Dreyfus Foundation Invites Applications for Postdoctoral Program in Environmental Chemistry

Postdoctoral Program in Environmental Chemistry

Deadline: August 14, 2013
Announcement: early November 2013

The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation seeks to further the development of scientific leadership in the field of environmental chemistry with a postdoctoral fellowship program. The Postdoctoral Program in Environmental Chemistry provides a principal investigator with an award of $120,000 over two years to appoint a Postdoctoral Fellow in environmental chemistry.

Eligibility
The Postdoctoral Program in Environmental Chemistry is open to all academic and other not-for-profit organizations in the States, Districts, and Territories of the United States of America. Applications are accepted from principal investigators that have well-established research efforts in environmental science or engineering. These research activities need not be located in traditional departments in the chemical sciences, and collaboration across departments and institutions is encouraged. Note: award recipients must wait two years from the conclusion of an award before being eligible to reapply.

Research Areas of Interest
Applications most likely to be of interest should describe innovative fundamental research in the chemical sciences or engineering related to the environment. Examples include but are not limited to the chemistry associated with: the climate, the atmosphere, aquatic or marine settings, toxicology, soil or groundwater. Also of interest are chemistry-related energy research (renewable sources, sequestration, etc.), and new or green approaches to chemical synthesis and processing, with a clearly stated relation to the environment.

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Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Accepting Applications for Early Career Fellowship Awards

Deadlines

(Please note: completed applications and CDs/DVDs/USB flash drives must be in our office by 4:00 pm (ET) on the deadline—NOT simply postmarked by the due date.)

Application due on or before:	Degree conferred between*:	Joined Sponsor’s Lab on or after:	Selection meeting date:	Award begins first day of:
August 15, 2013	October 15, 2012-August 15, 2013	October 15, 2012	November 8, 2013	January, February, March or April 2014
March 17, 2014	April 15, 2013-March 15, 2014	April 15, 2013	May 9, 2014	July, August, September or October 2014

*Include a copy of the diploma to confirm date of conferral.

Program Description

The Foundation encourages all theoretical and experimental research relevant to the study of cancer and the search for cancer causes, mechanisms, therapies and prevention.

Candidates must apply for the fellowship under the guidance of a Sponsor—a scientist (tenured, tenure-track or equivalent position) capable of providing mentorship to the Fellow.  In addition to aiding in the planning, execution and supervision of the proposed research, the Sponsor’s role is to foster the development of the Fellow’s overall knowledge, technical and analytical skills, and capacity for scientific inquiry.  The Sponsor is also expected to assist the Fellow in attaining his/her career goals.

Awards are made to institutions for the support of the Fellow under direct supervision of the Sponsor.  Candidates who have already accepted a postdoctoral research fellowship award are not eligible.

The primary criteria used to evaluate applicants are:

• the quality of the research proposal (importance of the problem, originality of approach, appropriateness of techniques and clarity of presentation)
• the qualifications, experience and productivity of both the candidate and the Sponsor
• the quality of the research training environment in which the proposed research is to be conducted and its potential for broadening and strengthening the candidate's ability to independently conduct innovative and substantive research.  The proposed research and training environment should represent a new opportunity for the candidate to expand his/her scientific skill set.  Direct extensions of the candidate's graduate work (in approach, technique or exact area of study) will not be funded.

Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Research Fellowships are granted for a three-year term with second- and third-year funding contingent upon satisfactory progress reports.  Fellows in their first- and third-years of funding will attend Damon Runyon Fellows' Retreats designed to foster collaboration and interaction between scientists working in different fields relevant to cancer.  Click here for more information on Damon Runyon Fellows' Retreats.

All fellowship awards are approved by the Board of Directors of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation acting upon the recommendation of the Fellowship Award Committee (FAC).

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NIBIB Biomedical Technology Service Centers (P30)

NIBIB-supported Biomedical Technology Service Centers (NIBIB P30 Centers) ensure that independently-funded NIH investigators working in a targeted area will have access to biomedical technologies and expertise that are not widely available.

NIBIB P30 Centers must serve investigators from multiple institutions outside the applicant institution and are expected to be regional or national in scope. 

Resources available in a typical NIBIB P30 Center could include, but are not limited to, specialized shared instrumentation, customized algorithms, novel tissue/organ engineering platforms or open bioinformatics systems.

NIBIB P30 Centers will not support independent scientific research or unfunded pilot studies, except for limited development of novel technologies that support the NIBIB P30 Center service mission (see "Technology Service Cores" section). 

NIBIB will not support P30 Centers that focus on a specific disease, and will not support P30 Centers that involve clinical trials or patient services.

NIBIB will not support P30 Centers that overlap with pre-existing facilities at the host institution.

Consistent with their function to help the community gain access to these resources, NIBIB P30 Centers should engage in dissemination activities.

If appropriate, NIBIB P30 Centers may also engage in training activities.

NIBIB P30 Centers shall consist of one Administrative Core and one or more Technology Service Cores.   

The Administrative Core coordinates the different components and activities of the NIBIB P30 Center including training and dissemination, etc.

Technology Service Cores are shared facilities that provide a needed service to investigators outside of the NIBIB P30 Center, enabling them to conduct their funded individual research projects more effectively. 

Each Technology Service Core shall have an associated Research Base component consisting of projects that will utilize the Technology Service Core. Investigators using the Technology Service Cores (i.e., the "Research Base") are expected to have highly-regarded existing biomedical research programs funded by NIH Institutes or Centers, other Federal Agencies, or other nationally or internationally-recognized funding sources.

NIBIB P30 Centers have an External Advisory Committee (EAC) that advises the Program Director/Principal Investigator on current operating procedures and future directions for the NIBIB P30 Center.

Because extensive planning is required in preparing NIBIB P30 applications, prospective new applicants are encouraged to discuss their plans with the relevant NIBIB Program Directors (refer to http://www.nibib.nih.gov/Research/ProgramAreas) well before the application is prepared.

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Defense Medical Research and Development Program Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program Discovery Award

SUBMISSION AND REVIEW DATES AND TIMES
• Pre-Application Submission Deadline: 5:00 p.m. Eastern time (ET), July 23, 2013
• Application Submission Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET, August 6, 2013
• Peer Review: September – October 2013
• Programmatic Review: February 2014
All applications for PRMRP funding must specifically address at least one of the Topic Areas as directed by Congress, and must be directly relevant to the health care needs of the military service members, Veterans, and/or beneficiaries. If the proposed research does not specifically address at least one of the FY13 PRMRP Topic Areas, the Government reserves the right to administratively withdraw the application. The Government also reserves the right to reassign the application’s Topic Area if submitted under an inappropriate Topic Area. The FY13 PRMRP Topic Areas are listed below.
• Chronic Kidney Disease
• Chronic Migraine and Posttraumatic Headaches
• Composite Tissue Transplantation
• Dengue
• DNA Vaccine Technology for Postexposure Prophylaxis
• Dystonia
• Epilepsy
• Food Allergies
• Fragile X Syndrome
• Hantavirus
• Hereditary Angioedema
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Interstitial Cystitis
• Leishmaniasis
• Lupus
• Malaria
• Nanomedicine for Drug Delivery Science
• Pancreatitis
• Polycystic Kidney Disease
• Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis
• Pulmonary Hypertension
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Scleroderma

The intent of the PRMRP Discovery Award is to support innovative, untested, high-risk/ potentially high-reward concepts, theories, paradigms, and/or methods. Studies supported by this award are expected to lay the groundwork for future avenues of scientific investigation. The proposed research project should include a well-formulated, testable hypothesis based on strong scientific rationale and study design.
The proposed research project should be novel and innovative. Innovative research may introduce a new paradigm, challenge existing paradigms, look at existing problems from new perspectives, or exhibit other highly creative qualities. Research that is an incremental advance upon published data is not considered innovative and is not consistent with the intent of this award mechanism.
Inclusion of preliminary data is strongly discouraged. READ MORE

NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program

Deadlines

July 22, 2013

BIO, CISE, EHR, OCI

     July 23, 2013

ENG

     July 24, 2013

GEO, MPS, SBE, OPP

 Synopsis of Program:

CAREER: The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. Such activities should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from junior faculty members at all CAREER-eligible organizations and especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities to apply.
PECASE: Each year NSF selects nominees for the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from among the most meritorious recent CAREER awardees. Selection for this award is based on two important criteria: 1) innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology that is relevant to the mission of the sponsoring organization or agency, and 2) community service demonstrated through scientific leadership, education or community outreach. These awards foster innovative developments in science and technology, increase awareness of careers in science and engineering, give recognition to the scientific missions of the participating agencies, enhance connections between fundamental research and national goals, and highlight the importance of science and technology for the Nation’s future. Individuals cannot apply for PECASE. These awards are initiated by the participating federal agencies. At NSF, up to twenty nominees for this award are selected each year from among the PECASE-eligible CAREER awardees who are most likely to become the leaders of academic research and education in the twenty-first century. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy makes the final selection and announcement of the awardees.
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2011/nsf11690/nsf11690.htm

NIAID News: Unfunded? Repurpose Your Application

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NIAID Funding Newsletter

NIAID Funding Newsletter provides funding, policy, and other information to NIAID's extramural research community and Institute staff. You can Subscribe to Email Alerts for the newsletter and follow @NIAIDFunding on Twitter.

In the event your application doesn't fare well, e.g., scores outside the payline, keep this in mind: just because it was not funded doesn't necessarily mean it's not useable.

Before discarding it, consider repurposing it since you can sometimes breathe new life into an unfunded application.

Here we give you some basics on how to do that along with some advice on whether going the repurposing route is right for you.

Note: repurposing is just one of three basic options you have when your application is unfunded. For the other two, see Options if Your Application Isn't Funded, linked below.

Repurpose or Start Fresh?

Before we talk about how to repurpose, let's address whether you should. Sometimes an application may be so flawed or unfixable that repurposing wouldn't be worth it.

To decide whether that's the case, look dispassionately at your summary statement and assess what reviewers thought were defects in your application.

For instance, was it criticized for a lack of significance, critical preliminary data, or expert collaborators? Was it because of a weak central hypothesis? Or perhaps you applied to a request for applications (RFA) or program announcement (PA) and your application was deemed to be nonresponsive.

Talk with your program officer to get the answers and see if he or she has further insights. Together, determine whether the better approach is repurposing or starting from scratch. We advise you not to make this decision on your own.

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