Program Goals
The Office of Biotechnology Seed Grant Program is an institution-wide initiative to support early-stage projects that have a clearly defined path to the commercial marketplace. This initiative will provide Principal Investigators (PIs) with seed funding to accumulate preliminary data that may lead to a grant application, sponsored research agreement, external collaboration, or development of new intellectual property. Priority will be given to proof-of-principle studies that have the greatest potential for external collaboration with the private sector (e.g., pharmaceutical company, device manufacturer, etc.).

Eligibility Requirements

Principal investigators (PIs) must be full-time faculty members at any of the schools, institutes, or centers within The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Part-time faculty, staff scientists, and postdoctoral fellows are not eligible to apply. A Principal Investigator can only be named on one application.

Award Information

• Individual Awards - $25,000 to $50,000 (with a total of 4 to 8 awards to be funded)
• Total Funding Available - $200,000 (provided through the Office of Biotechnology)
• Allowable Expenses – non-faculty salaries, supplies, and research services
• Restrictions – faculty salaries, travel, equipment, or indirect costs are NOT allowable
• Fringe Benefits – fringe benefits do not need to be included as part of the budget when requesting non-faculty salary support

Pre-Proposal Submission

• Deadline – June 29, 2008 at 12:00 noon
• Process – email PDF file to biotechgrants@uth.tmc.edu
• Notice of Approval – email sent to PI by July 1, 2008

Pre-proposals are limited to a single page and should not include a bibliography or detailed budget, although it is recommended that the PIs indicate what level of funding will be requested. The project title as well as the PI’s name, academic title, and affiliation are required.

The pre-proposal should emphasize the importance of the technology and potential impact on medicine, the short-term goals of the study, the scientific/medical approaches that will be used, the likely outcomes of the study, and the potential for external collaboration and/or funding. If possible, the pre-proposal should identify a funding opportunity (federal, state, private) that will be pursued in the future by leveraging the results of the seed project.

The primary purpose of the pre-proposal is to allow the review panel to prioritize seed projects that exhibit the greatest potential for success without requiring PIs to prepare time-consuming full proposals.

Full Proposal Submission

• Prior Approval – submission of full proposals requires approval of the pre-proposal
• Deadline – August 15, 2008 at 5:00 p.m.
• Process – email PDF file to biotechgrants@uth.tmc.edu
• Notice of Award – email sent to PI on August 29, 2008
  

Application Format

Applications should follow the PHS 398 format (11 point Arial or larger, at least ½ inch margins, no more than 6 lines per inch) and include the following:

• Cover page - title of proposed project; PI’s name, degree, academic title; primary departmental affiliation; contact information.
• Abstract – 300-word limit.
• Proposal – description of seed project that includes specific aims, background and significance, and research design and methods (not to exceed 4 pages).  Preliminary data are not required.
• Plan to leverage results to obtain future funding and/or private sector collaboration – summarize how seed data will enhance the PIs ability to pursue/obtain future funding to support research developed through seed grants with specific information about grants to be pursued (not to exceed 1 page).  Also summarize the potential for external collaboration with a private company, if possible, and describe the anticipated collaboration (e.g., technology license, sponsored research agreement).
• NIH biographical sketches  (2-page format) – for PI and co-PIs.
• Budget page - allowable costs include: screening services, consumable supplies, equipment, limited salary support for trainees or technical personnel; funds may not be used for faculty salary support, travel, or indirect costs.
• Other support – project title and number (if applicable), source (e.g. agency, foundation), annual direct costs, project period, and explanations of any potential overlap of funding.

Performance Period

• Start Date – September 1, 2008
• End Date – August 31, 2009
• Expiration of Funds – all funds must be spent and/or encumbered by September 1, 2009

Contact Information

• Jay Conyers, PhD –Director, Office of Biotechnology
• (713) 500-3643, biotechgrants@uth.tmc.edu

Review Process

Proposals will be reviewed by a scientific advisory committee that includes UTHSCH faculty members and selected external reviewers.

Evaluation Criteria

Reviewers will evaluate proposals on the following criteria.

• Significance – Will this project apply a new technology to medicine that may result in improvements in the current state-of-the-art?   Does this study address an important problem? What will be the effect of these studies on concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions?
• Approach – Is the technology proposed in the study well developed and well reasoned?  Is the work plan realistic given the one-year performance period?
• Innovation - Is the project original and innovative? (e.g. develop or utilize novel concepts, approaches, methodologies, tools, or technologies)
• Investigators - Are the investigators qualified to conduct the work?
• External Support – Does the project have a high potential for funding through a state, federal, or private source and/or collaboration with the private sector within a reasonable timeframe?  

Terms

• Grantees must submit a brief final report summarizing the outcomes of the research
• Grantees must acknowledge support in publications and presentations utilizing data funded thru their grants (e.g. this work was made possible in part through support from The University of Texas Health Science Center Office of Biotechnology). Copies of publications should be sent to the Office of Biotechnology.
• Awards may not be transferred to any other institution.