Limited Submission Internal Call Deadline: NIH Shared Instrumentation for Animal Research (SIFAR) Grant Program – S10

Limited Submissions: Internal Call for Proposals

National Institutes of Health

Shared Instrumentation for Animal Research (SIFAR) Grant Program (S10 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

UNC Internal deadline: 11:59PM, Monday, April 6, 2020

 

*Please distribute to relevant faculty*

Key Dates

UNC Internal Deadline: Monday, April 6, 2020 by 11:59PM

NIH Application Deadline: Monday, June 1, 2020

Important Information

• Number of Applications per Institution:  Only one SIFAR application per institution is allowed.

To Apply

Please submit the following information to Limited_Submissions@unc.edu by 11:59pm, Monday, April 6, 2020 in ONE PDF.  

1. Up to 2 page Justification of Need:
   1. Describe the requested instruments and define what research needs it meets
   2. Define the Major User Group and sample NIH funded projects that the instrument would support
   3. Justify the need for the specific requested instruments.
   4. Explain why the chosen models and their manufacturers are the most suitable for your user group. Importantly, demonstrate that each requested item is an integral component and is carefully selected to meet specific scientific objectives.
   5. Identify innovative experimental approaches and explain how incorporating the instruments will enhance currently funded research projects.
   6. Outline how the instrumentation will advance animal research. Describe IMPACT.
2. NIH Biosketch for the PI(s) and known Co-PIs
3. List of Major Users, Minor Users, their related grant and need/s for the instrument/s
4. 1,000 word maximum, (approximately two-page) Research Project Summary

1. • Separately describe Research Projects of ALL Major Users and select Minor Users
2. Letter of Institutional Commitment 
3. Names of three internal (to UNC) faculty experts who could speak knowledgeably about your research as part of an internal review panel, in the event of an internal review.

1. • Please do not include the names of faculty named on the project, chairs, deans, directors, direct reports or others who have a conflict of interest.
   • Please notify all potential internal reviewers before submitting the application to ORD.

Program Overview

The Shared Instrumentation for Animal Research (SIFAR) Grant Program invites groups of NIH-funded investigators engaged in biomedical research using animals to seek support for high-cost, state-of-the art, commercially available scientific instruments. All requested instruments must be used on a shared basis and enhance research that uses animals or related materials such as animal tissues, cells, or germplasm.

NIH-funded investigators use many different vertebrate and invertebrate animals in biomedical research, including worms, flies, fish, and rodents. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) supports instrumentation requests related to all animal species needed for NIH-supported biomedical research. NIH-funded investigators rely on a broad spectrum of technologies including nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers, mass spectrometers, DNA and protein sequencers, biosensors, electron and confocal microscopes, cell-sorters, and biomedical imagers. This FOA supports requests for all available technologies to enhance research using animals or related biological materials, such as tissue, cells, or germplasm, for the ultimate benefit of human health.

All requests must be justified by the needs of NIH-funded projects and must demonstrate how the instruments will enhance the conduct of animal research and strengthen scientific outcomes. Priority will be given to specialized clusters of instruments and uniquely configured systems to support innovative and potentially transformative animal research.

In summary, this FOA seeks requests to purchase state-of-the-art commercially available instruments that are to be used on a shared basis and are needed by NIH-funded investigators engaged in biomedical research using animals or related biological materials such as animal tissues, cells, or germplasm.

Instruments must be used for research purposes only. Foreign-made equipment is allowable.

The SIFAR Program will not support requests for:

• A single instrument;
• A series/cluster of instruments that does not include at least one instrument whose individual cost is at least $50,000;
• Any instrument in a cluster/series with a base cost of less than $20,000;
• Software, unless it is integrated in the operation of the instrument(s) and/or necessary for the generation of high-quality output experimental data from the instrument(s);
• Stand-alone workstations for data processing, software licenses, and duplicate software items;
• Purely instructional equipment, institutional administrative management systems, clinical management systems;
• Instruments to be used for clinical (billable) care;
• General purpose equipment (such as standard machine shop equipment), instruments to furnish a research facility (such as autoclaves, hoods, equipment to upgrade animal facilities), and equipment for routine sustaining infrastructure (such as standard computer networks or data storage systems).
• Disposable devices, office furniture, and supplies;
• Alteration or renovation of space to house the instruments.

  Applicants are advised to discuss with the SIFAR Scientific/Research Contact (See Section VII) any questions regarding eligibility, Program requirements, and appropriate configurations of integrated instrument systems or series of instruments to support a particular thematic workflow.

Eligibility

The PD/PI chosen for this application should have documented (in the biographical sketch) technical expertise directly related to the type of the chosen instruments. The PD/PI does not need to have an NIH research grant or any other research support but is expected to be an expert on the requested instrument. The PD/PI may be a core director, tenured, or non-tenured faculty member of the applicant organization. The PD/PI must be affiliated with the applicant organization and must be registered on eRA Commons.

Multiple PDs/PIs are not allowed under the S10 mechanism.

Award Information

Maximum Award Amount: $750,000

 

Award Project Period: Awards are made for one year only.

 

Award Details: Applications will be accepted for commercially available instruments only. At least one item of the requested instrumentation must cost at least $50,000, after all applicable discounts. No instrument in a cluster can cost less than $20,000, after all applicable discounts. There is no upper limit on the cost of each instrument, but the maximum award is $750,000 of direct costs. Since the cost of the various instruments will vary, it is anticipated that the amount of the award will also vary. S10 awards do not allow indirect costs.

 

Review Criteria

Internal Reviewers will be tasked with evaluating submissions to the program using the guidance provided by NIH in Section V. Application Review Information

Additional Information

Full Solicitation: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-20-112.html

 

For additional information, please contact the Limited Submissions Team with questions at Limited_Submissions@unc.edu.

 

 

 

Limited Submissions Team

Office of Research Development

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

308 Bynum Hall

Chapel Hill, NC 27599

(919) 962-7503