Interdisciplinary Team Science (ITS) Pilot Program

Program Description

  • Interdisciplinary Team Science Pilot Program grants are intended to provide resources to assist facultymembers in developing new research projects with an emphasis on interdisciplinary science, according to the following criteria:
  • research projects should involve the synergistic collaboration of 2 or more investigators,ideally from different disciplines or areas of study;
  • research projects should represent new and distinct research areas where the applicant research team has no current funding or publications;
  • new and/or expanded direction(s) for existing research programs, where such directions are made possible by collaboration;
  • The ultimate goal for the ITS Pilot Program is to facilitate the creation of new project teams who can develop new interdisciplinary research programs and obtain extramural funding for a Team Science Proposal, Program Project and/or Center grants.

Eligibility

All full-time Faculty at the University of Miami, are eligible, however, at least one of the Project Directors/Lead PIs must hold a primary appointment at the Miller School of Medicine. Allsubmissions must represent collaborative projects and include at least two (2) faculty members from differentdisciplines, even if from the same department or center;applicants should have a track record of independent research and successful funding at the national level.

A Project Director/Lead PI or Co-PIs must provide heavy intellectual merit to be considered for an ITS Pilot Program. Multiple PDs/PIs on a project share the authority and responsibility for leading and directing the project, intellectually and logistically.A collaborator who provides a technical or limited service will not be considered as a Co-PI.

Review Criteria

The SAC considers the following aspects of the application:

  • the scientific merit, as well as the interdisciplinary approach, of the proposed studies (importance of the problem, originality of approach, appropriateness of techniques and clarity of presentation);
  • the prospect that the studies supported by SAC funding will result in successful applications for extramural funding;
  • the qualifications, experience and productivity of the collaborators; and
  • the availability of matching funds.

Budget and TermsAward

The terms of the ITS Pilot Program grants are for one year and provide the following levels of support:

  • 2 Collaborative PIs can request up to $50,000
  • 3+ Collaborative PIs can request up to $75,000

The ITS Pilot Program grants are intended to be flexible and can be used to fill a variety of needs including salaries for technical personnel, supplies and other miscellaneous items required to conduct the proposed research. Requests to support travel, conferences, computers and other equipment are not encouraged, but can be considered on a special needs basis and must be well justified.

Support for faculty salary is not permitted, but the percent effort that the PIs and other personnel will spend on the project should be stated in the budget and will be considered as matching funds (cost share). Budgets should be realistic and include a detailed justification for all items including percent effort by investigators.

Progress Reporting

To track the success of each program, funded investigators are required to submit a final financial progress report within three months after the end of the award period and within one year a detailed report on the information described below.

At the completion of the award term, awardees must submit:

  1. A detailed summary of research performed during the period of the award;
  2. A list of grants, both submitted and funded supported by the award;
  3. A bibliography of all publications, both submitted and accepted, and presentations, both posters and talks; and
  4. Applicants must commit to submitting an external funding proposal for the ITS Project within 12 months after the award terminates. A copy of the external application must be submitted to the Miller Office of Research and Innovative Medicine.

These data are compiled and submitted to the Faculty Council, the Executive Dean for Research and Research Training, and the Dean in support of SAC’s future budgetary requests.

Application Instructions

  • The application pages should be completed using Arial 11-point font and each page should have no less than 0.5 inch margins.
  • Be sure to adhere to the page limitations noted for each section of the application.
  • Be sure to include the Project Director/Lead PI or Co-PIs names in the header on each page of the application.
  • The application should be in the following sequence and numbered consecutively:
  • A completed SAC cover sheet (including abstract);
  • The SAC budget form including justifications for each category and item requested;
  • A description of any available matching funds (cost share);
  • Leadership Plan – Describe therationale for choosing a multiple-PD/PI approach. The governance and organizational structure of the leadership team and the research project should be described, including communication plans, process for making decisions on scientific direction, and procedures for resolving conflicts. The roles and administrative, technical, and scientific responsibilities for the project or program should be delineated for each of the PDs/PIs and other collaborators.
  • Current NIH biosketch for the Project Director/Lead PI and Co-investigator(s) including current and pending support (both external and institutional) and any indication of scientific overlap;
  • Brief explanation of how the proposed study will impact the submission of a new grant application, including strategic planning for pursuing extra-mural funding (sources, funding mechanism) an outline of how the data generated with the ITS Pilot Program will support the provisional specific aims of the future grant application; and
  • A research plan, including tables and figures if relevant, organized in the following fashion (no more than 6 pages of single spaced, Arial 11-point type with at least 0.5 inch margins):

a)A statement of the scientific significance and novelty of the project and how the proposed work is interdisciplinary (1 page limit)

b)Specific Aims/Objectives

c)Background & Rationale

d)Preliminary Data

e)Approach and Methods

f)References and supporting materials (in addition to the 6 page limit)

  1. References
  2. Human Subjects, IRB, IACUC, ESCRO Approvals (if relevant)
  3. If a similar proposal has been reviewed and declined by an external funding agency, the reviews should be included as an appendix.
  4. Letters of Collaboration (if relevant)

The applicant must send the application as an e-mail attachment to: Ms. Karen Del Rio at . The subject line of the e-mail should read “ITS Pilot Application.”

Deadlines

Applications for pilot projects are reviewed on a monthly basis. Completed applications must be submitted by the 18th of the month preceding the review.