The Research Development Office (RDO) has announced the following To view previously announced funding opportunities, visit the RDO website. Items that I believe are of particular interest to our College's researchers are highlighted in yellow, but we encourage you to review all opportunities. Please contact the Research Office to discuss pursuing these opportunities.
NIH @ NC State Grantsmanship Series
The Research Development Office’s (RDO) Proposal Development Unit (PDU) invites everyone in the NC State community to participate in the NIH @ NC State Grantsmanship Series. These monthly seminars will acquaint you with the basics of NIH. Registration is not required, but please fill out the interest form so that the team can let you know about any event updates.
Next up: Writing NIH Grant Applications
Topics include: Decoding the funding opportunity announcements, approaching the specific aims and public health relevance sections, and writing with the reviewers in mind.
Date: 10/23/2019, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Location: 4280 Talley Student Center
Other Training Opportunities
The North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences (NC TraCS) Institute at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will present an introduction to NIH R grant mechanisms. Information presented includes examples of different types of R awards, the structure of the application, assessing readiness to apply, grant preparation strategies, and resources.
Date: 10/21/2019, 8:30 - 10:15 am
Location: Brinkhous-Bullitt, Room 219
The North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences (NC TraCS) Institute at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will present an introduction to NIH and foundation career development awards. Information presented will include examples of different types of awards, the structure of the application, assessing readiness to apply, grant preparation strategies, and resources.
Date: 10/21/2019, 8:30 - 10:15 am
Location: Brinkhous-Bullitt, Room 219
Save the Dates!
NASA Day at UNC
Join your fellow researchers for NASA Day at UNC being held on November 7, 2019, during University Research Week. UNC is inviting the broadest possible audience of researchers, with presentations about how to work with NASA, details about the Artemis mission to the moon, and collaborative research opportunities across the agency. There will be presentations from leaders representing NASA’s Mission Directorates – Human Exploration & Operations, Science, and Space Technology – with opportunities to learn about how your research fits with NASA’s mission portfolio.
Event registration will open soon, and updates will be circulated with venue details and a draft agenda.
Are you thinking about developing your first flight mission proposal in the next few years but have no idea where to start? If you are a researcher in any NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) discipline who wants to take your career to the next level but have not yet held a leadership position on mission proposals or large science teams, this is the workshop for you. Join NASA November 18 - 20, 2019 in Tucson, AZ for Launchpad: an expenses-paid three-day workshop that will teach you the skills to get your mission idea off the ground.
NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD), in partnership with the University of Arizona and the Heising-Simons Foundation, will host Launchpad to guide participants through turning their science question into a mission concept. Participants will go step-by-step through the process of developing a science case, defining requirements, building a team, securing partnerships, and obtaining support from the home institution. Participants will also have time for networking and personal reflection as they mature their mission concepts. NASA is interested in broadening the pool of potential space mission PI’s. People with potentially intersecting marginalized identities are strongly encouraged to apply. There is no cost to attend the workshop and travel, meals, and lodging for non-NASA participants will be covered by the Heising-Simons Foundation.
Between 35-40 participants from the pool of applicants will be selected. For those not selected, there are plans to hold additional Launchpads in 2020 and beyond. Applicants should be currently at US institutions.
Limited Submission Funding Opportunities
These programs are those that limit the number of applications that the university can submit. If you are interested in applying to one of these programs, please click the "Notification of Interest" link and fill out the form. Only those who fill out the form by the deadline will be eligible to participate in internal reviews. For more information about the limited submission process and the limited submission calendar, go here.
*New NIH: Specialized Centers of Excellence on Environmental Health Disparities Research [P50 Clinical Trial Optional]
This initiative will support multidisciplinary research to generate innovative approaches to mitigate environmental health disparities and improve access to healthy and sustainable environments for health disparity populations and vulnerable communities. Each center is expected to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, synergistic research projects, and core support that enhances the ability to achieve goals and objectives in the broad areas of research, research capacity and training, as well as communication and translation. Successful applicants will be expected to work closely with community partners to facilitate the development of targeted interventions that can be implemented in real-world settings to mitigate or prevent environmental health disparities and to improve access to healthy and sustainable environments. Each center must include the following components: Administrative Core, Investigator Development Core, Community Engagement and Dissemination Core, Research Project (up to three).
Due to the quickly approaching deadline for this opportunity, Notifications of Interest (NOIs) will not be considered unless accompanied by the following materials:
- 1 page overview describing the aims for the project as a whole and how the proposed activities will have a measurable impact on understanding and reducing one or more environmental health disparities, including an overview of the proposed center.
- Biosketch of the interested PI.
Limit - 1 per institution
Sponsor deadline - 11/22/2019
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) provides funding to support crosscutting nuclear energy research and development (R&D), and associated infrastructure support activities, to develop innovative technologies that offer the promise of dramatically improved performance for advanced reactors and fuel cycle concepts, while maximizing the use of DOE resources. The development of nuclear energy-related infrastructure and basic capabilities in the research community is necessary to promote R&D that supports nuclear science and engineering (NS&E), DOE-NE’s mission, and the Nation’s nuclear energy challenges. DOE is seeking applications under the Infrastructure FOA in the following areas:
- University Research Reactor Upgrades Infrastructure Support
- General Scientific Infrastructure (GSI) Support for Universities
An application to either of these FOA areas is restricted to equipment or activities supporting research, teaching, and education, such as the purchase, set-up, and vendor installation costs for equipment and instrumentation, as well as building modifications that immediately support the installation and operation of the equipment.
Internal deadline - For General Scientific Infrastructure (GSI) Support, please submit a 3 page pre-application that addresses the requirements in the solicitation to Tracy Brown (tracy_brown@ncsu.edu) by 5:00 p.m. on 10/8/2019. For Research Reactor Upgrade Support, please submit your materials to Dr. Ayman Hawari (ayman.hawari@ncsu.edu), the Nuclear Reactor Program Director, by 5:00 p.m. on 10/8/2019.
Limit - 1 per institution, per area (GSI, Reactor Upgrade)
Sponsor deadline - 11/13/2019
*New NIH Data Science Research: Personal Health Libraries for Consumers and Patients (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)
The National Library of Medicine seeks applications for novel informatics and data science approaches that can help individuals gather, manage and use data and information about their personal health. A goal of this program is to advance research and application by patients and the research community through broadly sharing the results via publication, and through open source mechanisms for data or resource sharing.
Limit - 1 per institution
Sponsor deadline - 1/17/ 2020
The goal of the Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) program is to develop a diverse pool of scientists earning a Ph.D., who have the skills to successfully transition into careers in the biomedical research workforce. This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) provides support to eligible, domestic institutions to develop and implement effective, evidence-based approaches to biomedical training and mentoring that will keep pace with the rapid evolution of the research enterprise. NIGMS expects that the proposed research training programs will incorporate didactic, research, mentoring and career development elements to prepare trainees for careers that will have a significant impact on the health-related research needs of the Nation.
Limit - 1 per institution
Sponsor deadline - 1/28/2020
Cultivating Cultures for Ethical STEM (CCE STEM) funds research projects that identify (1) factors that are effective in the formation of ethical STEM researchers and (2) approaches to developing those factors in all the fields of science and engineering that NSF supports. CCE STEM solicits proposals for research that explores the following: ‘What constitutes responsible conduct for research (RCR), and which cultural and institutional contexts promote ethical STEM research and practice and why?' Successful proposals typically have a comparative dimension, either between or within institutional settings that differ along these or among other factors, and they specify plans for developing interventions that promote the effectiveness of identified factors. CCE STEM research projects will use basic research to produce knowledge about what constitutes or promotes responsible or irresponsible conduct of research, and how to best instill students with this knowledge.
Limit - 1 per institution
Sponsor deadline - 2/22/2020
Scholar Award Opportunities
The Moore Inventor Fellows program focuses on supporting scientist-inventors at a critical stage of research to capture opportunities that otherwise might be missed. The program seeks to provide freedom and support to promising inventors with the most compelling ideas to pursue creative work. The foundation plans to allocate nearly $34 million through 2026 to support 50 Moore Inventor Fellows. The foundation now announces the fifth competition for Moore Inventor Fellows, seeking to identify outstanding inventors and innovators who harness science and technology to enhance the conduct of scientific research, strengthen environmental conservation, or improve the experience and outcomes of patient care. Candidates must be faculty, research scientists, postdocs or other full-time staff at eligible institutions. Candidates must be no more than 10 years past receiving the terminal advanced degree in their field (M.S., Ph.D. or M.D.). The scope of this call is intentionally wide: proposed projects do not need to fall within our current funding priorities but should be broadly within the program areas of foundation interest (science, environmental conservation and patient care).
Limit - 2 per institution
Sponsor deadline - 12/13/2019
The Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards Program supports the research and teaching careers of talented young faculty in the chemical sciences. Based on institutional nominations, the program provides discretionary funding to faculty at an early stage in their careers. Criteria for selection include an independent body of scholarship attained in the early years of their appointment, and a demonstrated commitment to education, signaling the promise of continuing outstanding contributions to both research and teaching. The Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards Program provides an unrestricted research grant of $100,000. Nominees must hold a full-time tenure-track academic appointment, and are expected to have been appointed no earlier than mid-year 2014. Awardees are from Ph.D. granting departments in which scholarly research is a principal activity. Undergraduate education is an important component.The Foundation seeks Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholars who demonstrate leadership in research and education. Nominations must provide compelling evidence of the advance of important knowledge in the chemical sciences by the nominee. Further, the nomination should describe dedication and contributions to education in the chemical sciences, particularly with respect to undergraduates.
Limit - 1 per institution
Sponsor deadline - 2/6/2020
Internal Funding Opportunities
NC State faculty, staff and students require access to instrumentation, equipment, facilities, software, and databases in order to conduct the world-class research that is expected at a major research university. Extramural support for the acquisition and/or development of research instruments may be obtained through proposals to external public (federal and state) or private (foundation) sources. The NC State Laboratory Research Equipment Program (LREP) supplements these sources with University funds since many external-funding opportunities are poorly matched to specific, lower-cost needs. The Office of Research and Innovation (ORI) has set aside $100,000 for this program. The maximum award from ORI for LREP-funded equipment is $25,000 per proposal.
Scientific discoveries and hypothesis testing require access to modern research instrumentation. The newly formed Molecular Education, Technology, and Research Innovation Center (METRIC) is an NC State Shared Core Research Facility that provides access to state-of the-art equipment capable of addressing a diverse range of scientific questions. Although many NC State faculty, staff and students are familiar with METRIC research platforms, others may be reluctant to apply these powerful technologies to their research due to costs-of-entry. To address this gap in funding the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science (KIETS) will provide matching funds for a new internal seed-funding program, termed the METRIC Pilot Project Program (MPPP). MPPP supports research efforts of single investigators as well as multi-investigator teams. The overarching goals of the Program are to stimulate interdisciplinary research, enable NC State researchers to access METRIC platform technologies and secure preliminary data to be used to attract extramural research funding from a variety of agencies. A total of $25,000 has been committed by KIETS for FY20. KIETS funds MUST be matched one-to-one with funds from other non-federal sources (“in-kind” matches are not allowed). Award amounts will range between $2,000 and $10,000 including the required matching funds.
Inter-Institutional Funding Opportunities
NC State Global offers funding for NC State faculty or staff to enhance research collaboration and academic exchange with the University of Adelaide in Australia.The strategic partnership between the University of Adelaide (UA) and NC State is a preferred relationship that leverages complementary strengths and trans-disciplinary scholarship to advance research collaboration and academic exchange. UA and NC State are now accepting proposals for the development of research collaboration. Co-funding up to AU $10,000 from UA and the equivalent amount from NC State (approximately US $6,750) per project will be made available for travel and to seed collaboration. This funding program is designed to provide pump-priming and early contact partner outreach with the expectation that they will lead to more substantive engagement resulting in high-quality outputs. Potential high-quality outputs include international research training for graduate students and/or early-career faculty, the publication of joint papers from collaborative research, or follow-on joint research funding bids.Proposals are invited from permanent, tenured or tenure track faculty or research professionals at NC State University (those who comply with Sponsored Programs eligibility requirements) and academic and
research only staff at the University of Adelaide.
Application Deadline-Online applications are due 10/31/2019 through the Office of Global Engagement’s website.
Non-limited Funding Opportunities
NC Sea Grant Research Opportunity for Resource Management Needs
North Carolina Sea Grant (NC Sea Grant), a multi-campus center of the University of North Carolina System, seeks to support our partnering State Agencies in their missions. As such, this request for proposals (RFP) is aimed at bringing the excellent research talent contained within our State’s Colleges and Universities to bear on the identified research needs of our State Agencies. Research focuses include: blue crab, oysters, other shellfish, and habitat.
Application due date: 10/7/2019
*Student opportunity STEM Bridge Scholarship for Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) Students Program
The National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program champions diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) by recruiting, retaining and preparing a diverse workforce, and proactively engaging and serving diverse populations. NC Space Grant is committed to building inclusive research, education, and public outreach programs that serve people with unique backgrounds, circumstances, needs, perspectives and ways of thinking. Recognizing that some students have historically been underserved and underrepresented (i.e., minority groups that are not represented in the science, engineering, technology, or math (STEM) fields in numbers proportional to their composition in the U.S. population) NC Space Grant supports scholarships targeted to these individuals in order to help diversify the STEM workforce of the future.To encourage talented underserved and underrepresented individuals (women, minorities and persons with disabilities) to pursue STEM related careers, NC Space Grant will implement the STEM Bridge Scholarship Program. This is a competitive scholarship program for underserved and underrepresented freshman and sophomore undergraduate students.
Application due date: 10/7/2019
The STEM Pre-Service Teacher Education Scholarship program is designed for students enrolled in STEM-related teacher education degree programs at the undergraduate level (pre-service teachers). Scholarship recipients will be required to complete a series of NASA STEM Digital Badges, participate in professional seminars, and attend a cohort field trip to NASA Langley Research Center.
Application due date: 10/7/2019
*Student opportunity NC Space Grant Team Experience and Competition Awards
NC Space Grant awards funding to undergraduate/graduate teams to help them participate in national competitions either sponsored or sanctioned by NASA or another STEM-related organization (NASA Student Launch Initiative, NASA Robotic Mining, NASA Human Robotics Competition, Shell Eco-Challenge, AUVSI Competition, etc.). Competitions should be in the fields of engineering, science, technology and/or mathematics (STEM), and complement the academic studies of the team members. Competitions must provide students with a hands-on experiential learning opportunities related to one or more of NASA’s Mission Directorates. NC Space Grant anticipates supporting 6-8 team competition grants of up to $5,000 (based on available funding). Funds can be used to purchase supplies and materials to support the team project, and/or cover registration and travel expenses.
Application due date: 10/15/2019
This is a call for research proposals that address a priority of Sea Grant and of the NOAA Office for Coastal Management (OCM) in the South Atlantic Region. This priority is quantifying the impacts of coastal flooding on access to public and private infrastructure and quantifying how blocked access during flooding affects the economy of coastal communities. A successful proposal will be collaborative in nature and will include one principal investigator (PI) each from Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. PIs will work in partnership with one or more end-users who will help shape the research problem and use the results of the work to guide specific actions to increase access in the coastal zone when it is impacted by flooding events. The end-user(s) might be state departments of transportation, local communities, or some other logical entity, and it may be that in each state, the most appropriate end-user will differ because of difference in jurisdiction over roads, causeways, and other access routes. The end-user(s) must be active partners in the project. They must be involved from the onset of creating a proposal, implementing the proposal tasks along with the research team, and in the execution of actions based on the research results.
Application due date: 10/25/2019
NIH Resource-Related Research Projects for Development of Animal Models and Related Materials (R24 Clinical Trials Not-Allowed)
The Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP) encourages grant applications aimed at developing, characterizing or improving animal models of human diseases; improving access to information about or generated from the use of animal models of human disease; or improving diagnosis and control of diseases of laboratory animals. The animal models and related materials developed must have broad application to multiple NIH Institutes or Centers (ICs) to align with the ORIP’s trans-NIH mission. Applications must describe the need and potential impact of the proposed resources on broad research areas supported by multiple NIH ICs. Applications to develop models that relate strictly to a specific disease or a select area of research will not be considered acceptable. Projects that predominantly address the research interests of one NIH IC but are only peripherally related to the research interests of other Institutes and Centers will also not be acceptable for this FOA. The R24 program is intended to develop new animal-based resources, improve existing resource, or acquire a deeper understanding of a model system in order to improve the utilization, accessibility, and translational values of animal models to the research community. Application budgets are not limited, but should not exceed 4 years in duration.
Application due dates: 10/28/2019; 1/27/2020; 5/27/2020; 9/28/2020; 1/26/2021; 5/26/2021; 9/28/2021; 1/26/2022; 5/26/2022
*Student Opportunity NASA ARMD University Student Research Challenge (USRC)
University Student Research Challenge seeks to challenge students to propose new aeronautics ideas/concepts that are relevant to NASA Aeronautics. USRC will provide students, from accredited U.S. colleges or universities, with grants for their projects and it includes the challenge of raising a modest amount of cost share funds through crowdfunding platform. The process of creating and preparing a crowdfunding campaign acts as a teaching accelerator - requiring students to act like entrepreneurs and taking action. Crowdfunding also raises awareness about students’ research among the public. The solicitation goal can be accomplished through project ideas such as advancing the design, developing technology or capabilities in support of aviation, by demonstrating a novel concept, or enabling advancement of aeronautics-related technologies. There have been a number of changes from the previous USRC pilot project, including NASA providing a larger share of funds and half of that being provided upfront. Notices of Intent (NOIs) are not required for this solicitation.
Application due dates: 10/31/2019, 2/26/2020, 6/24/2020
The ORNL Distinguished Staff Fellowships are awarded to outstanding early-career scientists and engineers with demonstrated success within their academic, professional, and technical areas, who have high potential to be future science leaders. These highly competitive fellowships are available across a variety of research disciplines, including materials, nuclear, neutrons, and computation. Distinguished Staff Fellows (DSFs) are expected to conduct scientific research of the highest quality and impact during their 3-year tenure appointment, become leaders in their fields, and be effective representatives of the Laboratory in their interactions with colleagues and with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and other sponsors of R&D at ORNL. A key aspect of this fellowship program is a mentorship plan that is designed to facilitate the successful integration of each DSF into ORNL’s scientific community and the alignment of each fellow’s research activities with DOE missions. DSFs are expected to establish the foundation for a long-term career at ORNL. Applicants must have received their PhD in a STEM field before they begin a fellowship and can be no more than 5 years beyond receiving their doctorate when they apply. Applicants selected to become DSFs will be named to one of three fellowships, based on their scientific background.
Application deadline: 11/1/2019*
*Please note that the opportunity may close prior to this deadline if a qualified candidate is identified and/or hired.
*Student Opportunity* North Carolina Sea Grant and N.C. Coastal Reserve Coastal Research Fellowship
The North Carolina Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve (Coastal Reserve) and North Carolina Sea Grant are accepting applications for the 2020 North Carolina Coastal Research Fellowship. The fellowship provides North Carolina-based graduate students with an opportunity to conduct research within one or more of the 10 sites that constitute the Coastal Reserve. Using the reserve sites as a research platform, fellows must conduct hypothesis-based research that addresses coastal management issues in one or more of the broad focus areas outlined in the RFP. One fellowship of $10,000 is anticipated for 2020. Only graduate students in good academic standing, attending an accredited North Carolina university or college are eligible to apply.
Application due date: 11/13/2019 by 5 p.m.
The SCGSR program supports supplemental awards to outstanding U.S. graduate students to conduct part of their graduate thesis research at a DOE national laboratory/facility in collaboration with a DOE laboratory scientist for a period of 3 to 12 consecutive months—with the goal of preparing graduate students for scientific and technical careers critically important to the DOE Office of Science mission.The SCGSR program is open to current Ph.D. students in qualified graduate programs at accredited U.S. academic institutions, who are conducting their graduate thesis research in targeted areas of importance to the DOE Office of Science. The research opportunity is expected to advance the graduate students’ overall doctoral thesis/dissertation while providing access to the expertise, resources, and capabilities available at the host DOE laboratories/facilities.
Application due date: 11/14/2019
NIGMS will support creative educational activities designed to equip a diverse cohort of participants with the technical, operational, and professional skills required for careers in the biomedical research workforce. Programs can target trainee communities from undergraduate students through junior faculty levels. Funded programs are expected to have robust evaluation, outreach, dissemination, and sustainability plans. Projects should include both courses for skills development and mentoring activities. Proposals are limited to $500,000 direct costs/year for up to 5 years.
Application due dates: 10/31/2019, 10/15/2020, 10/15/2021
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences looks to accelerate multidisciplinary research projects studying the effects of environmental chemicals on maternal physiology, and endocrine and metabolic functions during and shortly after pregnancy, as well as potential long-term maternal health effects caused by environmental exposures. This program will consider both animal model studies and human-based studies that leverage existing cohorts and biorepositories. Proposals are limited to $300,000 direct costs/year for 5 years.
Application due date: 12/6/2019
*New NIH: Notice of Special Interest: Nutrigenetics and Nutrigenomics Approaches for Nutrition Research
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health are expressing interest in collaborations between nutrition researchers and experts in ‘omics technologies. Applications should be submitted through one of the standard Parent Announcements for R01 grants. Although there are no set-aside funds for the program, interested investigators in this area are strongly encouraged to contact the program officers identified in the announcement before submitting an application.
Application due dates: between 2/5/2020 and 1/8/2022
*New NIH/FDA: Tobacco Regulatory Science (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)
This program is administered by NIH to address research topics identified by the US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products. This year, the following topics have been identified as scientific interest areas: 1) Chemistry & Engineering, 2) Toxicology, 3) Addiction, 4) Health Effects, 5) Behavior, 6) Communications, 7) Marketing Influences, and 8) Impact Analysis. Application budgets are limited to $300,000 direct cost per year, for up to 3 years.
Application due dates: 2/13/2020, 7/17/2020, 2/13/2021
Fourteen Institutes and Centers of NIH are releasing this program as part of NIH’s Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network (OppNet). Each of the 14 participating institutes has included areas of specific interest within the general topic of social connectedness, including understanding how disabilities/health conditions may impact social connectedness, understanding how social isolation leads to conditions like addiction or depression, and understanding basic neurophysiological and biomolecular processes impacted by social isolation or connectedness. Projects do not have a specific budget limit and should be 2-5 years in length. There is a sister funding opportunity announcement, PAR-19-384 (https://grants.nih.gov/
Application due dates: 3/17/2020, 3/17/2021
A unique strength of North Carolina Sea Grant is the ability to test new ideas, augment ongoing research efforts, stimulate innovation and respond to short-range, critical needs. To do so, Sea Grant provides minigrants when funds are available. Support goes to small projects costing less than $10,000, to allow scientists to gather samples and data when time is of the essence. The minigrant award may allow investigators to gather initial information or pilot test a whole new line of inquiry. Such early findings can subsequently spur major research and outreach efforts funded by other sources.
