SEED MONEY PROGRAM

Advanced Center for Intervention and Services Research
for Late-Life Mood Disorders (ACISR/LLMD)

OBJECTIVES

The Seed Money Program is designed to promote and encourage innovative research in order to stimulate the research careers of young scientists and enable senior scientists to pursue novel lines of scientific inquiry. The Seed Money Program is sponsored by the Advanced Center for Intervention and Services Research for Late-Life Mood Disorders (ACISR/LLMD; Principal Investigator:  Charles F. Reynolds III, M.D.) to provide support of pilot research efforts by faculty, staff, and students interested in the study of disorders appropriate to the funding Center’s mission. Emphasis is placed on the scientific merit of the research and the overall value of the project to the funding Center. It is anticipated that successful seed projects will be developed into NIH career development and individual research project applications (K awards and R01, R03, R21, and R34 awards). Funds are available in the range of $10,000 to $20,000 for a one or two year study.

SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL

• Prior to submitting a proposal for review, interested applicants should discuss proposal ideas with the Center Director, Dr. Charles Reynolds, to ensure that the proposal is consonant with the goals and mission of the LLMD. 
• The applicant should then submit a formal letter of intent to the Seed Money Program Coordinator.
• Applicants will be notified within two weeks as to whether they have been approved to submit a proposal.
• Trainees (graduate students, postdoctoral students), staff, and faculty at junior ranks (e.g., instructor, assistant professor) should work with their primary mentor who must later provide written assurance that he or she has read the final version of the proposal and judges it to be ready for peer review.
• Approved applicants should prepare a proposal in NIH format as detailed below and submit 10 copies to the Seed Money Program Coordinator at least two weeks prior to the next meeting of the Seed Money Review Committee.  Please click on the link for the committee’s review procedures.
• Proposals reviewed by the Seed Money Review Committee do not need to be reviewed by the WPIC Research Committee – one or the other review is adequate for fulfilling the requirements of the department.

PROPOSAL PREPARATION

Proposals should follow the instructions below, using the PHS398 guidelines as outlined below. 

1. Cover page naming Principal Investigator, Co-investigators,  primary mentor (if required), proposal title, proposed start and end dates
2. Abstract
3. Budget and budget justification with documentation of the source of supplemental funding if applicable
4. Principal Investigator’s curriculum vita and biographical sketch with other support
5. Biographical sketches for co-investigators outside the Department of Psychiatry only
6. Research plan  (sections “a” through “d” must not exceed five pages)

1. Specific aims
2. Background and significance
3. Preliminary studies (if applicable)
4. Research design and methods
5. Human subjects (including subject population, sources of research material, recruitment and consent procedures, potential risks, risk management procedures, gender and minority inclusion statement, and evaluation of risk/benefit ratio)
6. Vertebrate animals (if applicable)
7. Literature cited

7. Appendix (only include additional material that would significantly enhance understanding of the research focus)
    

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR FOR CARRYING OUT APPROVED PROPOSALS

Once an applicant receives funding approval from the LLMD, he or she is responsible for:

1. obtaining IRB approval
2. managing the budget with the Office of Grants and Contracts, in conjunction with the LLMD Center administrator,  Kathy Slomka, 412-246-6455, slomkaka@upmc.edu
3. execution of the research plan according to the approved protocol
4. submission of progress reports every six months from the start date of funding
5. submission of a final report two months after the end date of funding

PROGRESS AND FINAL REPORTS

A progress report should be submitted to the Seed Money Program Coordinator every six months from the start date of funding. Progress reports should briefly (1-2 pages) detail study progress as described in the PHS2590 guidelines, including: 

• a brief presentation of the accomplishments on the research project during the reporting period
• number of subjects enrolled, currently in study, completed, and dropped out during the reporting period and since the start date of funding
• changes made to research methods and why
• obstacles encountered and solutions
• funds spent to date

A final report should be submitted to the Seed Money Program Coordinator within 60 days of the end date of funding and should include:

• summary of progress toward the achievement of the originally stated aims
• a list of significant results (positive or negative)
• total number of subjects enrolled, completed, and dropped out
• a list of publications (submitted and published)
• a list of grant applications submitted and received since the start date of the project 

All progress and final reports will be forwarded to the LLMD.

SEED MONEY PROGRAM COORDINATOR

For further information, contact Neil DeWeese
E-1130 WPIC
412-246-5302 (phone)
412-246-5300 (fax)
deweesend@upmc.edu

 

Revised by VJG 10-31-06