Funding Opportunities

Children's Health & Discovery Initiative (CHDI)/MEDx Pilot Research Grant

Up to $50,000 to one research team that includes one PI from the School of Medicine and one PI from Pratt School of Engineering.
Purpose: To support pilot studies that lead to the development of diagnostics, prognostics or biomarkers for early life risk factors for disease or biological processes associated with diseases that initiate early in life, or methods/technologies to detect exposures that will influence childhood or life-long health.

Status: 2018 Applications will open on March 19. Application deadline is June 5, 2018.

Student Biodesign Funding RFA

MEDx will provide funding for teams of trainees to design and prototype a clinically useful device or application, or a device or application that is useful for biomedical research undertaken in the School of Medicine. The teams should be composed primarily of undergraduate or graduate students from any Pratt department, but some team members may be from other Duke schools. Interdisciplinary teams are highly encouraged. Teams may be part of an ongoing design class in Pratt, or may form outside of formal classes. Deadline: Monday, February 26, 11:59 PM.

Learn more

MEDx Colloquia Series - Open for Submission

MEDx is pleased to offer support for interdisciplinary colloquia that bring together physicians, engineers, computer scientists, data analysts, and basic and/or clinical researchers with a common desire to combine the elements of medicine and engineering to solve complex problems and inspire innovation. The deadline for the next Colloquia series is March 5th, 2018.

Learn more. See 2017 MEDx Colloquia or 2015-2016 MEDx Colloquia funding recipients.

Kaganov Research Initiative in Pulmonary Medicine and Engineering - Proposal deadline has passed.

MEDx is pleased to announce a call for proposals from the Kaganov Research Initiative in Pulmonary Medicine and Engineering. This intent of this Initiative, supported by a generous gift from Dr. Alan and Mrs. Carol Kaganov, is to build robust collaborations between engineers and physicians to conduct research that focuses directly on or has relevance to lung function and diseases, especially pulmonary fibrosis.

The Kaganov Research Initiative has the following goals:

To improve our understanding of disease mechanisms,
enhance diagnosis,
create more effective treatments, and

ultimately find pathways to cure idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and other lung diseases.

MEDx anticipates awarding 3 to 5 grants that range in amount up to $150,000 in direct costs (no indirect costs are allowed). The term of the award is 1 year. While the intent of these grants is to position investigators to be successful in attaining external support, extremely promising work may be invited to request a second round of funding for additional research.

Proposals should describe cross-disciplinary scientific research on lung diseases or lung function, and particularly idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Research on relevant basic biomedical questions, development of enhanced understanding of disease mechanism, the development of therapies, diagnostics or devices, clinical research/trials (excluding Phase 2 or beyond), epidemiological, and/or community-based studies is within scope. Population health improvement projects should demonstrate significant stakeholder involvement to advance applicability of the results to broader practice patterns, clinical guidelines, and other applications.

View the RFA for full proposal scope, eligibility, requirements, and submission instructions.

Deadline

Application Submission Deadline: September 14, 2017
The awardees will present a brief talk describing the problem to be addressed and the research objectives at the Kaganov Symposium, which is tentatively scheduled for October 20, 2017 (watch for announcements on the MEDx website).

Eligibility

Proposals must be submitted by Duke regular rank faculty and comply with the Duke University Policy on PI Status in the Duke Faculty Handbook.
Proposals must represent a collaboration between a faculty member with an appointment in the Pratt School of Engineering and a faculty member with an appointment in the School of Medicine.
The co-PIs cannot have primary appointments in the same School and priority will be given to applications that include one or both PIs with a primary appointment in Medicine or Pratt.
Because of the focus of this funding opportunity, the applicants are encouraged to have physicians or scientists with lung disease expertise as part of the collaborative team.
More than one proposal may be submitted per faculty member acting as PI, but the faculty member is only eligible to receive one award as PI during a given funding cycle.

Application Submission

Duke MEDx uses the MyResearchProposal online application software to submit applications.

To apply visit http://bit.ly/myresearchproposal, click on “Create New User” (or log in if you already have an account). Proposals must be submitted to the system by only one of the Principal Investigators.
A step-by-step user’s guide for applying via the CTSI MyResearchProposal software is available – here.
Enter Access Code ‘MEDX’ then select the “Kaganov Initiative 2017-2018” funding opportunity and follow the instructions.

More Information

For additional information on this funding opportunity, please contact Donna Crenshaw, PhD MHA, or Brittany Ploss, MSc BSE.

CFAR/MEDx Proposal - Proposal deadline has passed.

The Duke Center for AIDS Research has partnered with MEDx to provide funding of up to $60,000 Direct Costs for one year pilot projects.

The proposal must represent a collaboration between faculty of School of Medicine and School of Engineering, and address an NIH HIV/AIDS Research Priority. Click here for information and details on how to apply.

Proposals are due 5pm, May 1, 2017 and will be awarded in June 2017. Instructions for proposal preparation and submission may be found here.

Please feel free to contact the CFAR Development Core (herman.staats@duke.edu) and/or MEDx (donna.crenshaw@duke.edu) with any questions.

Call for SMIF SUUP Proposals - Proposal deadline has passed.

The SMIF Undergraduate User Program (SUUP), Duke University Shared Materials Instrumentation Facility (SMIF)

The Support of Undergraduate Student Fabrication in the SMIF Cleanroom and

Operation of Characterization and Imaging Instruments in SMIF

Organized by:

Dr. Nan Jokerst, Dr. Mark Walters

Dr. Richard Fair, Dr. Adrienne Stiff-Roberts, Dr. Martin Brooke

The Pratt School of Engineering

The Lord Foundation has provided funding to continue the SMIF Undergraduate User Program (SUUP). This program provides a hands-on undergraduate research experience at Duke University to enable undergraduate students to access the Duke University cleanroom and materials characterization shared facility, called the Shared Materials Instrumentation Facility (SMIF). These funds will support undergraduates in the hands-on fabrication and measurement of materials, structures, and devices in SMIF.

SMIF is a shared, fee-based facility that has cleanroom fabrication and materials and device characterization capabilities. Users are trained by the permanent, professional SMIF Staff, and, after training, the users are certified to use the equipment on their own. .

The very best possible learning experiences for students involve the design, hands-on fabrication/creation, and test of their research projects. The SUUP funds will be used to support the SMIF fees of undergraduate students who are working with Duke Faculty in areas that can utilize SMIF. The cleanroom, characterization and imaging facilities in SMIF are extensive; a complete list of capabilities, the training instructions and schedules, and the fee schedule can be accessed at http://smif.pratt.duke.edu.

Since the proposed program will involve an extensive design/build/test approach, to give the students the most complete “idea to implementation” experience, this program will be limited to undergraduate research students who commit to at least 2 academic semesters of research with a faculty member or who are a Pratt Research Fellow. The SMIF training takes from 1-5 weeks, depending upon the number of tools accessed, thus, at least two academic semesters are recommended for students to engage in a meaningful experience that includes SMIF use.

Proposals from students and faculty, limited to 1 page in length, will be reviewed by the SUUP organizers (listed above), and proposals will be funded based upon the available funds and the projected expenditures. Proposals will be judged based upon the impact that SMIF will have on the project, and the quality of the proposal, with preference given to multidisciplinary projects. A balance between cleanroom and characterization and imaging facilities will also be considered.

Proposals should be submitted to Dr. Walters, Director of SMIF, via email at mark.walters@duke.edu. The proposal deadline is January 27, 2017. Proposals received will be evaluated as a group and awards will be announced by the end of January 2017. Proposals received after January 27th will be evaluated on a rolling basis, and awarded as funds permit.

Proposals will be funded up to a maximum of $500 per month in SMIF user fee expenses through June 30th, 2017. Please include a projected expenditure rate as a function of month through the duration of the proposal. The SMIF fees have a monthly cap that enables the SMIF users to project what the maximum fees of any user are per month. Thus, the undergraduate researchers and the proposers of this proposal will be able to estimate the usage levels, and offer grants to the students accordingly. Current SMIF user fee rates can be found at http://smif.pratt.duke.edu/user-fees-and-billing.

MEDx Biomedical Research RFP - Proposal deadline has passed.

This MEDx funding announcement will award funds of up to $50,000 for novel pilot projects that investigate a basic biomedical question or for the development of tools or technologies that enable biomedical discovery. The pilot projects must be collaborations between faculty members in the Pratt School of Engineering and the School of Medicine.

Beyond achieving new partnerships between the School of Medicine and Pratt, this opportunity should catalyze research or development that will lead to follow-on funding, which can take various forms (e.g. NIH, CTSI, or Coulter grant, SBIR).

MEDx is joined in funding this successful applications by the Departments of Pathology and Biostatistics & Bioinformatics and the Duke Cardiovascular Research Center from the School of Medicine, and the Departments of Mechanical Engineering & Material Sciences and Biomedical Engineering in the Pratt School of Engineering.

Deadline

Application submission deadline is 11:50 pm on Thursday, January 19, 2017.

Eligibility

Proposed projects must have a lead investigator from each of the Schools of Medicine and Engineering. The project lead may be from either School.
Existing collaborators may compete, but the proposed project must be in a new area of research.
Successful proposals will be awarded up to $50,000. The funding may be used to support fellows, post docs and/or students but not faculty effort or travel. Indirect costs are not supported.
Due Date: Proposals must be received by 11:59 pm on Thursday, January 19, 2017.
Award Notice: Target is March 15, 2017.
Project Start Date: Target is March 27, 2017.
Period of Performance: Projects must propose a realistic end date. A 12-month or shorter project period is desirable, but longer periods of performance will be considered if justified.
View the RFA for full proposal instructions.

Application Submission

MEDx uses the MyResearchProposal online application software to submit applications. To apply:

To apply, visit http://bit.ly/myresearchproposal, click on “Create New User” (or log in if you already have an account). Proposals may be submitted under either of the Co-Principal Investigator’s name.
A step-by-step user’s guide for applying via the DTMI MyResearchProposal software is available – here.
Enter Access Code ‘MEDX’ then select the “MEDx Pilot Project 2017” funding opportunity and follow the instructions.

For questions, email Julia Walker (Julia.s.walker@duke.edu) or attend MEDx office hours (i.e. the MEDx Café). See the MEDx Café calendar for dates, time and location.

MEDx is leading a syndicate comprising the School of Medicine, the Duke Cardiovascular Research Center, and the Departments of Pathology, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Mechanical Engineering and Material Science, and Biomedical Engineering that will award funding to promote the formation of new collaborations between faculty in the Schools of Medicine and Engineering.

Proposals should address basic research in the biomedical sciences or the development of tools or technologies that enable or enhance biomedical discovery.

More about the Application

Faculty co-investigators from the Schools of Medicine and Engineering should propose a new collaboration to conduct novel research into a basic science question or develop a novel technology or device with utility for research or medicine. The project lead may be from either School.
Existing collaborators may compete, but the proposed project must be in a new area of research.
Successful proposals will be awarded up to $50,000. The funding may be used to support fellows, post docs and/or students but not faculty effort or travel. Indirect costs are not supported.
Due Date: Proposals must be received by 11:59 pm on Thursday, January 19, 2017.
Award Notice: Target is March 15, 2017.
Project Start Date: Target is March 27, 2017.
Period of Performance: Projects must propose a realistic end date. A 12-month or shorter project period is desirable, but longer periods of performance will be considered if justified.
View the RFA for full proposal instructions.

MEDx Call for Pratt/SOM Proposals for Pilot Research Projects in Diagnostics and Devices - Proposal deadline has passed.

This request for proposals is targeted to enhance collaborations between the School of Medicine and Pratt facuty in the area of diagnostics and devices. MEDx is leading a syndicate of highly interdisciplinary partners – The Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA), the Duke Institute for Health Innovation (DIHI), the Departments of Medicine, Surgery, Neurosurgery, Orthopedic Surgey and Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science – to fund these pilot projects. The goal of this opportunity is to catalyze the development of collaborative proposals that will lead to external funding within 12 months of completion of this project. Proposal deadline for 2015-2016 has passed.
Learn more

Seed Funding for Collaborative Quantitative Approaches - Proposal deadline has passed.

The Office of the Vice Provost for Research, MEDx and other Duke entities are co-sponsoring a seed funding program to support "Collaborative Quantitative Approaches to Problems in the Basic and Clinical Sciences." Research collaborations between campus and School of Medicine faculty are eligible for up to $50,000 in support. Proposal deadline for 2015-2016 has passed.
Learn more

Other Duke Funding Opportunities

DIHI 2018 Innovation Pilots - Deadline October 6, 2017 @ 5pm

The Duke Institute for Healthcare Innovation (DIHI) will provide funding for projects to promote transformative innovation in health and healthcare. This RFA is open to all faculty, staff, students, and trainees across Duke campus. Areas of interest include Population Health and Analytics, Building Resilience and well-being, Novel Patient Interactions, Team-based and new care models, Optimizing patient flow, and Enhanced transitions of care. Up to 9 applications will be selected for support up to a total of $400,000. Most proposals are expected to request funding in the range of $25,000 to $70,000 over a one year period. Funding for successful applicants will start in March of 2018. Full callout>

Regeneration Next Fellows Program - Proposal deadline has passed.

This fellowship will provide two years of funding (up to $110,000 total funding) for a postdoctoral fellow in a Duke lab, joining our inaugural group of RNI fellows. This mechanism is designed to help recruit to the Duke community those top junior scientists interested in the broad field of tissue regeneration. Funding for successful applicants will start in July 2017. Full callout >

Student Travel grants - Deadlines April 13 and September 28, 2017

Travel grants of up to $1000 are available for Duke graduate students to to present work relevant to tissue regeneration/ developmental biology at scientific conferences. Full callout>

Mouse Vouchers - Proposal deadline has passed.

This voucher program is aimed at stimulating new research reagent creation at Duke by subsidizing creation of transgenic or genetically modified mouse strains. We will be offering vouchers of up to $5,000 to Duke investigators for this purpose. Full callout>

Packard Fellowship internal deadline - Proposal deadline has passed.

Packard Fellowship 2017

Application Process and Preparation Guide

Duke application process and support:

Duke’s Office of Research Support will hold an internal competition to select two nominees.
Nominees will work with Foundation Relations (Vera Luck and Steve Murray) and Research Development (Carmel Lee) to refine their research statements.
Red Teams of senior faculty, department chairs, and Duke’s past Packard Fellows will review the nominees’ research statement drafts. The nominees will receive suggestions for further revision.
Nominees will submit their final applications to Packard.

Preparation:

Study the Advisory Panel and identify those in your field and who might advocate for your proposal. Note that new members have joined the advisory panel recently and many are past Packard Fellows themselves.
Review past Fellows’ abstracts to get a sense of how they frame their work and the scope of what they are doing.
Watch Packard’s 25th anniversary video.

Proposal language:

The significance of your proposed work must be understood across fields; all reviewers should be able to recognize the importance of the work.
Research aims and statement should not be conservative. Packard values creativity and “thinking big.” They look for research that crosses fields/boundaries and has the potential to create a new field. They seek candidates who can break new ground and build something. Show them how you have been trained to be the person who can overcome a major barrier.
Do not be afraid to propose something that might fail.
Consider the development of new instrumentation – can you build an instrument to measure something that has never been measured before?
The first page should describe a problem and what the investigator will do to solve it. Do not jump into specialized language and methodology right away.
Note how Packard funding could help you leverage other financial support. Reviewers value an entrepreneurial spirit.

Support letters:

Letter 1: PhD advisor, Letter 2: postdoc advisor, Letter 3: department chair
Letter 4: should come from someone who knows your field well, has Packard Fellow relationships, and can measure how you compare.
Support letters are very important. They should show the applicant’s potential and their status as best or top in their field, institution, position, etc.
Advisors should come from well-known labs and have good publications.