaches to study kidney disease in children and the eventual submission of substantial, competitive, investigator–initiated research applications. The PCEN will complement the O’Brien Kidney and Urological Research Centers and are expected to leverage existing institutional resources which may include Clinical Translational Science Awards, Institutional Network Awards for Promoting Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Research Training (U2C/TL1), and other KUH-funded consortia. It is anticipated that collaboration will occur among individuals in the clinical and basic sciences, including cell biology, molecular biology, immunology, genetics, epidemiology, biochemistry, physiology and pathology. Resources and studies that foster new approaches into the causes, early diagnoses and treatments, and where possible, prevention of these diseases and disorders are appropriate.

Each Center within the PCEN program will be thematically distinct, yet complementary to the national network of PCEN. The Centers will jointly arrange and sponsor a yearly, open, broadly advertised, scientific symposium featuring the research projects and biomedical cores at each site in the Bethesda MD/Washington DC area. Junior faculty will be particularly encouraged to present their work. Pilot and Feasibility awardees will present the results of their funded projects. (Further details provided below under Educational Enrichment activities).

The Pilot and Feasibility project application processes will be coordinated between Centers to avoid unnecessary duplication or conflicts and to attract and support the best people and ideas to further pediatric kidney research. (Further details provided below in section Pilot and Feasibility Program).

To promote collaboration, the PIs/PDs of each of the PCEN will have conference calls at least quarterly, joined by NIDDK program staff. It is anticipated these conference calls will include planning for the yearly open scientific meeting, coordination of widely publicized announcements and NIH-style reviews of Pilot and Feasibility project applications, and should include sharing of progress on research projects.

Budgetary Requirements: This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.

RFA-DK-21-019: National Program for the Career Development Of Physician Scientists in Diabetes Research (Diabetes – Docs) (K12 Clinical Trial Optional)

Slots: 1

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: October 15, 2021, 5pm PT

LOI: N/A

External Deadline: November 18, 2021

Award Information

Award Type: Grant

Estimated Number of Awards: 1

Anticipated Award Amount: $2 million

Who May Serve as PI: The PD/PI or PD/PI(s) should be leader(s) in type 1 diabetes research with available effort and experience leading successful career development programs. The Program should include appropriate expertise to provide leadership for the career development of physician-scientists in type 1 diabetes research but may include expertise in type 2 diabetes research.

Link to Award: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DK-21-019.html

Process for Limited Submissions

PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Office of Research Application Portal: https://orif.usc.edu/oor-portal/.

Materials to submit include:

(1) Single Page Proposal Summary (0.5” margins; single-spaced; font type: Arial, Helvetica, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 1-page limit will be excluded from review.
(2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Purpose

The purpose of the Diabetes-Docs Program is to support the career development of physicians committed to a career in diabetes research. The program is intended to remedy the dearth of pediatric endocrinologists and physicians from other specialties conducting innovative research into the causes and consequences of diabetes. Diabetes-Docs will be a single national program, implemented by one or more PD/PIs, together with an advisory committee composed of basic and clinical investigators who have a strong record of funded research and successful training of physician-scientists. Although there will be one national administrative center awardee, scholars are expected to be appointed and supported at their home institutions around the country. The program will have a focus on Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) research, with the major funding from the Statutory Special Diabetes Program https://www.niddk.nih.gov/about-niddk/research-areas/diabetes/type-1-diabetes-special-statutory-funding-program/about-special-diabetes-program. Starting in the second year, the program will expand to support the career development of physicians whose research focuses on innovative projects in type 2 diabetes. The program is expected to deliver on goals to increase the diversity of physician scientists with independent research careers in the mission of NIDDK https://www.niddk.nih.gov/research-funding/research-programs#diabetes.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) allows appointment of Scholars (K12) proposing to serve as the lead investigator of an independent clinical trial; or proposing a separate ancillary clinical trial; or proposing to gain research experience in a clinical trial led by another investigator, as part of their research and career development.

Budgetary Requirements: This FOA does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.