In 2012, the University of Michigan (U-M) partnered with Technion Institute of Technology and the Weizmann Institute of Science to support meritorious research, foster innovation and spur collaboration in the areas of biomedical sciences.
The partnership awards funding to support collaborative research projects led by scientists from the three institutions. Projects are awarded based on their potential to lead to scientific advances in understanding pathways of disease, novel diagnostics or therapeutics, as well as to peer-reviewed publication, and potentially other extramural support.
Research projects from all three institutions are presented during the annual D. Dan and Betty Kahn symposium, which will be held in 2019.
Purpose
On behalf of the Michigan-Israel Partnership for Research and Education, applications for collaborative research are being requested. The purpose of this Request for Applications (RFA) is to support meritorious research, to foster innovation, and to spur collaboration between three great academic institutions in the areas of biomedicine and human health.
Awards will support a collaborative research project which requires one Principal Investigator (PI) from the University of Michigan (U-M), and one Principal Investigator (PI) from either the Technion Institute of Technology or the Weizmann Institute of Science. Awards will be given to each successful joint project between the U-M and the Technion, or between U-M and the Weizmann Institute. These collaborative projects should lead to scientific advances in understanding pathways of disease, novel diagnostics, or therapeutics, as well as to peer-reviewed publication, and potentially other extramural support. Past recipients of UM-Israel Partnership for Research grants are eligible to re-apply, with grants evaluated on a competitive basis along with new grant applications.
Awards will be granted up to $50,000 US for one year for joint projects or up to $100,000 for two years for joint projects with an appropriate budget justification. Multi year Awards will be dispersed as 50% of total budget in one year and 50% of total budget in year twoper year, with second year disbursement contingent upon submission and approveal of a brief progress report. Sharing of funds between sites should be directed by project need but is typically half of the award to each investigative team. Plans for reciprocal institutional visits are required as part of this initiative. If awarded, $2,500 of the awarded funds to each site in Israel and Michigan should be used to offset travel expenses of the PI or a researcher from their laboratory to the reciprocal institution in conjunction with the annual symposium.
New This Year: Letter of Intent (LOI) Process
The Letter of Intent (LOI) requested is not a request for a complete application. Although an LOI is not a complete application, the submission of an LOI is required in order to be eligible to move forward (if invited) to a full application. Full applications will not be accepted at this time, only LOIs will be accepted. Letters of Intent must be filled out, completed and submitted to CVC-Research@med.umich.edu. The deadline for receipt of completed LOIs for this year is May 20, 2019 by 5:00pm.
All LOIs will be reviewed and a portion of LOIs submitted will be selected to move forward to a full application process. A PDF copy of the Request for Applications is for reference only. All invited full applications (submitted in June of 2019) will be asked to submit online via the Competition Space platform. Directions on how to apply will be provided when requests to complete RFAs are sent to select LOI applicants.
Evaluation Criteria
Invited full applications will be evaluated by a joint committee comprised of members from the University of Michigan, the Technion, and the Weizmann faculty, with emphasis placed in review on innovation, collaboration, feasibility, track record of accomplishment, and likelihood of achieving success. Final funding amounts for each awarded application including split between each site PI will be determined after committee review. Awards include expectation to work towards collaboration publications and external support. Reports of progress in this regard will be required for recipients of this award.
