CU Anschutz SOM Programmatic Incubator for Research (CU ASPIRE) Program
Overview
The University of Colorado School of Medicine and Cancer Center are pleased to partner on this effort to foster the development of interdisciplinary, programmatic research on the CU Anschutz campus. The goal of the CU ASPIRE Program is to increase submission and success of large multi-PI grants (>$750,000 direct funds per year), including program projects, center proposals, NCI SPOREs, multi-project team science programs, and multiple PI grants on campus by supporting milestone-driven collaborations between investigators across campus. The CU ASPIRE Program is designed to facilitate interdisciplinary team science and collaborative research groups on the Anschutz Medical Campus working on unmet needs in basic and translational science or clinical medicine that can only be addressed by a team of investigators.
During the funding period, the investigative group is anticipated to:
- Establish preliminary findings to support the unifying scientific theme of the program, including joint publications.
- Develop a plan to programmatically integrate the investigators, projects, and cores as appropriate.
- Communicate with the appropriate funding agency and establish a timeline and plan for grant proposal submission.
The anticipated outcome of the milestone-driven CU ASPIRE Program is an external grant application to the NIH, DOD, or other external public or private funding agencies, focused on team science and collaborative research. Funding will be awarded up to $50K/year for 1-2 years for an ‘incubation period’ during which the team collects preliminary data and prepares the grant application. If the proposal is successful and funded, the team will receive an additional $100K upon receipt of the NOA (notice of award) from the external funding agency. Allowable grant mechanisms include MPI R01, P series awards, and U-type grants from the NIH, or equivalent grants from other external funding agencies (i.e. DOD) that will bring in greater than $750K in direct costs annually. ASPIRE program funding may be used for research support (such as supplies and PRA salaries) to generate collaborative preliminary data, to purchase essential equipment that will be used jointly by the multiple investigators, or to support joint publications. Funding may not be used for salary support for investigators, conferences, or travel (unless approved by the CU ASPIRE Program).
Successful applications will include 2-5 investigators with complementary scientific backgrounds that are focused on solving a complex unmet need in basic and translational science or clinical medicine and are interdisciplinary by design. The PI must have a primary appointment in a Department within the School of Medicine. The team can include investigators solely from the School of Medicine but may also include project leads and other investigators with primary appointments in different CU Anschutz Schools/Colleges (Medicine, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dental Medicine, Nursing or Public Health), departments, or divisions.
Preference will be given to investigative teams that have a history of prior collaboration.
Please see the following RFA for a new program project funding opportunity at the NIH