Do you have buzzing around in your head
the Next Big Thing in biomedical research, some revolutionary and innovative
breakthrough? If so, NIH wants to hear it, by 28 October.
NIH announced
last Friday this year's competition for Exceptional Unconventional
Research Enabling Knowledge Acceleration (EUREKA) awards. With EUREKA, NIH seeks
"unusually bold and potentially transformative research ... that, if successful,
will have an unusually high impact on the areas of science that are germane to
the mission of one or more of the participating NIH Institutes." To underscore
NIH's seriousness about breaking the mold, it has set up new proposal
requirements and reviewing procedures.
EUREKA is a joint undertaking of
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), the National Cancer
Institute (NCI), the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institute
on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the National Institute of Dental and
Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), the National institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and the National Library of Medicine
(NLM). For proposals to even get in the door, they need to address the goals of
these participating institutes. The announcement recommends including cover
letters to one or more institutes spelling out the relevance of the proposals to
the institutes' work.
Proposal requirements for EUREKA
funding generally follow the basic R01 procedures, but have a few novel wrinkles
all their own. Research plans are limited to eight pages and must be
self-contained. No appendices are allowed, but a one-page 'Literature Cited'
section may be added. Biosketches of each research team member cannot exceed
four pages, with no more than 10 publications cited. The announcement suggests
that those citations include the most risky and innovative projects undertaken
(and brought to fruition) by the investigators. And you better get your proposal
right the first time; no updates are accepted.
NIH will convene special
interdisciplinary study sections to review EUREKA proposals. While the reviewers
will consider a series of factors in making their recommendations, significance
and innovation are the important variables ...
- NIH explains 'significance' with questions, such as: "Does this study address an important problem? If the aims of the application are achieved, how will scientific knowledge or clinical practice be advanced? What will be the effect of these studies on the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field?"
- For EUREKA reviewers, 'innovation' covers the degree to which the research ideas challenge existing paradigms or methods.
- NIH explains 'significance' with questions, such as: "Does this study address an important problem? If the aims of the application are achieved, how will scientific knowledge or clinical practice be advanced? What will be the effect of these studies on the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field?"
- For EUREKA reviewers, 'innovation' covers the degree to which the research ideas challenge existing paradigms or methods.
Another difference from the usual R01
proposal: There's only one proposal due date, 28 October 2008, not the usual
three dates per year. Letters of intent are due on 29 September; while not
required, they are highly recommended.
GrantsNet has an overview
of this year's EUREKA announcement. NIH's Web site has the full
details.
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