Category Archives: Graduate Students

Graduate Research Fellowship, Fiscal Year 2020

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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is seeking applications for funding innovative doctoral dissertation research that is relevant to preventing and controlling crime, and ensuring the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States.

This program furthers the Department’s mission by increasing the pool of researchers who are engaged in providing science-based solutions to problems relevant to criminal and juvenile justice policy and practice in the United States. This integrates into a single solicitation for two previously separate fellowship solicitations in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and Social and Behavior Sciences (SBS). This solicitation incorporates the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide by reference. The OJP Grant Application Resource Guide provides guidance to applicants on how to prepare and submit applications for funding to OJP. If this solicitation expressly modifies any provision in the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide, the applicant is to follow the guidelines in this solicitation as to that provision.

The Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) program provides grants to accredited academic institutions to support outstanding doctoral students whose dissertation research is relevant to criminal justice. Applicant academic institutions are eligible to apply if the student is currently enrolled in a PhD program and their proposed dissertation research has demonstrable relevance to preventing and controlling crime and/or ensuring the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States. Awards are anticipated to be made to successful applicant institutions in the form of grants to cover fellowships for the sponsored doctoral students. Awards are made for up to 3 years of support usable over a 5-year period. For each year of support, NIJ provides the institution with $35,000 for Salary and Fringe, up to $12,000 in Cost of Education Allowance, and up to $3,000 in Research Expenses.

NSF-approved Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support Formats

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A Notice From the National Science Foundation:

Dear Colleagues: We are pleased to announce the availability of both NSF-approved formats for the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support sections of National Science Foundation (NSF) proposals that fall under the revised Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 20-1) (see the February 6, 2020 webinar for complete details on all revisions to the PAPPG).

Although use of an NSF-approved format for submission of these proposal sections is not required until implementation of the revised PAPPG (NSF 20-1) on June 1, 2020, NSF is encouraging proposers to begin using the NSF-approved formats now. NSF values the feedback from the research community, and we would like to hear about your experience with the new NSF-approved formats. Information about how to provide feedback is included below.

Use of an NSF-approved format aims to reduce administrative burden and improve efficiencies by providing proposers with a compliant and reusable way to maintain this information for subsequent proposal submissions to NSF, while also ensuring that the information is submitted in a standard and searchable composition.

NSF-approved Formats

  • SciENcv: NSF has partnered with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to use SciENcv: Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae as an NSF-approved format for use in preparation of both the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support sections of an NSF proposal. SciENcv will produce an NSF-compliant PDF version of the documents which proposers can save and submit as part of their proposals via FastLane, Research.gov or Grants.gov. Additional information about the NSF-approved SciENcv formats is available on the NSF biographical sketch and current and pending support websites. 

The SciENcv tool integrates with ORCID, enabling proposers to populate their Biographical Sketches by importing data directly from their ORCID records rather than having to manually enter all the required information. Additionally, Biographical Sketch data maintained in SciENcv can be quickly and easily updated on an ongoing basis for subsequent proposal submissions.

  • NSF Fillable PDF: NSF is also providing a fillable PDF as an NSF-approved format for use to prepare both the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support sections of an NSF proposal. Proposers can download the respective fillable PDF form from the NSF biographical sketch and current and pending support websites and then submit the completed forms as part of their proposals via FastLane, Research.gov or Grants.gov. Note that the NSF fillable PDF for the Biographical Sketch does not integrate with ORCID. 

It is important to note that beginning June 1, 2020, proposers will be required to use one of the NSF-approved formats for both the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support sections of NSF proposals. Proposals submitted via FastLane, Research.gov and Grants.gov will be compliance checked to ensure that the documents were prepared in accordance with this new policy.

Although not required for proposal submission until June 1, 2020, we hope that you will start using the NSF-approved formats for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support as soon as possible. If you have any feedback that would help us make improvements to the two formats in the future, please let us know. Feedback may be submitted by email to policy@nsf.gov or via the Research.gov Feedback page (select “Biographical Sketch” or “Current & Pending Support” under the Site Area dropdown menu).

To assist the community about these new requirements and to start using SciENcv now, NSF and NIH are planning to conduct a joint webinar that will include a walk-through of how to prepare the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support documents in SciENcv. Information will be provided as soon as it is available, and we encourage you to sign up for notifications.  

We also invite you to participate in the next NSF Electronic Research Administration (ERA) Forum on May 14, 2020 at 1:00PM – 2:30PM EDT where we will discuss the NSF-approved format requirements, as well as the new capability to prepare and submit separately submitted collaborative proposals in Research.gov. To sign up for ERA Forum notifications including registration availability for the May 14 event, please send a blank email to NSF-ERA-FORUM-subscribe-request@listserv.nsf.gov and you will be automatically enrolled.

The following training resources are now available, and NSF will continue to keep the community informed as additional resources are released.

Biographical Sketch Resources

Current and Pending Support Resources

Questions? Policy-related questions should be directed to policy@nsf.gov. If you have technical or IT system-related questions, please contact the NSF Help Desk at 1-800-673-6188 (7:00 AM – 9:00 PM ET; Monday – Friday except federal holidays) or via fastlane@nsf.gov.

Regards, National Science Foundation

Defense Health Program – Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program Funding Opportunities for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20)

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The FY20 Defense Appropriations Act provides funding to the Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) to support to support medical research projects of clear scientific merit and direct relevance to military health. As directed by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, the Defense Health Agency J9, Research and Development Directorate manages the Defense Health Program (DHP) Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) appropriation. The managing agent for the anticipated Program Announcements/Funding Opportunities is the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC).

The FY20 PRMRP Program Announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are posted on the Grants.gov website.   

The vision and mission of the PRMRP is improve the health, care, and well-being of all military Service members, Veterans, and beneficiaries by encouraging, identifying, selecting, and managing medical research projects of clear scientific merit and direct relevance to military health.

Congressionally Directed Topic Areas: All applications submitted to the PRMRP must address at least one of the FY20 PRMRP Congressionally directed topic areas. The FY20 PRMRP Topic Areas are as follows:

Arthritis Burn Pit Exposure
Chronic Migraine Post-Traumatic Headache
Congestive Heart Disease Diabetes
Dystonia Eating Disorder
Emerging Viral Disease Endometriosis
Epidermolysia Bullosa Familial Hypercholesterolemia
Fibrous Dysplasia Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis
Food Allergies Fragile X
Frontotemporal Degeneration Hepatitis B
Guillain-Barre Syndromemorrhage Control Immunomonitoring of Intestinal Transplants
Hydrocephalus Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Interstitial Cystitis Metals Toxicology
Mitchondrial Disease Musculoskeletal Health
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Myotonic Dystrophy Nutrition Optimization
Pancreatitis Pathogen-Inactivated Blood Products
Plant Based Vaccines Polycystic Kidney Disease
Pressure Ulcers Pulmonary Fibrosis
Resilience Training Respiratory Health
Rheumatoid Arthritis Sleep Disorders and Restriction
Spinal Muscular Atrophy Sustained Release Drug Delivery
Vascular Malformations Women’s Heart Disease

Discovery Award – Letter of Intent due April 16, 2020

Postdoctoral fellow or clinical fellow (or equivalent) and above:

  • Supports the exploration of a highly innovative new concept or untested theory.
  • Not intended to support the logical progression of an already established line of questioning.
  • Clinical trials will not be funded.
  • Reviewers will be blinded to the identity of the Principal Investigator (PI), collaborators, and their organization(s).
  • Maximum of $200,000 for direct costs (plus indirect costs)
  • Maximum period of performance of 2 years.

Focused Program Award – Pre-proposal due April 23, 2020

Full Professor level or above (or equivalent):

  • Pre-proposal submission is required; application submission is by invitation only.
  • Supports a synergistic, multidisciplinary research program of at least four distinct but complementary projects addressing an overarching goal.
  • Projects should work together to answer critical questions, resolve differing hypotheses, and translate laboratory findings to clinical applications.
  • Projects may range from exploratory/hypothesis-developing through small-scale clinical trials that together will address the overarching goal/question.
  • Research team of highly qualified, multidisciplinary project leaders should be led by a PI with demonstrated success in directing large, focused projects.
  • Maximum of $7.2 million for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • Maximum period of performance of 4 years.

Investigator-Initiated Research Award – Pre-proposal due April 23, 2020

Assistant Professor level or above (or equivalent):
  • Pre-proposal submission is required; application submission is by invitation only.
  • Supports research that will make an original and important contribution to the field of research or patient care in the topic area(s) of interest.
  • Partnering PI Option available.
  • Clinical trials will not be funded.
  • Maximum of $1.6 million for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • Maximum of $2 million for direct costs (plus indirect costs) for applications including a Partnering PI Option.
  • Maximum period of performance is 4 years.

Technology/Therapeutic Development Award – Pre-proposal due April 23, 2020

Assistant Professor level or above (or equivalent):

  • Pre-proposal submission is required; application submission is by invitation only.
  • Supports the translation of promising pre-clinical findings into clinical applications for prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, or quality of life.
  • Product-oriented (e.g., device, drug, clinical guidelines). The product(s) to be developed may be a tangible item such as a pharmacologic agent (drugs or biologics) or device, or a knowledge-based product.
  • Clinical trials will not be funded.
  • Maximum of $4 million for direct costs (plus indirect costs).
  • Maximum period of performance is 4 years.

A pre-application is required and must be submitted through the electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP) at https://eBRAP.org prior to the pre-application deadline. All applications must conform to the final Program Announcements and General Application Instructions available for electronic downloading from the Grants.gov website.  The application package containing the required forms for each award mechanism will also be found on Grants.gov. A listing of all CDMRP and other USAMRDC extramural funding opportunities can be obtained on the Grants.gov website by performing a basic search using CFDA Number 12.420. 

For email notification when Program Announcements are released, subscribe to program-specific news and updates under “Email Subscriptions” on the eBRAP homepage at https://eBRAP.org.  For more information about the PRMRP or other CDMRP-administered programs, please visit the CDMRP website.

Point of Contact: CDMRP Help Desk
301-682-5507
help@eBrap.org

National Institute of Justice Graduate Research Fellowship, Fiscal Year 2020

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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is seeking applications for funding innovative doctoral dissertation research that is relevant to preventing and controlling crime, and ensuring the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States. This program furthers the Department’s mission by increasing the pool of researchers who are engaged in providing science-based solutions to problems relevant to criminal and juvenile justice policy and practice in the United States. This integrates into a single solicitation for two previously separate fellowship solicitations in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and Social and Behavior Sciences (SBS).

Proposal Deadline: April 15, 2020.

The Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) program provides grants to accredited academic institutions to support outstanding doctoral students whose dissertation research is relevant to criminal justice. Applicant academic institutions are eligible to apply only if:

  • The student is currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program in the sciences or engineering; and
  • The student’s proposed dissertation research has demonstrable relevance to preventing and controlling crime, and/or ensuring the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice, in the United States.

To learn more about the program, including answers to Frequently Asked Questions, go to https://www.nij.ojp.gov/GRF. Look for information on a webinar scheduled for 1:00 p.m. (eastern time) on February 4, 2020. Webinar slides and a transcript will be posted after the event.

Proposals addressing one or more of the following areas are particularly encouraged:

  • Reducing and preventing violent crime;
  • Addressing drug trafficking, drug markets, and drug-related violence;
  • Promoting law enforcement officer safety, health, and wellness;
  • Rescuing and restoring crime victims;
  • Securing our nation’s borders;
  • Enhancing law enforcement investigations and prosecutions, and
  • Investigating psychopathological, physiological, or biological correlates to offending behaviors and/or victimization.

Additional information can be found on grants.gov and in the program announcement.

Department of Transportation: Competitive Academic Agreement Program (CAAP)

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The US Department of Transportation has published a CAAP grant opportunity under CFDA 20.703 – Interagency Hazardous Materials Public Section Training and Planning Grants associated with the Department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

Section 12 of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 (Pub. L. No. 107-355) mandates that DOT and other designated federal agencies must “carry out a program of research, development, demonstration and standardization to ensure the integrity of pipeline facilities.”

Specifically, PHMSA’s Pipeline Safety R&D Program’s mission is to sponsor R&D projects focused on providing near-term solutions that will improve the safety, reduce the environmental impact, and enhance the reliability of the Nation’s pipeline transportation system. The goals and objectives of the CAAP initiative, as discussed below, directly support both this mission and the congressional mandate.

The CAAP initiative is intended to spur innovation by enabling academic research focused on high technical risk and high payoff solutions for many pipeline safety challenges. It will potentially deliver solutions that can be handed off to PHMSA’s core research program for demonstration and deployment. The goal is to validate proof of concept for a thesis or theory along a logical path towards commercialization.

The pipeline industry and federal/state regulators are experiencing low numbers of entry-level applicants for engineering or technically focused positions. Consequently, another goal of the CAAP initiative is to expose undergraduate and graduate research students to subject matter that is common to pipeline safety challenges, encourage them to participate in these subjects, and illustrate how their engineering or technical disciplines are highly needed in the pipeline field. The ultimate benefit would be to cultivate new talent in all aspects of the pipeline industry.