Graduate Research and Education in Adaptive Bio-Technology (GREAT) Training Grants

I. How it works

The application is two-part process:

1. A brief pre-proposal submitted by a University of California investigator is due in October.
    
2. In January, selected investigators (primary sponsors) are invited to submit full proposals. The deadline for full proposal submission is late July to early August. The UC BREP office will provide detailed information about the full proposal and interview process to those who are invited to submit full proposals.

II. Introduction and scope of initiative

The University of California Biotechnology Research and Education Program offers an innovative research training program that supports individual two-year training grants (up to $50,000 per grant per year) in the Graduate Research and Education in Adaptive Bio-Technology (GREAT) Training Program.

This GREAT Training Program supports the training of the brightest young graduate students within the University of California system in cutting-edge theoretical and experimental research at:

The interface between the life sciences and the physical, chemical, material, engineering, mathematical or computational sciences.

Indisputably novel ideas for research and training that do not strictly fall within those parameters but are within the broadly defined field of biotechnology will be considered.

The program focuses on training in the cross-disciplinary fields listed above. It is designed to:

• Take advantage of the outstanding research and training expertise throughout the University of California system.
   
• Encourage demonstrated cross-disciplinary collaborative endeavors.
   
• Provide the type of training environment that better prepares our students for careers in evolving interdisciplinary fields in industry, academia and government.

The GREAT Program anticipates funding 10-11 proposals for this highly competitive award. An award is granted for a two-year term with the second year of funding contingent upon satisfactory scientific progress and budget report and University of California Biotechnology Research and Education Program funding.

III. Pre-Proposal

Outstanding researchers of the University of California and the UC-administered national laboratories' scientific research community working at the interface of the disciplines as described above will be known as the Faculty sponsor(s).

The pre-proposal application consists of:

1. one primary Sponsor
    
2. one or more co-sponsor(s), and/or mentor(s)
    
3. one trainee nomination

A faculty Sponsor may be listed as the primary Sponsor on only one pre-proposal. This does not preclude co-sponsorship or mentorship on other pre-proposals. In addition, primary sponsors with currently funded GREAT grants may not receive concurrent funding for a second award. Applications for larger trainee groups will not be considered. (More on faculty sponsors below.)

The pre-proposal consists of the following parts in the order given below:

• Campus specification
   
• Name of primary sponsor
   
• Title of project
   
• Two 200-word abstracts--one scientific/technical (confidential) and one for public/lay audience (non-confidential)

No more than two pages addressing:

• The specific aims, scope and significance of the proposed research plan and of the training program environment indicating why it qualifies as novel and truly interdisciplinary
   
• The methods of approach and expected results and accomplishments for the nominated trainee
   
• The expected outcomes of the training grant to the interdisciplinary field in general
   
• How the Faculty Sponsors' specific research interests will be integrated into the research and training plan
   
(References may be submitted on a separate additional page.)

• Sponsor / Mentor identifying information
   
• Three-page Biographical sketches (NIH style) of primary sponsor, co-sponsor(s) and/or mentor(s)
   

• Candidate identifying information
   
• Academic history (degrees earned, institution, GPA, year awarded, discipline)
   
• Year entered current Ph.D. program
   
• GRE scores
   
• Research experience, publications, presentations, awards, industry experience
   

The signature page is to be mailed separately. (It is not submitted online.) The signature page will automatically populate with the pre-proposal identifying fields and will generate the page as soon as the pre-proposal is submitted. You may then print the page and obtain the necessary signatures for mailing. Alternatively, you may obtain a blank signature page in the upper right corner of the pre-proposal application by clicking "signature page" on the menu bar.

IV. Sponsor(s)

Outstanding members of the University of California (UC) and the UC-administered national laboratories' scientific research community working at the interface of the disciplines as described above will be known as the Sponsor(s). Note that the Primary Sponsor must hold a faculty appointment and have PI status at a UC campus. Co-Sponsors must be UC faculty and/or UC research scientists or hold other similar titles at the national laboratories.

Normally, two sponsors--one designated as the primary sponsor and one as the co-sponsor--from complementary disciplines will provide the required training for depth and breadth, and may nominate a candidate.

The primary sponsor provides major oversight, training and administration of the training grant, and coordinates the training for the selected trainee. The primary sponsor's role and the relationship with the cosponsor/mentor(s) must be fully developed and explained in the narrative of the full proposal. The primary sponsor must hold a faculty appointment and have prinicipal investigator status at a UC campus. The primary sponsor will be the administrative contact for the GREAT program, and his/her academic department will administer the funds. All program communication will be conducted with the primary sponsor.

We will accept nominations from a two sponsor team who demonstrates sufficient depth and breadth of expertise across disciplines. The co-sponsor is substantially involved in the training of the graduate student. The co-sponsor must demonstrate interest by providing a biographical sketch and signature on the signature page of the pre-proposal.

Primary sponsors and co-sponsors must:

• Demonstrate that they provide a training environment that satisfies the leading-edge, interdisciplinary requirements of the program.
   
• Be actively engaged in the planning, execution and supervision of the proposed research.
   
• Encourage the trainee to report the results of the research in scientific journals and meetings where the University of California Graduate Research and Education in Adaptive bio-Technology (GREAT) Training Program support is acknowledged.

Mentor

We will accept a pre-proposal from a single primary sponsor. However, for a single primary sponsor, a mentor or mentors--who will have less responsibility than a co-sponsor--is required to satisfy the requisite cross-disciplinary exposure. Mentors provide exposure to the cross-disciplinary component of the training. Mentors must demonstrate interest by providing a biographical sketch and signature on the signature page of the pre-proposal. Mentors need not have UC PI status. Mentors may be scientists from private industry in or out of the state of California.

V. Research areas identified as priorities for funding

To ensure an environment for non-traditional, cutting-edge, cross-disciplinary training, we are seeking proposals from investigators who display the greatest expertise and creativity working at the interface of complementary disciplines. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, such disciplines as:

• nanotechnology as it applies to the life sciences
   
• bio-computing
   
• biotic/abiotic hybrid electronics (e.g. integration of physical chemistry, electrical engineering and bio-molecules in novel biosensors)
   
• bio-materials
   
• tissue engineering (e.g. organ/machine interfaces, therapeutic-cell delivery though medical microdevices)
   
• fuel cells
   
• bio-devices/MEMS
   
• GRID computing in bioinformatics and molecular modeling
   
• nanoscale bio-imaging
   
• computation in the cognitive sciences

VI. Who are eligible GREAT nominees?

Graduate students of the University of California system pursuing research leading to an advanced degree may be nominated for a graduate trainee under the following criteria:

• Current standing as a graduate student of the University of California at the time of the award commencement regardless of year of study or citizenship (and preferably entering no later than the third year of the Ph.D. program).
   
• Nominated trainee and the trainee's UC Sponsor(s) concur with the trainee's research and training program.
   
• Nominated trainee and the trainee's UC Sponsor(s) agree with the terms and conditions of the GREAT Program.

Please note: Prior to the 2009-10 call for pre-proposals, the nomination of a candidate at the pre-proposal stage was optional. It is now mandatory that a candidate is nominated in the pre-proposal.

VII. Award Criteria

The Executive Committee of the University of California Biotechnology Research and Education Program reviews all pre-proposals (and full proposals), and makes the awards.

The primary criteria used to evaluate the proposals are:

• The quality of the research proposal (importance of the problem, originality of approach, appropriateness of techniques and clarity of presentation)
   
• The qualifications, experience and productivity of both the Faculty Sponsor(s) and the candidate
   
• The quality of the training provided by the research environment in which the proposed research is to be conducted and its potential for broadening and strengthening the nominee's ability to conduct innovative and substantive research of a truly multidisciplinary nature
   
• Provision of a training environment that better prepares students for careers in evolving interdisciplinary fields in industry, academia and government
   
• Demonstration of potential positive impact of the project on the biotechnology industry
   
• If invited to submit a full proposal, an additional criterion will be the demonstration of intent to seek matching funds. (To maximize the use of UC Biotechnology Research and Education Program's GREAT funds, we are looking for ways to leverage our funding.)
   
• If invited to submit a full proposal, the trainee candidate will be required to present the proposed research and be interviewed by the proposal review panel. Travel costs to the interview venue (in either northern or southern California) will be covered by UC BREP.

VIII. General award information

• Invited full proposals should request trainee compensation, benefits, travel and trainee-related expenses. Total financial support from the GREAT Program will not exceed $50,000 per year. This amount would include:
   
• $30,000 towards stipend. The stipend is compensation for the trainee and is not to be used to pay fees or benenfits. This amount is fixed and non-negotiable.
   
• Trainee allowance of $10,000 for training related expenses.
   
• Faculty Sponsor(s) allowance of $10,000 that can be applied at the Faculty Sponsors' discretion to training-related expenses.
   
• The GREAT award is a training grant and not a fellowship per se, and as such, is awarded to the UC Sponsor not the graduate student. Discretionary funds are to be allocated at the discretion of the sponsor and trainee. These funds are intended to be used to aid the trainee in the performance of his or her research project. They are not intended for personal use (e.g. campus parking permits, athletic club memberships) unconnected to the student's research and training. Also, funds may not be used for infrastructure such as office furniture. However, it was envisioned that such items as a laptop computer, which might be interpreted as personal item, could have a direct impact on the students' ability to perform their research and therefore, would fall within the remit of training related discretionary funds. Although the GREAT Training Program provides broad-based guidelines, ultimately it is up to the discretion of the trainer, in consultation with the trainee, as to how to appropriately expend these funds in support of the training project. Ownership of inventorial and non-inventorial equipment is determined by the equipment policy at the local campus.
   
• Scientific and budget reports must be presented and justified annually.
   
• Direct transfer of funds from one trainee to another is not permitted. Should the trainee fail to accept the award, leave the university, change research direction, conduct research not approved by the Sponsor or the GREAT Program's Executive Committee, the unexpended funds will be returned to the University of California Biotechnology Research and Education Program office, which administers the GREAT Program. If the Sponsor(s) are able to identify another candidate, they will have the opportunity to reapply to the GREAT Program's Executive Committee for reconsideration of a new nominee.
   
• There will be one annual, two-day retreat of trainees, sponsor(s), and a few selected outside scientists including the GREAT Program's Executive Committee. The retreat's purpose is to provide a forum for semiformal presentation of ongoing and proposed research by the trainees before their peers and to allow evaluation by the GREAT Program's Executive Committee of their progress and potential. It is also designed to encourage free interactions between all the participants. Trainees and sponsors are required to attend the annual GREAT Program retreat designed to foster collaboration and interaction among scientists working in cross-disciplinary fields relevant to biotechnology. The retreat will be held in October at the Best Western Beach Hotel in Monterey. See the Retreat web page for more information.
   
• The GREAT Program training grants are granted for a two-year term with the second year of funding contingent upon satisfactory first-year scientific progress report, budget reports and program funding.
   
• Any substantive changes in the project, such as changes in budget allocations, location, sponsor(s), project period, major project scope etc., require approval of the GREAT Program's Executive Committee. The University of California Biotechnology Research and Education Program office should be notified of any potential changes as soon as possible.

IX. Overview of the GREAT pre and full proposal process

AWARD PERIOD:     One year commencing October 1.

Each University of California campus and University of California-administered National Laboratory is requested to inform appropriate administrators, faculty, and staff about this solicitation.

For assistance, please contact the University Of California Biotechnology Research and Education Program, home of the GREAT Program at the address listed below or call (530) 752-8237.

Pre-proposals must be submitted on-line by the October due date above. The pre-proposal signature page must be mailed separately and must arrive one week later. Mail to:

GREAT Program
UC Biotechnology Research and Education Program
University of California
301 Life Sciences
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616

If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact: UC BREP at (530) 752-8237 or by Email