Research Funding

NRI Faculty Research Proposals FY2015

Internal Deadline:  October 31, 2014
Proposal Submission Requirements 2015
NRI Budget Sheets 2015

This Request for Proposals (RFP) is a solicitation to the campus chief research officers for faculty research grant proposals. The RFP is an outgrowth of the 2010 Nebraska Research Initiative Review Team Report (7/26/10) which encouraged the support of “high quality research including basic, applied, developmental or clinical, and translation research in fields of strategic importance to the University and the State.” (p. 12)

NRI is an investment by the State of Nebraska designed to build the research capacity within the University of Nebraska consistent with the interests of existing and potential growth areas of business and industry, agriculture, social services, and health care, and to encourage economic growth through specifically targeted research programs. The purpose of this request for faculty research proposals is to encourage economic growth through specifically targeted research programs.

Note: Electronic Proposals are due to the UNMC Vice Chancellor for Research Office on October 31, 2014 by 5:00 PM for internal review prior to submission to the provost office.  Proposals with a UNMC lead PI should be submitted to Deborah Hawkins.  Questions may be directed to Deborah, 9-8444, or the Director of Research Resources, Paula Turpen, PhD, 9-6162.  A 2-page NIH Biosketch is required for each member of the team.

Note: Investigators do not need to acquire campus signatures prior to submitting their proposals to their campus offices.

FOCUS AREAS OF RESEARCH FOR NRI FUNDING

Biosecurity (BS)

Subtopics within this area include: environmental quality, sustainability and security; food productivity, food processing safety and toxicology.

Nanotechnology and Materials Science (NMS)

Subtopics within this area include: physics and chemistry of new materials; nanoscale processes and structures; materials genome; materials processing; nanoscale electronics manufacturing; microfabrication; and nanomedicine.

Water and Environmental Management (WEM)

Subtopics in this area include: contamination and remediation of land, water, and air; global warming and environmental change; environment restoration; ecological processes and adaptations to environmental changes; studies of model species and systems; water quality and health; forecast models, assessments and decision support tools.

Sustainable and Renewable Energy (SRE)

Subtopics in this area include: development of renewable energy technologies; next-generation biofuels, chemical processes for production of alcohol from various plants; relevant plant science; advanced vehicle technologies; and processes for constructing new buildings and retrofitting existing building to achieve minimal energy use.

Molecular Genetics (MG)

Subtopics within this area include: plant sciences (e.g. plant signaling, plant molecular biology, and molecular genetics); animal and human molecular biology and molecular genetics; molecular microbiology, genomics, pharmacogenomics, and bioinformatics.

Bioengineering (BE)

Subtopics within this area include: drug design and development; new targets of drug development—proteomics; clinical treatment outcomes; developing new biomarkers, animal models, and gene therapies; development of medical devices.

Health Outcomes and Health Services (HOHS)

Subtopics within this area include: public health, health outcomes, and health services research, including translation of best practices and trials into the community, disease prevention, processes to reduce health costs, improved health education and messaging.

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

Subtopics in this area include: development of programs to graduate more students in the STEM disciplines; plans for more science and mathematics high school teachers; experiments in the school systems to enhance the numbers of students with interests in STEM disciplines.

Development and Management of Information Systems (DMIS)

Subtopics in this area include: computer visualization and graphics; software engineering, information assurance, cybersecurity; mathematical modeling, networking including wireless communications, data base management, health informatics, and telemedicine; and bioimaging.

ELIGIBILITY

While all full-time faculty members within the University of Nebraska are eligible to apply, only proposals that represent collaborations by teams of faculty will be considered. Lead PIs cannot have previously received NRI research awards as lead-PIs. Co-PIs may be past recipients of NRI funds as lead-PIs or Co-PIs. All Co-PIs must complete the attached Co-PI NRI disclosure form (See A-4). Preference will be given to proposals that represent new multi-disciplinary and/or multi-campus collaborations.

REVIEW PROCESS

Proposals will be screened at the campus level in the offices of the chief research officers.  Proposals selected by the campuses will be forwarded electronically, in campus priority order, to the Office of the Provost by November 17, 2014. Proposals will be evaluated by a committee (a minimum of two) of external faculty experts. These evaluations will be forwarded to a committee of external and internal faculty/administrators with appropriate credentials. The committee’s recommendations will be forwarded to the Office of the Provost. Announcements are expected in the spring semester, 2015

FUNDING DURATION AND LIMIT

The funding duration for projects selected through this request for NRI faculty research proposals is to be no more than two years.  The maximum total budget for each proposal is not to exceed $100,000 over the two year period.  It is anticipated that funded projects would be able to start in July 1, 2015; the latest projects could end would be June 30, 2017. Additionally, no more than one month of the tenured/tenure track principal investigator’s summer salary can be funded by the project during the entire grant period for faculty on a less than 12-month appointment. (Note: No extensions; funds not used at the end of the project will be transferred back to the Office of the Provost and deposited in the NRI account.)

POST AWARD MANAGEMENT AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

Principal investigators will be required to submit project reports on behalf of their teams to their campus chief research officers and the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. For projects with a duration of one year, final reports will be required 30 days after the end of the project (July 31, 2016); for projects with a duration of two years, mid-project reports will be required 30 days after the end of the first year of the project (July 31, 2016) and final reports will be required 30 days after the end of the second and final year of the project (July 31, 2017).

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