Research>Faculty Research

Dean's Faculty Research Fund

Objective

The Dean's Fund for Faculty Research was established for the purpose of helping to enhance the research resources available to the Faculty at NYU Dentistry so as to improve the quality of research and increase their potential to obtain outside funding. There have been some changes in the guidelines for this fund this year so please take note. Although similar categories for funding still exist, the emphasis is different. A major change is that there is no deadline. The Office of Research will accept grant applications throughout the year.

The following are priority categories in which the Research Policy Committee encourages applications

Advanced external review for new investigators or new areas of investigation

The Office of Research is making available a process for outside review of grant applications prior to submission to a federal agency. This can be done at any time throughout the year. If you turn in a completed NIH or NSF-style grant to the Office of Research, it will be distributed to qualified external reviewers and written reviews will be obtained as soon as possible. This will help new investigators or those embarking upon a new area of research by getting a high-quality review without prejudice. Based on this review the faculty member will be eligible to apply to the Dean's Fund for funding to improve the quality of the proposal (see below).

Bridge Funding or Seed Money

There is need for a mechanism for both seed money and "bridge" funding. Considering the fact that the College has limited resources, the first priority is to help those individuals who have applied for federal funding and have a good review, but need additional data in order to improve the grant. Thus, individuals or groups that have submitted a grant and received a summary statement that indicates that more work needs to be done to improve the proposal may submit a request to the Dean's Fund. This also includes those who have taken advantage of the review process described above.

Submission requirements are

  1. a copy of the previously submitted grant,
  2. the summary statement from the granting agency,
  3. a 3-5 page response to the criticisms of the reviews with the proposed changes the PI plans to make,
  4. a budget necessary to accomplish the proposed experiments,
  5. an expected time line for completion of the proposed studies and submission of the grant. The Research Policy Committee will review the proposal and decide upon funding. If external expertise is needed we will add members to the committee for the purpose of review.

Pilot Studies

Funding for small-scale feasibility studies is still available. Typically awards will be in the range of $2,000 - $5,000 and should be for pilot studies for new ideas with high impact potential and a good potential for obtaining extramural funding. This is not designed to fund continuation studies or to supplement ongoing projects.

The proposal should be limited to five (5) single spaced pages. The following is a suggested format.

  1. Specific aims - ½ p.
  2. Background information - 1-1 ½ p.
  3. Methods - 2-2 ½ p.
  4. Significance of the research - ½ p.
  5. Other support:  

List any other projects, either funded or pending, including the title, budget, the funding agency and the project period. Briefly indicate the nature of the project; and if there is any overlap with the proposed research, clearly describe the overlapping areas and estimate the percentage of budgetary overlap.

Matching funds for shared instrumentation

There is a need for matching funds for shared instrumentation grants. Some agencies like NSF want to see as much as a dollar for dollar match, while others like NIH want to see long-term service contract or technical support as a match. The Research Policy Committee will entertain requests for matching support for shared instrumentation grants. The Committee will also entertain requests for matching funds for shared instrumentation where the investigators have raised money from other sources such as department and / or division heads, foundations, companies or their own grants

Typical awards

The goal is to supply enough money to highly meritorious proposals (those with a high likelihood of leading to external funding) to make them competitive for funding. Thus no minimum or maximum exists; however, reasonableness of the budget is a review criterion (see below). Only under unusual circumstances will an award be made in excess of $25,000. The typical duration of the award is one year, with all unexpended funds reverting to back to the Dean's Fund at the end of the award period.

Eligibility

Only a full-time faculty can be a Principal Investigator (PI) on the proposal. The PI may collaborate with adjunct faculty.

Requirements

Recipients of an award will be required to submit a progress report at the end of the study and are expected to apply for outside funding (e.g., NIH, industry) within a year of completing the research.

Button: display or hide Format of Application

A)  ALL TEXT SINGLE SPACED 12 PT. TYPE - 1" MARGINS.

B)  Cover page to state the following:

  • Project Title
  • Type of application
  • Name of PI
  • Name of Co-PI
  • Date of Submission
  • Amount Requested
  • Period of Study
  • Signatures of PI, Co-PI, and Division Head

C)  Budget: The budget is primarily for the purchase of supplies and/or small equipment directly connected to the project. A detailed budget and justification needs to accompany each project.
EXCLUDED ARE: PI salary, travel, publication costs, consulting fees, routine clinical supplies; however, salary for technical support is appropriate.

D)  If the study involves human subjects, approval must be obtained from the Human Subjects Committee (IRB). Applications are available on the Office of Clinical Trials Development web page. One copy of the Dean's Fund for Research Award Information and Guidelines and the Human Subjects Application submitted to the IRB committee, must accompany your Dean's Fund Research Application. Funding will not be made until final approval is received.

E)  For animal studies, both the faculty and the protocol, must be certified by the Office of Laboratory Animal Services (OLAS) and the University Animal Welfare Committee (UAWC). A copy of the Animal Approval Application submitted to the University Animal Welfare Committee (UAWC) must accompany your Dean's Fund for Faculty Research Application. Forms are available on the NYU Office of Laboratory Animal Services (OLAS) web page. Funding will not be made until final approval is received.  

Button: display or hide Criteria for review

Although not necessarily all-inclusive, the proposed research projects are evaluated for:

  1. Scientific excellence, including innovation and novelty of the idea and approach.
  2. Probability of leading to external support
  3. Reasonableness of the budget
  4. Has the PI tried or been successful in leveraging support from other sources such as the department, division or a foundation?
  5. For shared instrument support, list proposed users, with a brief description of how the instrument will contribute to the user's research programs and the research mission of the College.  

 

Final Report

At the conclusion of the project, the PI must submit a progress report (usually not more than two pages) including a summary of results (both positive and negative) and a list and copies of any papers, abstracts and grants submitted. Future funding is contingent upon receiving a progress report.