2022 HSCI Nervous System Disease Program

Request for Proposals on Vision Repair and Regeneration

 

AWARD AMOUNT

Trainee Awards will be made in amounts of up to $75,000 total funding per year.

Faculty Awards will be made in amounts of up to $150,000 total funding per year.

Up to $300,000 for entire project period.

Project period not to exceed 2 years

 

DEADLINE FOR LETTER OF INTENT

** EXTENDED **
Wednesday, February 2, 2022

 

DEADLINE FOR FULL PROPOSAL

** EXTENDED **
Friday, February 25, 2022

 

ANTICIPATED AWARD DATE

April 1, 2022

 

The HSCI Nervous System Disease Program is pleased to announce our first call for proposals for the HSCI Vision Repair and Regeneration Program, intended to support research relevant to diseases that affect vision.

Funding will be awarded at two levels:

• TRAINEES (postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, residents), and
• FACULTY (instructors and above).

 

TRAINEE AWARD

HSCI expects to fund up to three trainee awards in 2022 for a period of up to two years.

Total funding per year will amount to $75,000 for trainee awards, inclusive of indirect costs.

 

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Trainees (graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, residents, instructors) must be sponsored by an HSCI Faculty member with an independent research laboratory (assistant professor or higher) at Harvard University, HMS, or an affiliated hospital.

 

Applications must address questions relevant to diseases of the eye and/or vision repair or regeneration.

 

The 2022 HSCI Nervous System Disease Program TRAINEE application can be found at:

https://hsci.formstack.com/forms/2022_nervoussystem_traineeaward

 

 

FACULTY AWARD

HSCI expects to fund one faculty award in 2022 for a period of up to two years.

Total funding per year will amount to $150,000 for faculty award, inclusive of indirect costs.

 

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

HSCI Faculty members with independent research laboratories, at the assistant professor level or higher, across Harvard University (FAS, HMS and affiliated hospitals) are eligible to apply.

 

Applications must address questions relevant to diseases of the eye and/or vision repair or regeneration.

 

The 2022 HSCI Nervous System Disease Program FACULTY application can be found at:

https://hsci.formstack.com/forms/2022_nervoussystem_facultyaward

 

LETTER OF INTENT GUIDELINES

A letter of intent submitted in response to this call for proposals must contain the following components:

 

1. Letter of Intent (1 pg. max)
1.1 HSCI cover sheet
1.2 Proposal Title & Abstract (lay-orientated language, 250 words, max.) - response to the RFA with a research plan that addresses questions relevant to diseases of the eye and/or vision repair or regeneration
1.3 Name the file with the last name of PI(s) and email to: HSCI@harvard.edu
*These LOIs are requested to confirm eligibility and responsiveness to the RFA, and to help us assemble an appropriately-sized review committee.

 

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES

All proposals submitted in response to this call for proposals must contain the following components, each of which must include the enumerated elements:

 

1. Letter of Intent (1 pg. max)
1.1 HSCI cover sheet
1.2 Proposal Title & Abstract (lay-orientated language, 250 words, max.) - response to the RFA with a research plan that addresses questions relevant to diseases of the eye and/or vision repair or regeneration
1.3 Name the file with the last name of PI(s) and email to: HSCI@harvard.edu
*These LOIs are requested to confirm eligibility and responsiveness to the RFA, and to help us assemble an appropriately-sized review committee.

 

2. Proposal Title & Abstract (1 pg. max.)
2.1. Proposal title, PI(s) name(s), PI(s) home institution(s)
2.2. Abstract (lay-oriented language, 2,500 characters, incl. spaces, max.)

 

3. Research Proposal (3pgs. max., 11-point font, with at least 0.75 inch margins, pages numbered)
3.1. Background/Rationale
3.2. Specific research aims
3.3. Preliminary studies (if applicable)
3.4. Anticipated research milestones
* Pages listing literature references do NOT count against 3 pg. limit

 

4. Annual Budget Pages
4.1. Total annual costs may not exceed $75,000 for trainee awards and $150,000 for faculty awards, including indirect costs for up to two years
4.2. Indirect costs may not exceed 15% of total direct costs allocated to the hospital. No additional funds to cover indirect costs will be provided.
4.3. Submit separate budgets which show the amount of funding called for each PI, whether PIs have different home institutions or not
* Equipment is not allowed on HSCI grants
* Travel may not exceed $1k
* HSCI budget template strongly encouraged (template available upon call)
4.4 NIH Form Template, Page 4: Detailed Budget for Initial Budget Period

 

5. Budget Justification (1 pg. max.)
5.1. Justify all proposed budget items at the line-item level of detail
5.2. Describe effort committed by all personnel on budget, even if no salary called
5.3. PI is required to commit effort on the project

 

6. PI Biosketches (4 pgs. max. per biosketch)
6.1. NIH format
6.2. List recent financial support, indicate if directly applicable to the proposed project
6.3. May include up to 10 listings of recent/relevant publications
6.4 NIH Biosketch of PI(s); NIH biosketch of faculty sponsor (if applicable)

 

7. Letter of Institutional Review & Approval
7.1. Must be signed by an authorized institutional representative (as determined by investigator’s home institution’s policies for research proposal submission) as confirmation that the home institution has reviewed and approved the research and budget
* For a proposal in which PIs have different home institutions, a letter from each institution is required

 

8. Other Support List (current and pending)
8.1 Include annual direct costs
8.2 List should include sponsor name, title of project, award number if known, project period dates, and a brief description of each project. If relevant, a brief overlap statement should also be provided in this section.
8.3 NIH Other Support format is acceptable

 

9. Appendices (optional)
9.1. One copy each of no more than two relevant publications may be attached to the proposal

 

SUBMISSION PROCESS

The 2022 HSCI Nervous System Disease Program TRAINEE application can be found at: https://hsci.formstack.com/forms/2022_nervoussystem_traineeaward

 

The 2022 HSCI Nervous System Disease Program FACULTY application can be found at: https://hsci.formstack.com/forms/2022_nervoussystem_facultyaward

 

Applicants must complete the online application by the submission deadline.

- Complete all required fields

- Upload all proposal documents in PDF format

- Proposal components should be ordered according to the order listed above

- Proposals must be submitted by 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time on Friday, February 25, 2022.

- You will receive an email confirmation of your submission; save this email for your records

 

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

 

Applications will be reviewed by the HSCI Nervous System Disease Program in February, and all applicants will be notified of the outcome of the review process in March 2022. Successful applicants will be issued a pilot grant with a funding start date of April 1, 2022. Project period is for April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023 for one year durations and April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2024 for two year durations.

 

REVIEW CRITERIA

The goal of the HSCI Nervous System Disease Program is to improve human health by supporting basic, translational, or clinical work in any field affected by neurological disease. Factors for reviewers’ consideration include: responsiveness to the RFA with a research plan that addresses questions relevant to diseases of the eye and/or vision repair or regeneration, scientific quality, relevance to the HSCI Nervous System Disease Program mission, career development and recruitment/retention, value for money, potential to promote collaboration within the HSCI community, and regulatory issues.

 

The HSCI Review Committee will evaluate proposals primarily for their potential to advance these goals. However, the HSCI will also consider the potential of the proposal to secure funding from other sources as-is, and/or the potential of the proposed research, if successful, to secure follow-on funding from public, philanthropic, or commercial sources.

 

INQUIRIES

Questions about the HSCI Nervous System Disease Program may be addressed to Robert Perez, HSCI Grants Officer, at robert_perez@harvard.edu.

 

Thank you for your interest in the HSCI Nervous System Disease Program.