Seed Grants

Seed Grant Applications Now Open

The Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain is pleased to announce its FY25 annual seed grant competition. There are two award mechanisms that will be supported in the current year, one for graduate students/trainees/fellows and one for faculty:.

There are two award mechanisms to be supported, one for graduate students/trainees/fellows and one for faculty:

MIDB Graduate Student, Postdoctoral Fellow, and Medical Fellow Research Awards:

Up to 5 awards; awards can be proposed for any amount up to 20k ($100k total to be awarded)

These awards are intended to encourage trainees’ research by providing support to graduate students or fellows (postdocs or medical fellows) who are pursuing training in child development, psychology, neuroscience, cell biology or a related discipline. Human as well as preclinical studies are encouraged. Of note, these awards are also intended to support post-Ph.D./M.D. trainees. The proposed work must be consistent with the mission of the MiDB (https://midb.umn.edu/) and preferably conducted at the MiDB*. Cross-departmental and/or interdisciplinary collaborative work is highly encouraged but not required for the trainee award, and applicants must indicate who is advising/mentoring their work.

Application instructions:

A. Please submit the following by May 15, 2024:

1. Letter of intent with your name, your home department, the tentative title of your project, the names or your research mentors and their affiliations, and if warranted which MIDB service hubs will be utilized to facilitate the research.
The letter of intent allows us to gauge how many applications we will receive as well as which service hubs will be engaged. A budget estimate for hub services will be provided to you prior to the June 30 deadline.

B. Please submit the following by June 28, 2024 as an integrated pdf document:

1. Research proposal (limited to 3 single-spaced pages; 0.5 inch margins; 11 pt Ariel or Times New Roman font); include your study aims, background, methods, and data analytic plan.
2. Which MIDB hubs will be utilized to facilitate the research? Use of MIDB hub services is encouraged but not required for the trainee award. Descriptions of these services can be found on the MIDB web page. If your proposal does not necessitate support from any of the service hubs, state why/how you already have the support you need. (½ page)
3. Applications should provide a statement of how the work fits the mission of the MIDB (½ page) and confirm whether the study will take place at MIDB.
4. Updated CV
5. Current transcript if you are a graduate student (this can be an unofficial transcript)
6. Letter of endorsement from proposed mentor(s)-1 page.
7. Detailed budget and budget justification with timeline
8. Please include information regarding the project’s IRB/IACUC status.
Note that budgets cannot include funds for graduate student support/stipends or for faculty salaries. Applicants may propose a one-year or a two-year research plan. Within your budget justification, please indicate the support, if any, that you will need from MIDB (e.g., technician time; scanning hours; EEG facility – if you include funds for the service hub be sure to budget for the hub PM).

MIDB Interdisciplinary Faculty Research Awards

Proposals may request up to $100k in support to fund two years of work; up to $400k will be allocated

MiDB Faculty Research grants are intended to encourage exploratory/developmental research by providing support for early stages of project development that could lead to subsequent externally funded projects (e.g., NIH R21 or R01 grants). Proposals can involve preclinical or human research but should have direct application to the mission of the MiDB (https://midb.umn.edu/). Faculty from all ranks are eligible to apply. Budgets of up to $50,000 per year for 2 years ($100k total) will be considered. You must have a position that is in a faculty track to apply for this award.
Projects must be interdisciplinary, involving faculty or personnel from at least two departmental units and must utilize the services of at least two MiDB research hubs.

Application instructions:

A. Please submit the following by May 15, 2024:

1. Letter of intent with your name, your home department, the tentative title of your project, and which MIDB hubs will be utilized to facilitate the research.
The letter of intent allows us to gauge how many applications we will receive as well as which service hubs will be engaged.

B. Please submit the following by June 28, 2024 as an integrated pdf document:

1. Research proposal (limited to 3 single-spaced pages; 0.5 inch margins; 11pt Ariel or Times New Roman font); within the proposal, include a detailed description of the project (aims, background, methods, data analytic plan).
2. Which MIDB hubs will be utilized to facilitate the research? Use of MIDB hub services is strongly encouraged. Descriptions of these services can be found on the MIDB web page under the “Research” tab.(½ page).
3. Applications should provide a statement of how the work fits the mission of the MIDB (½ page) and confirm whether the study will take place at MIDB.
4. NIH-formatted biosketch for each faculty member involved in the proposal; clearly indicate the affiliations of each faculty collaborator.
5. Detailed budget and budget justification with timeline.
6. For all participating faculty, please list sources of non-sponsored funding available for your use and current balances.
7. Please include information regarding the project’s IRB/IACUC status.
Note that budgets cannot include funds for graduate student support/stipends or for faculty salaries. Applicants may propose a one-year or a two-year research plan. Within your budget
justification, please indicate the support that you will need, if any, from MIDB and which MIDB services will be utilized., if any, from MIDB and which MIDB services will be utilized.

Provisions for both award types:

*1. Priority will be given to work that will be conducted at the MIDB unless it is impossible to use the facility for data collection (e.g., a hospitalized sample is being studied; the work is preclinical bench work; a sample is being assessed in a community setting).
2. The project must be registered with the MIDB.
3. Human clinical, cognitive or affective scientific studies are encouraged as are preclinical studies that contribute to our understanding of the developing organism. Work that has clinical implications or that includes community partners is especially encouraged.
4. Two year awards will be allocated unless the budget stipulates a one-year plan; a one year no-cost extension will be available; you must provide a detailed budget for each year of support.
5. The proposed work must fit the overall mission of the MiDB.
8. Funds cannot be used to support investigator/graduate student salaries/stipends or summer salaries. Funds may be used to support laboratory personnel. Faculty must include a list of non-sponsored funds available for their use and whether these funds will be used to support the proposed work. Cost-sharing is encouraged.
9. Note that the services of the MIDB service hubs are provided at cost to investigators (e.g., technician time; MRI scanning hours). A budget for these services, if utilized, should be part of your proposal and you must indicate as part of your submitted letter of intent that you have started to plan for this component of this work. If you have questions about this aspect of your budget, please contact the relevant hub leads for further information.
Please do not wait until the last minute to seek guidance regarding hub services or associated costs. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to accommodate your request.
10. Applicants must be active members of the MiDB. Information about MIDB membership can be found on the MIDB website (under the “About”) tab.
11. Funds will not be allocated until IRB/IACUC approval is obtained. 12. We anticipate that awards will be allocated in the late summer with start dates to begin around September 1, 2024. 13. To submit your application, please email all requested components to this address: [email protected] Please include a subject heading of “MIDB seed grant application attached”. If you have questions, contact Brie Katterjohn, MIDB Research Administrative Associate at [email protected].

REVIEW / EVALUATION

The review will be coordinated/administered by J. Elison and M. Georgieff. All grants will be reviewed by at least two faculty members. A short-list of submissions will be identified and invited for technical meetings with service hub leads/PMs relevant to their project. Research
Advisory Council Members will then consider the short list of submissions along with a detailed SOW generated by the service hubs and make final funding decisions.