CBC COVID-19 Response Award

Updated: March 28, 2022

Overview:

Funding Opportunity Title: CBC COVID-19 Response Award

Funding Opportunity Purpose: To support team Program Projects that engage investigators from all three CBC institutions (including Northwestern University (NU), The University of Chicago (UChicago) and the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC)) to address SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 biomedical research. The projects must be directed to, but not exclusive to, viral detection, antiviral and vaccine approaches, and cellular responses to viral infection.

Program Manager: Nancy Tyrrell, CBC Associate Director, Translational Activities, Email: nancy.tyrrell@northwestern.edu

Application Process: The CBC COVID-19 Response Award application is a two-step process and requires submission of a Letter of Intent (LOI) first. All eligible LOIs will follow with a submission of a Complete Application (Proposal).

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Request for Applications:

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The CBC COVID-19 Response Award supports Program-Project type proposals in which teams of scientists from all three CBC Institutions propose groundbreaking, exceptionally innovative, original, and/or unconventional research with the potential to create new scientific approaches for the detection of SARS CoV-2 and treatment of COVID-19. No preliminary data are required. Projects must clearly demonstrate a compelling potential to make an impact on SARS-CoV-2 prevention and response. Clinical trials are not supported.

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Funding Opportunity Description:

• This mechanism will support the funding of cross-institutional Program Project Grants that come from teams of scientists from the CBC Institutions to develop novel scientific solutions on SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19.

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Award Information:

• We expect to fund up to three awards of $500,000 each.
• The total period can extend up to two years.

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Eligibility Information:

• Tenure-track / tenured faculty at CBC Institutions are eligible.
• An applicant can be a Co-PI on only one grant application.
• Each team must be comprised of at least three PIs representing the three CBC-supported universities, each of whom contributes substantially to the group effort.

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Application and Submission Information:

1. Letter of Intent (LOI)




• The LOI should include an LOI Title Page (download FROM HERE, revised June 22, 2020), to be filled out and appended as page one of the LOI. The second page (please note limit to a single page ONLY) should include Project Summary/Abstract and Project Specific Aims.
• Attach an NIH-styled resume for each of the three CBC-university PIs.
2. Complete Application (Proposal)




The complete application is limited to 10 pages and should follow standard NIH guidelines. The 10 pages of the application should include:

• Proposal Title Page (download FROM HERE, revised June 26, 2020) appended as page one of the application.
• Lay Project Summary/Abstract (100 words max.).
• Specific Aims.
• Research Strategy (Significance, Innovation, Approach).
• Research Team Description.
  • Up to one page should be devoted to details of the construction of the team, structure and nature of the team interactions, and how the team design will promote longer-term collaborative benefits.
  • Proposals will be assessed on the basis that the proposal reflects the expertise and contributions of all members of the team.
• Plan to Develop the Proposal into an NIH Grant.
  • The request for support is intended to be a rapid start for the proposed research. Please describe how the team’s research will continue and be developed into an R01 or P01 (up to two pages).
• Project Timeline.

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In addition to the 10 pages of the proposal described above, the following pages/documents should be attached at the end of the application:

• References.
• Budget and Budget Justification.
  • By special arrangement with the Research Administration Offices at the CBC universities, the three CBC institutions have waived all indirect costs and it is not necessary to obtain institutional endorsement of proposals before they are submitted to the CBC. However, the CBC may share proposals with Research Administrators during the review process, and the CBC will require institutional endorsements before any final funding decisions are made. The proposed research activities and budget requests must thus be within institutional guidelines in order for a proposal to be successful. (Note: PIs may claim up to 2% effort/salary relief. Graduate student tuition and tuition remission is not allowed on CBC awards. Award funds cannot be used for correlative studies associated with ongoing clinical trials.) All expenses from a single institution should be entered on a university-specific budget form (fillable PDF) downloadable from here: NU budget form, UChicago budget form, UIC budget form. Additional continuation pages may be used as needed for Budget Justification.
  • The scope of work for each PI must be stated in the Budget Justification, including the research that will be carried out in the PI’s laboratory.
  • No CBC funds may be used to support work done outside the three CBC institutions, although the team itself can be involved in national/international SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 work.
• Biosketches.
  • All key personnel should be indicated and provide standard NIH-styled biosketches (download blank format page FROM HERE).
  • Other Support (both current and pending) should be included in the PIs NIH Biosketches.

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Letter of Intent (LOI) and Complete Application (Proposal) Submission:

LOIs and Complete Applications MUST be submitted online. The CBC COVID-19 Response Award LOI / Complete Application submission portals will close at 5:00 PM on the days indicated in the Key Dates section above. Please designate one of the PIs as a contact person on the team. The contact person will be responsible for submitting both the LOI and the Complete Application.

LOIs and Complete Applications (Proposals) MUST be prepared according to the guidelines listed above. All pages and documents listed above should be assembled into a SINGLE PDF document (portfolios will NOT be accepted) in the order listed. LOIs and Proposals MUST have a respective LOI or Proposal Title Page appended as page one of the PDF. Name the respective LOI and Proposal PDF files with the last names of the three main PIs listed on the application (e.g. LOI_covid_smith_williams_jackson.pdf and PROPOSAL_covid_smith_williams_jackson.pdf). LOIs and Proposals not conforming to the above guidelines will NOT BE ACCEPTED.

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STATUS: CBC COVID-19 Response Award LOI submission portal is now CLOSED.

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If you have questions, please contact: