CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Brain Research Foundation Scientific Innovations Award (BRF SIA)

The Brain Research Foundation has invited UC Irvine to nominate a senior faculty member for the Scientific Innovations Award (SIA), which provides funding for innovative science in both basic and clinical neuroscience. This program is designed to support creative, exploratory, cutting edge research in well-established research laboratories, under the direction of established investigators.

The objective of the SIA is to support projects that may be too innovative and speculative for traditional funding sources but still have a high likelihood of producing important findings. It is expected that investigations supported by these grants will yield high-impact findings and result in major grant applications and significant publications in high-impact journals.

Each total award is limited to $150,000 (direct costs) for a two year grant period.  The program does not support indirect costs.

The nominee must be a full-time professor or associate professor at an invited U.S. institution, working in brain function in health and disease. Current major NIH or other peer-reviewed funding is preferred, but evidence of such funding in the past three years is essential. Studies should be related to either normal human brain development or specifically identified disease states. This includes molecular and clinical neuroscience as well as studies of neural, sensory, motor, cognitive, behavioral, and emotional functioning in health and disease. The grant proposal must detail a new research project that is not funded by other sources. This grant is not to be used as a source of bridge funding. Scientists who have previously received a BRF Scientific Innovations Award may not receive the award for a second time until five years have elapsed since the beginning date of the prior award.

The campus may submit no more than one proposal.  Interested applicants are asked to submit a preliminary application to my office by May 4, 2015 (electronic submission to or@research.uci.edu is preferred), with the following information:

  • Project summary (up to two pages),
  • Preliminary budget (please refer to SIA guidelines for allowable expenses),
  • PI’s Bio-sketch (no more than two pages),
  • Support letter from the Dean (or the equivalent in units without a Dean).

If necessary, an ad hoc committee will convene to review the preliminary proposals. The selected PI will be notified in time to meet BRF’s letter of intent deadline of July 1; full proposals will be by invitation and are due October 1.

For the complete BRF guidelines, including detailed information about the program, please refer to http://www.thebrf.org/assets/root/pdf_files/SIA/UPDATED%20SIA%20Guidelines%202015.tr.pdf . Questions about our internal campus review process may be directed to Greg Ruth at greg.ruth@uci.edu or x4-0372.

John C. Hemminger
Vice Chancellor for Research

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