NIH Director's Early Independence Awards (DP5)
To: Chairs, Departments in the Biological Sciences
From: Heather Daniels, Graduate School
Date: November 15, 2011
Subject:NIH Director's Early Independence Awards (DP5)
Deadlines:
Notification of intent to submit is due on Friday, December 2, 2011.
Project Description:
The NIH Director’s Early Independence Awards provide an opportunity for exceptional junior scientists, who have already established a record of innovation and research productivity, to launch an independent research program. It is also an opportunity for research intensive institutions to invigorate their research departments by recruiting outstanding, early career scientists. Exceptional graduate students or clinicians nearing the completion of their Ph.D. (or equivalent) or for clinicians (M.D.s or equivalent) the end of their medical residency may contact appropriate Institutional scientific leaders to seek an appointment as an independent research scientist (For a complete listing of eligible degrees for Early Independence Investigators, please refer to Section 1. Eligible Applicants). Alternatively, institutions may actively recruit eligible junior scientists to apply for support through this program. In either event, the Institution will be expected to provide substantial support for the junior scientist as detailed below. At the time of application, the Early Independence PI must be within twelve months before or after the completion of their Ph.D. (or equivalent) or for clinicians within twelve months before or after the completion of their medical residency (or equivalent) training. By the end of the award period, the PI is expected to be competitive for continued funding of his/her research program and for a permanent research position.
Early Independence PI:
- Statement of how an Early Independence Award would enable entry into an independent research position and why this would be of benefit to the PD/PI career
- Evidence of exceptional scientific creativity and productivity;
- A research plan in a scientific area relevant to the NIH mission for which the investigator has demonstrated expertise;
- Strong letters of recommendation from current and previous scientific mentors offering a detailed assessment of the prospects for a successful early transition to research independence; achievements as a graduate student; and the potential for future scientific contributions;
Grantee Institution:
- Plans for full integration of the Early Independence PI into the scientific community at the institution and evidence that the institution and existing faculty are committed to his/her success;
- Evidence that the proposed research project will complement existing scholarly activities at the institution and will enhance the research capabilities of the institution;
- Evidence that the Early Independence PI will be appointed into an independent research position. (For UW-Madison, this would like be a position in the academic staff Scientist title series.)
- A detailed description of the laboratory space to be provided to the Early Independence PI and the availability of research support staff;
- A detailed description of the availability of the equipment, supplies and shared resources required by the Early Independence PI, and a plan for guaranteeing access to those resources;
- Description of career enhancement opportunities available to the Early Independence PI, equivalent to those offered to assistant professors;
- Evidence that the Early Independence PIs will have the necessary Institutional commitment to conduct full-time, independent research, excepting the minimal clinical commitments required for clinician researchers and minimal, optional teaching commitments;
- Description of opportunities for the Early Independence PIs to apply for additional research funding without being required to do so.
Awards will be for up to $250,000 in direct costs each year for five years, plus applicable Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs to be determined at the time of award.
Eligibility:
UW-Madison may submit two proposals.
Website:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-11-007.html
Internal Competition Application Instructions:
Notice of intent: Send an email message to gsgrants@grad.wisc.edu with "NIH-Early Independence" in the subject line by Friday, December 2, 2011 to inform us of your intention to submit a proposal. Nominations are also welcome from departments, rather than individuals. Please include the following in your email message:
--Name of PI
--PI Department
--Department Chair
--Date or expected date of terminal degree or medical residency completion (date of degree is the date listed on official university transcript)
--2-3 sentence description of research project
--short paragraph summarizing department's commitment to PI (see above for NIH requirements)
PIs will be notified if an internal competition is needed.
For the project selected, the proposal must be submitted using Grants.gov. Information about campus procedures for Grants.gov is posted on the RSP Web site. The full proposal is due on Monday, January 30, 2011, 5 pm CST.
If you have any questions about this procedure, please email gsgrants@grad.wisc.edu or contact Heather Daniels, 263-7274, or Petra Schroeder, 265-4868.