May 20, 2018
UCR Research and Economic Development Newsletter
Michael Pazzani
Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development
Grant Opportunity Search: http://pivot.cos.com
In this Newsletter
  • End of Year Federal Funding
  • Funding Outlook for 2019
  • The Integration of the Humanities and Art with Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Higher Education
  • NSF Industry Cooperative Research Centers
  • Uncovering New Patterns Fellowships in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke
  • Joint LLNL & UCNL Data Science Workshop
  • Secret Pots of Money Slides
  • Limited Submission: Evidence-Based Tele-Behavioral Health Network Program
  • Limited Submission: DOE HBCU/MI Instrumentation
  • Ocellated Antbird
End of Year Federal Funding
Many federal agencies find themselves in the unusual situation of having more funds than the prior year and much more funds than they were anticipating in the beginning of the fiscal year. There isn't time to submit proposals for funding in this year that require peer review. However, many agencies give program officers discretion in funding supplements, additional funding for an existing grant. In addition, some agencies allow program directors to fund smaller, shorter, high risk projects. Almost always, these start with an email or conversation with a program officer followed by a short proposal (often 2-5 pages). Below are some ideas for NSF and NIH that have formal programs. For DoD and other agencies, it doesn't hurt to have a conversation about supplemental funding.

For NSF, the most common supplements are Research Experiences for Undergraduates. NSF funds about 1600 of these a year. However, supplements are available for purpose such as purchasing equipment, adding a graduate student, adding a high school teacher or faculty from an undergraduate only institution). In general, equipment supplements should be requested early in the grant (before the final year) while additional personnel may be later and the supplement shouldn't change the focus of the grant. NSF supplements are

Some NSF directorates have special supplements, e.g., Developing Country Collaborations in Plant Genome Research (DCC-PGR)

NIH has too many to list here. Type "NIH supplement" into COS Pivot to see more than 40. Here are a few:

  • Collaborative Activities to Expedite Environmental Health Science Research, Translation, and Community Engagement Across EHS Core Centers (Admin Supp - Clinical Trial Not Allowed): 07 Jun 2018
  • Research Supplements to Promote Data Sharing in Cancer Epidemiology Studies (Admin Supp Clinical Trial Not Allowed): 01 Jul 2018
  • Research Supplements to Promote Re-Entry into Biomedical and Behavioral Research Careers (Admin Supp - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)          
  • Exposure Analysis Services for the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program (Admin Supp - Clinical Trial Not Allowed): 15 Jun 2018


A typical letter to a program office might start: " I'd like to update you on progress in my grant. We've published a paper in nature on the surprising finding that ..... I've begun working with a first year Ph.D. student and I'd like to inquire if there is a possibility of a supplement to add her to the project. In contrast, an approach like the following is unlikely to be received well" " My Vice Chancellor tells me you have a pile of money. Can I have some? I'd like an extra month of summer salary. I'm thinking of buying a range rover and it will help with the down payment."

In addition, NSF has some grants that you can request

  • EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) The EAGER funding mechanism may be used to support exploratory work in its early stages on untested, but potentially transformative, research ideas or approaches. This work may be considered especially "high risk-high payoff" in the sense that it, for example, involves radically different approaches, applies new expertise, or engages novel disciplinary or interdisciplinary perspectives. These exploratory proposals may also be submitted directly to an NSF program, but the EAGER mechanism should not be used for projects that are appropriate for submission as “regular” (i.e., non-EAGER) NSF proposals. PI(s) must contact the NSF program officer(s) whose expertise is most germane to the proposal topic prior to submission of an EAGER proposal. This will aid in determining the appropriateness of the work for consideration under the EAGER mechanism; this suitability must be assessed early in the process.
  • Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) The RAPID funding mechanism is used for proposals having a severe urgency with regard to availability of, or access to data, facilities or specialized equipment, including quick-response research on natural or anthropogenic disasters and similar unanticipated events. PI(s) must contact the NSF program officer(s) whose expertise is most germane to the proposal topic before submitting a RAPID proposal. This will facilitate determining whether the proposed work is appropriate for RAPID funding.
  • Proposals for Conferences, Symposia and Workshops NSF supports conferences, symposia and workshops in special areas of science and engineering that bring experts together to discuss recent research or education findings or to expose other researchers or students to new research and education techniques. NSF encourages the convening in the US of major international conferences, symposia and workshops. Conferences will be supported only if equivalent results cannot be obtained at regular meetings of professional societies. Although requests for support of conferences, symposia and workshops ordinarily originate with educational institutions or scientific and engineering societies, they also may come from other groups. Shared support by several Federal agencies, States or private organizations is encouraged.

Funding Outlook for 2019
Budgets for federal agencies for 2019 starting Oct 1, 2018 is looking pretty good. Proposals submitted this summer and fall are liked to be funded with FY19 funds. For example, AIP reports

With draft spending bills released this week, House appropriators indicated they intend to seek substantial funding boosts for a number of science programs at the Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, and NASA in fiscal year 2019.

it's too early to make predictions about 2020, but one likely scenario is more budgetary constraint after the mid term elections. Therefore, if deciding whether to submit this year or the following, I'd suggest this year.
The Integration of the Humanities and Art with Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Higher Education
The National Academies Press has a new report out that may be of interest.

In the United States, broad study in an array of different disciplines —arts, humanities, science, mathematics, engineering— as well as an in-depth study within a special area of interest, have been defining characteristics of a higher education. But over time, in-depth study in a major discipline has come to dominate the curricula at many institutions. This evolution of the curriculum has been driven, in part, by increasing specialization in the academic disciplines. There is little doubt that disciplinary specialization has helped produce many of the achievement of the past century. Researchers in all academic disciplines have been able to delve more deeply into their areas of expertise, grappling with ever more specialized and fundamental problems.
               Yet today, many leaders, scholars, parents, and students are asking whether higher education has moved too far from its integrative tradition towards an approach heavily rooted in disciplinary “silos”. These “silos” represent what many see as an artificial separation of academic disciplines. This study reflects a growing concern that the approach to higher education that favors disciplinary specialization is poorly calibrated to the challenges and opportunities of our time.

NSF Industry Cooperative Research Centers
NSF CISE and ENG have simplified the creation of industry-university collaborative research centers. Previously, one had to have a planning grant before applying for the center grant., Now, one can optionally apply for the center grant without first obtaining the planning grant. Details at Dear Colleague Letter: Catalyzing Rapid Creation of New Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRC) with a Direct Submission Option for Phase I Centers. The centers provide a good structure for collaborating with several companies.
Uncovering New Patterns Fellowships in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke
Application Deadline: November 1, 2018

The purpose of this fellowship is to train a generation of postdoctoral fellows in the scientific area of cardiovascular diseases and stroke and cloud computing. Specifically, this funding opportunity seeks to: 
  • test methods for data harmonization across different datasets to allow critical questions to be asked in larger populations regarding biomarkers, genetic variants, or other variables in cloud computing; 
  • test new methods for uncovering patterns within and across datasets in cloud computing; 
  • test new hypotheses for old yet unsolved problems within and across existing datasets in cloud computing; 
  • identify new biomarkers, genetic variants, behavioral influences, and environmental changes within and across existing datasets in cloud computing. 

Applicants are highly encouraged to work within the AHA Precision Medicine Platform and Marketplace of tools (http://precision.heart.org), and provide a detailed paragraph in the research plan as to how the work proposed will serve the greater community. 

The fellowship is funded at $75,000/ year for a total award amount of $150,000 over two years. The Institute Executive Committee reserves the right to determine the final award amount for competitive projects based on need and potential impact. Award duration is two years. All work must be completed within this timeframe. No-cost extensions will not be permitted. Ten fellowships will be awarded. 

Appropriate Budget Items: 
  • Salary and fringe benefits of the trainee, cloud computing support, travel and health insurance. 
  • 10% institutional indirect costs may be claimed by the fellow's institution. 

The sponsor will be responsible for overseeing the total budget for the fellowship. The sponsor and the institution assume an obligation to expend award funds for the research purposes set forth in the application and in accordance with all regulations and policies governing the grant programs of the AHA. 

At application, candidate fellows must hold an M.D., Ph.D., D.O. or equivalent terminal doctoral degree, and must meet institutional requirements for grant submission. There are no field of study restrictions so long as the applicant demonstrates ability to complete the project proposal with the allotted time and money made available by the fellowship. 
  • At the time of award activation, the candidate may have no more than five years of postdoctoral research training or experience (excluding clinical training). 
  • The fellow will be expected to devote at least 80 percent of full-time work either to research or to activities pursuant to independent research (instead of administrative, clinical, or teaching responsibilities). 
  • This award is not intended for individuals of faculty rank. 

Joint LLNL & UCNL Data Science Workshop August 7-8, 2018
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and UC National Laboratories (UCNL) are jointly hosting a Data Science Workshop, to be held in Livermore, CA on August 7-8, 2018. Th e workshop will feature a wide range of talks, discussions , and networking opportunities with experts, researchers and up-and-coming scientists in the field of data science.
 
We welcome presentations by UC or LLNL researchers on applications including climate and energy security, predictive biology, space situational awareness, complex computer simulations with theoretical underpinnings, non-proliferation, advanced manufacturing and materials science and more. Abstracts are due June 1, should be no more than 500 words and include a title and list of all authors with their institutional affiliations.
 
Workshop attendance is limited, so please register early ( even if the attendee doesn’t plan to submit an abstract )
 
The attached flyer and website URL provide additional information on the workshop, as well as a link to register for this workshop. Watch for additional announcements about the schedule of events and check the website regularly for updates.
 
Secret Pots of Money Slides
RED recently hosted two "lunch and learn" events focused on non-traditional funding opportunities for agriculture and related research as well as transportation and the environment. The presenters discussed funding opportunities that are available, but less well known as well as obstacles to these non-traditional funding opportunities and new UC policies which make applying more appealing.

Slides from both lunches can be accessed via the links below:

Limited Submission: Evidence-Based Tele-Behavioral Health Network Program
Internal Deadline: June 5, 2018
Full applications are due June 25, 2018.
Limit of 1 application per organization.


The U.S. DHHS Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) Office for the Advancement of Telehealth is accepting applications for funding opportunity HRSA-18-032 for the FY 2018 Evidence-Based Tele-Behavioral Health Network Program.

The Evidence-Based Tele-Behavioral Health Network Program presents an opportunity to address two clinical priorities: mental health and substance abuse (particularly the opioid abuse epidemic).  

The two-fold purpose of this program is to use telehealth networks to increase access to behavioral health care services in rural and frontier communities and to conduct evaluations of those efforts to establish an evidence-base for assessing the effectiveness of tele-behavioral health care for patients, providers, and payers.

Applications can request up to $350,000 total per year for 3 years. They expect to make up to 14 awards.

Limited Submission: DOE HBCU/MI Instrumentation
Internal Deadline: June 26, 2018
Full Applications are due by 1pm PST on August 16, 2018.
Limited to 3 applications per institution.
Apply at: https://research.ucr.edu/ord/limitedsubmissions.aspx Make sure you application highlights any existing DoD funding and any communication with program officers who would support the project.

The DOD Department of the Army announces funding opportunity announcement W911NF-18-S-0006, for the acquisitions of equipment and/or instrumentation under the Research and Education Program for HBCUs/MIs.
 
The purpose of funding under this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to (1) support the acquisition of equipment/instrumentation to augment existing capabilities or to develop new capabilities in research areas of interest to DoD, and (2) attract students to pursue studies leading to STEM careers. Although funding provided under this FOA cannot be used for student support, in order to further DoD’s objective of attracting students to pursue studies leading to STEM careers, applicants must address the impact of the requested equipment /instrumentation on student participation in research.
 
Application can include a single item or multiple items, including items that comprise a “system” for a common research purpose. All requested items must meet the federal definition of equipment, i.e. must cost = $5000 and have a useful life longer than 1 year.
 
General purpose equipment whose use is not limited to research/research education, including IT equipment and software, is not eligible for support under this FOA.
 
No costs may be requested for collaboration with other institutions.
 
Performance Period: 12 months
Award Amount: $100,000-$600,000 total, cost sharing not required
 
Full text of the solicitation can be found here: https://www.arl.army.mil/www/pages/8/FY%202019%20DoD%20HBCUMI%20FOA.pdf 
Ocellated Antbird
Here's a photo of an Ocellated Antbird from Pipeline Road in Gamboa, Panama. Pipeline Road was built as a service road for a pipeline but the pipleline was never used. It provides access to the rain forest and is listed as one of the top birding in the world.

The ocelatled antbird can be difficult to see. It feeds on ants and can be found where there are ant swarms. While observing this bird, I also saw Dodge Engelman, the author of " Where to Find Birds in Panama: A Site Guide for Birders." which seems like an incredible coincidence, but it seems fitting that he was on Pipleine road.