Programs
and Initiatives | Research
Grants
Workshop
on International Funding Opportunities and Grantsmanship for
Neuroscientists from Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Sixth
IBRO World Congress:
Prague, Czech Republic; July 13, 2003
At
the 6th IBRO Congress, the Fogarty International
Center of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH)
organized a workshop on Funding Opportunities and
Grantsmanship for Neuroscientists from Low- and Middle-Income
Countries. In the
first hour, representatives of four organizations presented
overviews of the opportunities available from their grants
programs. In the
second hour, representatives from NIH's National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the National Institute
of Mental Health gave a presentation on Grant Review
Procedures and Writing Strategies, with special emphasis on
the procedures at the NIH.
Highlights of these presentations are summarized below.
Human
Frontier Science Program (HFSP):
Dr. Martin Reddington
The
Human Frontier Science Program
promotes international collaboration in interdisciplinary,
basic research in the life sciences.
Research
into the complex mechanisms of biological systems is
emphasized.
- Research
Grants:
For international multi-laboratory collaborations to carry
out novel, innovative, interdisciplinary approaches to
basic biological research.
Encourages the involvement of other disciplines
such as chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer science
and engineering. Young
Investigator Grants are given to teams in which all
members are within 5 years of obtaining an independent
position and not more than 10 years after PhD.
Support is for 3 years with up to $450,000/year.
Program Grants are for scientists at any
stage of their careers, but team members are expected to
embark upon new projects.
Support is for 3 years with up to $450,000 per
year.
- Long-term
Fellowships:
To enable scientists to obtain postdoctoral
training abroad. 3
year fellowships of which the 3rd year can be used for
repatriation to the home country.
Repatriating fellows are eligible to apply for an HFSP
Career Development Award to enable them to develop
independent research programs upon returning to their home
country.
- Short-term
Fellowships:
To enable scientists to establish new
collaborations or to learn new techniques. Provides travel and per diem for periods of 2 weeks to 3
months in a laboratory in a foreign country.
- For
country eligibility and full information on these programs
see:
http://www.hfsp.org.
The
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI):
Dr. Charles
Schultz.
The
Howard Hughes Medical Institute was established in 1953 with
the mission to improve the quality of life through biomedical
research and education. While
it's main activity is to support biomedical research in the
United States, it carries out international activities through
the International Program within the HHMI office of Grants and
Special Programs.
- International
Research Scholar (IRS) Program.
The objective of the IRS Program is to support the
research of non-U.S. scientists working outside the U.S.
To be eligible, an individual must not be a U.S.
citizen or resident, must have published at least three
papers within the last five years in international
peer-reviewed, English language journals and, at the time
the award is accepted, must have a position without major
administrative duties at a not-for-profit research
institution in a country eligible under a specific
initiative. The
IRS Program currently gives five-year grants ranging from
a total $250,000-$450,000 to institutions to support the
research of the awarded Scholar.
20% of the funds must be expended on
department-shared resources.
One hundred thirty two Scholars located in 29
countries are in the midst of their five-year grant term
for the following 3 initiatives:
2000 Parasitology and Infectious Diseases; 2000
Baltics, Central and Eastern Europe and former Soviet
Union; and 2002 Canada and Latin America.
- Further
information
on the IRS Program and other activities carried out by the
HHMI Grants office, including contact information, can be
found at the following URL: www.hhmi.org/grants/.
Fogarty
International Center, NIH:
Dr. Kathleen Michels
The
mission of the Fogarty International Center of the NIH is to
reduce disparities in global health and advance health
research in low- and middle-income countries.
It currently has 28 research and research training
programs directed toward this goal.
Programs that are currently available for competitive
application and may be of particular interest to
neuroscientists are the following:
- Brain
Disorders in the Developing World:
Research Across the Lifespan.
For collaborative research between high-income and
low- to middle-income country scientists (either partner
may be the principal investigator) to carry out research
on nervous system function and disorders relevant to
developing countries.
Planning grants are currently being reviewed.
A Request for Applications for full research grants
is expected within two years.
Contact: BRAINFIC@NIH.GOV.
- FIRCA.
Supports international research partnerships
between NIH-funded U.S. scientists and collaborators in
low- and middle-income countries.
All areas of biomedical research are eligible,
including basic neuroscience research.
$32,000/year for 3 years to support the foreign lab
and investigator.
- Informatics
Training for Global Health.
Applications are invited to develop training
programs to enhance global health informatics capacity in
low- and middle-income countries through collaborations
with US institutions.
Training areas include neuroinformatics and
informatics in support of neuroscience research.
See RFA: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-TW-03-008.html.
News
release: http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/jun2003/fic-30.htm
.
- Trainees:
Individuals who wish to become trainees in any of
our 17 training programs must apply to the Project
Director of an awarded grant directly.
Project directors are listed under the appropriate
programs on the FIC website.
- For
detailed information
on all Fogarty programs see: www.fic.nih.gov/programs.html.
To sign up for a Fogarty Neuroscience listserv
contact BRAINFIC@NIH.GOV.
To contact a program officer for your region see: www.fic.nih.gov.
IBRO:
Dr. Y.S. Chan
IBRO
offers an array of funding opportunities, education and
training programs, and resources for the international
neuroscience community.
- Funding
opportunities
include Research Fellowships, Travel Grants, INSERM/IBRO
Travel Fellowships for work in France, and Society for
Neuroscience/IBRO Travel Fellowships to attend the Society
of Neuroscience Meetings.
Regional funding for symposia and workshops is also
available and discussions should be initiated with the
appropriate IBRO regional representative.
The IBRO website also contains quick links to other
international funding opportunities for neuroscience.
- Education
and Training programs include
the Visiting Lecture Team Program, Neuroscience Schools,
the Education Resource Project (organized access to
educational materials already available on the web), and
Cyber-Journal Clubs. The Library Projects support the development of
library resources in regions where journals, books and
materials important for learning are needed but cannot be
purchased, including free and low-cost journals, book
donations, and book translations.
- The
Equipment Exchange
facilitates the optimal use and delivery of used, donated
equipment in good working condition to interested labs in
economically underprivileged countries.
- For
more information
on all of these programs and other resources, see:
http://www.ibro.org/
The
Wellcome Trust:
Written materials were available
The
mission of the Wellcome Trust is to foster and promote
research with the aim of improving human and animal health.
To this end, it supports "blue skies"
research and applied clinical research.
It also encourages the exploitation of research
findings for medical benefit.
- Training
Fellowships for Scientists from Tropical and Developing
Countries: To
provide opportunities for training and undertaking
research projects in tropical and/or developing countries
to support research in tropical medicine.
Studies of all aspects of health and disease in
developing regions are encouraged.
The training can take place at international
centers of excellence in any developing country, in the UK
or the Republic of Ireland, with a substantial period of
research undertaken in the applicant's home country.
Applications are invited from postdoctoral basic
scientists, medical, dental, or veterinary graduates.
Contact: tropical@wellcome.ac.uk
or see: www.wellcome.ac.uk/en/1/biosfginttrpfunpertrf.html.
- Collaborative
Research Initiative Grants:
To enable research workers based in developing or
restructuring countries to undertake a research program to
be carried out in their home laboratory, in conjunction
with a collaborating laboratory in the UK or the Republic
of Ireland. The
overseas applicant must hold an established post.
Proposals that address scientific or health issues
relevant to the region of origin of the overseas applicant
are encouraged. Contact: international@wellcome.ac.uk
or see: www.wellcome.ac.uk/en/1/biosfgintintfuncolcrg.html.
Grantsmanship: Drs. Yuan Liu and Dennis Glanzman
This
portion of the workshop walked a potential applicant through
the grant submission and review process at NIH, and offered
tips and strategies for putting together a grant application
for NIH. Links to
relevant URL's for NIH grant application and for grantsmanship
issues in general, common mistakes in NIH Grant Applications,
and a technical checklist for writing a grant application were
presented (please visit below link to view PowerPoint
presentation).
PowerPoint Presentation on Granstmanship
Updated
September 2003
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