Request for Proposals (RFP 2022-23)

Submission Deadline: September 9, 2022 at 5pm via InfoReady Platform

BACKGROUND

State University of New York Upstate Medical University (Upstate) and the Thomas J Watson College of Engineering at Binghamton University (Watson College) have entered into a 5-year research and education alliance. With complementary expertise in the overlapping fields of biomedical and health systems research, faculty at Watson College and Upstate have shared goals to expand their research portfolios and to develop innovative solutions for today’s pressing medical problems. Upstate and Watson College both recognize that developing solutions to important biomedical problems requires a diversity of approaches and expertise realized through collaborations. A formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the institutions was executed on July 22, 2022 to create a platform to facilitate these collaborations.

As a key initiative under this alliance, Watson College, the Division of Research at Binghamton University, and the Office of the Vice President of Research at Upstate are jointly sponsoring a pilot research grant program to develop collaborative research projects that will bring together a diversity of approaches, expertise and assets with the ultimate goal of seeking and successfully obtaining external research funding in areas of mutual interest. The pilot research grants are intended to incentivize collaboration and provide a mechanism for the acquisition of preliminary data to support extramural funding pursuits.

THE WATSON COLLEGE-UPSTATE MEDICAL PILOT RESEARCH GRANT PROGRAM

The Watson College-Upstate Medical Pilot Research Grant Program will provide funding to facilitate the development of new research collaborations between faculty from the Watson College and Upstate physicians and faculty. Areas of focus for this first call for proposals include neuroscience/neurosurgery/brain imaging, cancer research, bioinformatics/infectious disease modeling and biomanufacturing. Outstanding proposals in other areas of mutual interest to both institutions may be considered.

Qualified proposals will receive a one-time award of up to a maximum of $25,000 for a twelve-month period beginning on or about Oct 17, 2022. Grants will require at least one collaborator from each campus. It is preferred that projects will be funded at equal levels at each campus. There is no restriction on the number of collaborations an individual may join, PI/Co-PI on one submission. Teams of faculty members from within Watson College and from within Upstate Medical are encouraged. There is no restriction on the number of collaborations an individual may join, but an individual can only be a PI/Co-PI on one submission.

Awarded teams are expected to use these funds for preliminary research and related activities that will enable the pursuit of extramural funding. Award recipients are required to submit at least 2 proposals for external funding within 18 months from receipt of the pilot grant award.

REVIEW PROCESS

All proposals will be reviewed by a small scientific review board including representatives each from the Watson College, the Division of Research at Binghamton University and Upstate Medical University. Consequently, it is essential that proposals communicate clearly to reviewers outside of the proposal discipline, what is being proposed and why it is important. The following are the criteria that proposals will be evaluated on.

1. Novelty, significance, and future impact of the proposed research.
2. Potential and clarity of the plan to attract future federal, state, philanthropic or private funding.
3. Strength of partnership within and across the two institutions.

PROPOSAL PREPARATION

Proposals should include a Principal Investigator from Watson College and one Principal Investigator from Upstate. Additional Co-Investigator team members may be included. Applicants are encouraged to discuss proposal and budget preparation with the staff of Binghamton University’s Office of Sponsored Programs or Upstate Medical University’s Office of Sponsored Programs, as applicable. Applicants are also encouraged to discuss their proposal with applicable research compliance entities at their respective institutions to ensure timely review and approval of the research. The proposal deadline is 5:00 pm on September 9, 2022, via InfoReady Platform: https://upstate.infoready4.com/#. Awards will be announced by Oct 17, 2022, for projects beginning on or about November 1, 2022. Applicants are encouraged to submit non-proprietary content and to clearly mark proprietary information, when applicable.

 All proposals must contain the following elements:

Project Narrative (3 pages maximum, single spaced, one-inch margins, 11 point font);

• Describe the project, its novelty, significance, and future impact;
• Describe Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-PI contributions to the project. Discuss participation of post docs and/or students, if applicable;
• List the expected deliverables from the project including key technical outcomes, preliminary data, prototypes and other artifacts and the expected dates of achieving these deliverables;

Literature Cited: Provide the key citations which relate directly to this project.

Plans for Extramural Funding: Describe clear plans for seeking external support based upon this collaboration. Include a listing of potential sponsors and timelines for proposal preparation.

Biosketches for Key Personnel: Include a NIH or NSF formatted biosketch for all PIs and co-investigators.

Facilities and Current Resources: Describe the facilities and resources applicable to the project that will be utilized from each institution.

Provide a brief statement of the benefits of this project to Watson College and Upstate, if funded. Specifically, address the increase in fundability or visibility that would be achieved.

Budget and Budget Justification: Using the Budget template, request funds for the period November 1, 2022 (or actual start date)- October 1, 2023 (one year from start date). A separate budget must be provided for each institution. Provide a narrative justification for how the funds will be used. (Note: While each project may be granted up to $25,000 annually, PIs are requested to seek funding judiciously and commensurate with the planned activities of their projects. It is our intent to establish a healthy, rich set of collaborations between the institutions and PIs support in enabling this goal is appreciated).

REPORTS

The lead PIs will be expected to provide a brief report 30 days from conclusion of the project summarizing the outcomes of the project gathered from the team, including any abstracts, publications, proposal submissions to external funding agencies and any future plans for submissions, results of submissions (if known) and invention disclosures (if applicable). A report of proposal submissions to external funding agencies and results of submissions (if known) is to be submitted 18^th months from project start date). Awarded teams will also be required for a final update on project outcomes one year after project completion (i.e., two years from project start date). Projects must be completed within the award timeframe. Budget revisions and requests for no-cost extensions will require approval from both institutions. 

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Faculty and staff who participate in the Pilot Research Grant Program, and more broadly, in the Watson College -Upstate research partnership are asked to agree and adhere to the set of responsibilities and guidance outlined the MoU (Attachment A). In particular, guidelines and requirements on Publications and Authorships, Intellectual Property, Human Subjects Research and Shared use of core facilities as outlined in the MoU are to be followed.

 FURTHER INFORMATION

Please contact Meera Sampath, Associate Dean for Research and/or Katie Keough, Chief of Staff Research, UMU to discuss your potential project and for help in connecting with colleagues at UMU and Watson College, respectively. Questions about proposal preparation or budgeting should be directed to the respective OSP staff.

[Please note:  Awards will not be released until all applicable approvals are received.]