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Funding Opportunities

The Lorna Grindlay Moore, PhD Faculty Launch Fund

The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) and University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus (CU AMC) proudly announce the next call for applications for the Lorna Grindlay Moore, PhD, Faculty Launch Award. Eligible Instructors and Assistant Professors are invited to apply for a one-year award of $40,000 to help launch their independent research programs. Faculty may be appointed in any of the schools or colleges of the CU Denver or CU AMC whose research is centered on women's health during and after the reproductive period. Appropriate areas include, but are not limited to pregnancy, family planning, infertility, oncology, education, public policy, mental health, cardiovascular health, diabetes, advancing the academic careers of women faculty and the effect of COVID-19 on women's health. The awardee will be announced no later than May 17, 2023.

Due date for Letter of Intent extended to: February 10, 2023
Due date for Applications: March 24, 2023
Funds available as of July 1, 2023

Letter of Intent and Application Details   Faculty Launch Fund Flyer

About Lorna Moore, PhD

Lorna Grindlay Moore, PhD, is an internationally renowned researcher who has studied human adaptation to high altitude, having conducted studies in populations residing on three continents (North and South America, Asia). She has focused on the role of hypoxia in complications of pregnancy and fetal life, and the mechanisms by which evolutionary adaptation to environmental challenges has occurred. She obtained her BA in Anthropology from Smith College, pursued graduate studies in Cultural Anthropology at Brown University, and obtained her MA and PhD in Biological Anthropology at the University of Michigan. She joined the University of Colorado as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Cardiovascular Pulmonary Research Lab, rose through the ranks to become Professor and the founding chair of the CU Denver campus' Anthropology Department, while holding adjunct appointments in Medicine, Preventive Medicine, and Surgery/Emergency Medicine. She cofounded the CU Denver campus' PhD program in Health and Behavioral Sciences, the CU Anschutz Medical Campus' Center for Women's Health Research, and was a member of the steering committee for creating the Colorado School of Public Health. She then became Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Wake Forest University, before returning to the University of Colorado in 2012. Among Dr. Moore's many awards and honors, she is Past President of the Human Biology Association, Vice-President of the American Association of Physical Anthropology, a FASEB Outstanding Woman Scientist of the Year, a UC Denver Researcher of the Year, an Elizabeth Gee Mentorship Award recipient, and member of multiple national grant review panels (National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health). She has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications and been funded by the National Institutes of Health or other national organizations for more than 30 years.

Academic Enrichment Fund

The Academic Enrichment Fund (AEF) was established by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in its "Cost Center Faculty Plan, 1989-1990" and is to be used to fund new and ongoing research programs and activities of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The AEF will provide funds to members of the department to support research endeavors. These funds will be disbursed only in response to specific written proposals, which shall be initially reviewed by the AEF Committee and will be subject to final approval by a majority vote of a quorum of the department faculty.

Purpose or Scope

The purpose of the AEF is to provide funding for research projects developed and led by faculty in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology to support career development. Priority is given to projects led by junior clinical faculty. Projects which are not led by junior clinical faculty may be considered, but a clinical faculty member must be a key investigator. Core laboratory equipment, supplies, or career development activities that are not related to a research project are outside the scope of the AEF.

Eligibility

All University of Colorado School of Medicine faculty, at the level of instructor or above, who are full-time faculty with a primary appointment in OB/Gyn and contribute clinical earnings to the AEF, are eligible to submit proposals. Projects may also consist of collaborations between clinical and basic science faculty, provided that the AEF-eligible, clinical co-investigator has a significant role and active participation in the project. Faculty carrying the Emeritus designation who are actively involved in the Department's teaching, research, or clinical activities are also eligible to apply for funding. Fellows are limited to one funded AEF grant proposal as Principal Investigator during their fellowship. Faculty will be limited to one AEF award as Principal Investigator at any given time and may not submit a second application within two calendar years of the start date (date of assignment of a speedtype) of a currently funded proposal.

Guidelines for Preparation of AEF Research Proposals

Format

Proposals for funding should be submitted in electronic format to the AEF Committee and include the following sections, where applicable. The minimum font size is 11 point with 0.5 inch margins. Section A, #s 1 through 5 may not exceed six pages, including all figures and tables. Applications that do not conform to these requirements will be returned without review.

  1. Description of Proposed Research
    • Specific Aims and Hypotheses of the project.
    • Background and significance.
    • Innovation.
    • Preliminary results, or summary of relevant studies.
    • Research design and methods (including statistical analyses).
    • Other Factors and Assurances: Please include human subjects protection and/or animal welfare, IRB, IACUC and other regulatory approvals. Also provide a statement of how this particular project will promote the career development of the investigator(s) and include the CV or biosketch of the Principal Investigator and mentor if applicable. If the Principal Investigator is not clinical faculty, discuss the specific role of the clinical faculty investigator.
    • Literature Cited: Author, Title, Journal, Volume, Pages, Year
    • Projected timeline*
    • Appendices**

    * AEF projects are typically funded for a maximum of 2 years. It is expected that all IRB approvals are to be completed within 1 year.
    ** Copies of relevant questionnaires, survey forms or letters of collaboration may be attached in an appendix.

    Applications must also include a “Lay Abstract” of up to one page, summarizing the specific aims, approaches and significance of the study in lay terms, understandable to a non-specialist. Should a grant be recommended by the AEF committee for funding, this abstract will be sent to all departmental faculty for review prior to their vote on the recommended proposal at a faculty meeting.

  2. Budget

    A detailed line item budget must be included. The total amount requested must not exceed $12,000. If the AEF will provide only partial support for a project, please indicate the source of the remaining necessary funds. Examples of appropriate budgetary requests include participant stipends, research assistant time, equipment, reagents, animals and animal care, and data management and statistical support.

    It is not anticipated that awards will be given to fund any full-time positions. Partial salary support may be requested reflecting the time commitment to the proposed project, however salary support must be clearly justified and priority will be given to funding of the project rather than personnel. Items ineligible for financial support include clerical or secretarial support and faculty travel expenses unless it is a direct research expense.

  3. Budget and Personnel Justification

    The Budget and Personnel Justification should describe each item listed in the budget and provide the justification and information necessary to determine how the budget was calculated and the relationship between budgeted items and the project’s goals. The budget narrative must explain how each cost is necessary for the program, and match those items listed in the research proposal.

    If requests are made for services or specific reagents (e.g. antibodies, pathology specimens, flow cytometry, real time PCR, gene arrays), indicate the number of samples to be processed and cost per sample or kit and provide documentation of these prices if possible. Requests for statistical or other support services should indicate hourly rate or per contract costs and justify the use of outside, non-institutional services or assays. For animal costs, indicate and justify the number of animals to be used and housing costs.

    Please also provide a list of key personnel (Principal Investigator, Co-Investigators, collaborators, consultants, PRAs) and a brief (one paragraph) description of their specific role and percent effort on the project.

Review Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Significance: Project’s potential contribution to the body of knowledge and likelihood that research results will inform scientific concepts and methods.

Innovation: The extent to which the project employs novel concepts, approaches, or methods; challenges existing paradigms or develops new paradigms; or considers and existing problem from a new perspective.

Investigator(s): Investigator expertise and capacity to complete the proposed project or appropriate mentorship and/or collaboration plan. Priority is given to junior faculty, new investigators, and those with heavy clinical responsibilities.

Approach: The Hypotheses and Specific Aims should be clearly stated. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the methodology? Is the project feasible, are the methods sound and appropriate to assess the hypotheses and specific aims? Are the study design and statistical analyses clearly stated and appropriate for the project? Is the timeline adequate to complete the project as planned? Is the budget justified clearly and specifically and is supportive of the planned work?

Potential for future funding: Pilot research studies designed to provide preliminary data to support subsequent proposals for extramural funding or that may lead to new avenues of research are given priority.

Reviewers will assign a score for each criterion described above using the following scale:

Overall Impact or Criterion Strength Score Descriptor
High 1 Exceptional
2 Outstanding
3 Excellent
Medium 4 Very Good
5 Good
6 Satisfactory
Low 7 Fair
8 Marginal
9 Poor

Scores will be averaged to determine the final score.

Review Process

Grant proposals will be reviewed by the AEF Committee typically in April and October. Requests for applications will be subject to availability of funds. The deadline for submission of grants will be approximately four weeks prior to each meeting and will be announced by e-mail. Should emergent funding be required for a project, the Committee can be convened for a special review at the request of the Department chair or a Division chief.

Any Committee member who is either a principal or co-investigator for a proposal or has a conflict of interest will disqualify him/herself from participating in the review. Any investigator making a proposal, whether a Committee member or not, may be asked to come to a Committee meeting to explain or clarify any aspect of the proposal or such clarification may be requested in writing.

The Committee will have the option of recommending acceptance of all or only part of the budgetary requests (i.e specific budget line items may be rejected or amended). Proposals not selected for funding may be resubmitted at the next cycle. Revised applications should include a one page response to reviewers’ comments. Depending on available funds, revised proposals may be eligible for expedited review by the Committee prior to the next submission deadline. Once the Committee's review process has been completed, its recommendations will be presented to the faculty for discussion and final decision by vote. Any faculty member may request a copy of AEF proposals that have been recommended for approval from the AEF Committee Chair or their designee.

While the number of awards granted per cycle will be dictated by the availability of funds, individual research grants will generally not exceed $12,000. The Committee may consider larger budget requests subject to a compelling and well–justified need. In addition, faculty may submit a competitive renewal of an existing AEF proposal to request additional funding. This renewal will be subject to full review by the AEF Committee and must include a progress report.

Administrative options of the Committee's review include recommendation for acceptance or rejection of the entire proposal as submitted or acceptance of portions of the proposal with recommendations to delete or modify certain aspects of the proposed study. All applicants will receive a written review of their proposal within one month of funding announcements.

Review Process

Once the proposal has been approved, the applicant will be notified via e-mail. Notices will contain the award number (assigned by the administrative assistant to the Committee), speedtype, title of the project, name of the principal investigator (Pl), award amount, and award duration. It is the responsibility of the Pl to administer the research project and budget as outlined in the proposals and to comply with all applicable COMIRB and IACUC regulations.

By accepting the award, the Pl agrees to the terms of the award which includes complying with the budget, providing an annual progress report, and completion of the study within three years. Failure to submit an annual report within 30 days of the anniversary of the award (speedtype start date) will result in suspension of funds. The annual progress report should include:

  • A brief one page summary of progress.
  • A budget report (including proposed budget and expenditures to date).
  • A list or summary of abstracts or manuscripts that have been submitted, presented, or published as a result of the AEF project.
  • Grant or other funding obtained to either support the AEF project or as a result of AEF funding.
  • Changes to the personnel, specific aims, scope of project, project timeline, or budget.

If the project is not completed in three years, an extension may be granted but will be based upon the submission to the AEF Committee of a detailed progress report indicating reasons for delay in completion, as well as an estimated date of completion. AEF grants funding a project involving a Research Track Medical student will be completed in four years according to the expectations of that program. If any portion of the budgeted money remains unused by the completion of the project, this money will revert to the AEF for future awards.

At the completion of the study, the PI will be required to provide a report of findings to include a summary of data, conclusions drawn, initiatives undertaken to utilize the data obtained for additional research studies, possibilities for extramural funding, and a list of publications, abstracts, presentations, and grants related to the study. It is anticipated that such a report will be made available to the Committee by the grant deadline closest to the anniversary of the award. This report must also include an accurate accounting of funds awarded and disbursed. Failure to comply with the terms of this award will result in revocation of the award.

All expenditures related to the AEF program must be approved by the Department Administrator (or designee). A copy of all expenditures will be maintained by the Department Administrator or their designee as well as the Professional Research Assistant (or designee) for the PI.

 

Contact Info

Pamela Alvarez Moran
Administrative Research Core Manager
12700 East 19th Avenue
Room 3009, MS 8613
Aurora, CO 80045

Phone: (303) 724-6501
Fax: (303) 724-3512

 

 

Contact Info

Pamela Alvarez Moran
Administrative Research Core Manager
12700 East 19th Avenue
Room 3009, MS 8613
Aurora, CO 80045

Phone: (303) 724-6501
Fax: (303) 724-3512