In anticipation of pending renewal, the South Carolina IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (SC INBRE) Developmental Research Project Program (DRPP) solicits applications for the 2025-26 award cycle. The DRPP will support two funding mechanisms designed to grow faculty-led research projects and provide biomedical research training opportunities for undergraduate students: Research Projects (RP) and Pilot Projects (PP). PP awards are smaller than RPs yet offer more flexibility.
Important Dates
Release Date: Feb 12, 2025
Deadline for Letter of Intent: March 3, 2025, 5 pm ET
Deadline for submission: April 4, 2025, 5 pm ET
Period of performance: Sept 1, 2025 through Aug 31, 2026 (write for 1 year)
Award amounts and number of anticipated awards
Four different PP awards will be funded for 1 year:
Curriculum Development Awards: For faculty. Support the development of new courses or incorporation of Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) into an existing course at a PUI. Funding: $15,000 for one year.
Launch Awards: For faculty. Support for generation of key preliminary data needed for a grant submission or data needed to address a previous grant review. Funding: $15,000 for one year.
Bioinformatics Pilot Projects (BIPP): For faculty. Support collection or analysis of large biomedical data sets. Funding: $15,000 for one year.
Mentored Student Pilot Projects (MSP): For students. Small, well-defined projects written, submitted and carried out by students with the guidance of a mentor. Funding: $3,000 for one year.
Anticipated total number for awards to be made:
NINE at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (FOUR Pilot Projects – any combination of above options – to faculty and FIVE MSP to students) and
SIX at Comprehensive Research Universities (THREE – any combination of above options – to faculty, THREE to students).
PP awards to faculty can be competitively renewed for 1 year.
Forms and Links
Human Subjects Forms (see below)
Goals and expectations for PPs
The Pilot Project awards will provide support for several types of activities which include developing Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs), the collection of preliminary data for new grants or resubmissions through Launch awards, Mentored projects co-developed by students and faculty, or through Bioinformatics Pilot Project awards facilitating large scale data collection or analyses.
All network institutions must have committed to providing 25% release time (3 person months) for PP faculty award recipients at the time of award.
LOI/Application Submission Instructions and Contact Information
To submit a Letter of Intent (LOI), please click on the link above. The LOI must be completed by 5 pm ET on Monday, March 3, 2025. Absolutely no late LOIs will be accepted.
Completed LOIs will include the title and short description of your project. This short description is limited to 4 sentences total and should accurately describe the biomedical relevance of your project. Applications submitted without an LOI submission will not be accepted.
Applicants should include their email address which will be used for all correspondence regarding this application.
Completed applications, including institutional required signatures on the Face page, must be submitted to the link above by 5 pm ET on Friday April 5, 2025. Absolutely no late applications will be accepted.
Applications with missing components will not be accepted.
If you have any questions relating to this NOFO, please contact John Clarkson (Email).
Utilization of Core Facilities
If core facility support is required, projects should propose to work with an IDeA program affiliated core. The following is a list of cores most frequently used by SC INBRE investigators. For those seeking Bioinformatics Core services please contact Dr. Edie Goldsmith (Email).
Instrumentation Resource Facility at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Dr. Austin Worden, Director (Email, 803-216-3823)
Microarray Facility at the University of South Carolina, Dr. Michael Shtutman, (Email, 803-777-8988)
Molecular Analytics and Informatics Core Facility at the Medical University of South Carolina, Dr. Jeremy Barth, Director (Email, 843-792-9984)
NMR facility at Claflin University, Dr. Arezue Boroujerdi, Director (Email, 803-535-5536)
If utilizing the services of a core facility, applicants must work with facility directors to plan the proposed experiments. A letter of support from the chosen facility’s Director, or a quote if using a commercial facility, must be included in the proposal.
If the technical services required by the project cannot be provided by a facility in South Carolina, or the project is based upon existing collaborations that involve the use of other resources, it is acceptable to use other service providers, in or outside South Carolina, but a justification must be provided. Applications cannot include subcontracts to institutions in non-IDeA states.
Eligibility
Given the focus of PP awards on generating key data for a grant application, developing courses that incorporate research experiences, mentoring students in grant writing and research, or the application of data science methods to large data sets, faculty at all career stages and academic ranks (tenure or non-tenure track) are eligible to apply for PP awards.
Any faculty member engaged in biomedical research at a network institution is eligible to submit a PP application.
Individuals serving as PI of an NIH research award (R01, R21, R15, R16) or supported by other IDeA programs (i.e. COBRE or IDeA-CTR), regardless of academic rank, are not eligible to apply for PP funding.
Faculty who are the PI of a foundation or R03 grant are eligible to apply for PP funding, provided there is no scientific overlap between the PP application and other currently held awards.
Faculty at non-network institutions who would like to apply for PP funding would be required to submit an institutional MOU and a letter of support from their administration indicating support for the release time required for PP awards with their application. Please reach out to Dr. Edie Goldsmith (Email) if you are applying from a non-network institution.
Individuals submitting PP applications ideally will be early-stage investigators/junior faculty, typically tenure-track assistant professors, who are building their independent research program and have not received substantial NIH funding as a principal investigator.
For MSP, applicants are undergraduate or graduate students at institutions of higher education in the SC INBRE network who have not previously held an SIRP award and will not be graduating before the end of the project.
Applications from more established associate or full professors will be considered only if the proposed project represents a significant change in research direction, such that PP funding would enhance competitiveness for a future NIH application.
Individuals holding non-tenure track or research faculty appointments are eligible to apply for PP funding.
Mentoring
Faculty: PP awardees are required to have a scientific mentor if they are an early career investigator or are using the PP award to transition into a new research area.
All early career faculty supported by the PP awards are required to have one scientific mentor, who can help them navigate the challenges associated with establishing a research program while transitioning to a faculty role. Mentors will advise faculty during the preparation of their career development plan to ensure the proposed plan activities will enable the faculty member to achieve their career goals.
See Mentoring page for more details.
Proposal Preparation Instructions
All projects must address biomedically relevant questions within the scope of research supported by NIH. It is incumbent upon the applicant to clearly demonstrate the biomedical relevance of the proposed work within the proposal.
The application forms package can be downloaded from the SC INBRE website in a fillable, pdf format. Proposals must be prepared with 0.5” margins all around, using Arial (or similar sans serif font; font size no smaller than 11 pt) and subdivided into sections indicated below (page limits are noted). All forms must be completed according to the NIH guidelines for “R” series awards. Each package includes the following:
Face Page: This page must be filled out in its entirety and signed by an authorized institutional representative.
Project Summary/Performance site/Key personnel: Fill out all components and indicate whether or not the project uses human embryonic stem cells.
Biographical Sketch(es) of other Key PersonneI (NIH-format)
Students applying for MSP should fill out only parts that apply to them. Do not include grades.Biographical Sketch(es) Example (NIH format)
Budget Page: Enter direct costs only; total cannot exceed $15,000 for CUREs, Launch or BIPP awards or $3,000 for student MSP awards.
Budget Justification: Allowable costs include personnel; supplies; travel; equipment; and other costs as allowed on NIH research project grant budgets, including indirect costs. Student support should be listed as salary not stipends.
Introduction/Response to Reviewers’ Comments (for resubmissions only): 1 page
Progress Report (for BIPP competitive renewals only): 2 pages
For current BIPP awardees seeking a second year of funding, indicate how the additional funding will be crucial for a proposal submission within this second year or how funds will be used to address reviews from a previous proposal submission. There should be new specific aim(s) for the renewal.
Specific Aims: 1 page
Research strategy (up to 6 pages): Should have the following 3 sections — Significance, Innovation, and Approach. Rigor of prior research should be addressed in the Significance section. In the Approach section, applicants need to address rigor, in terms of how the proposed study will address weaknesses in previous research, describe experimental design/methods that will yield robust and unbiased results, address anticipated outcomes/alternatives, and relevant biological variables.
Literature cited: 1 page
Vertebrate Animals (1 page). If the proposed project involves vertebrate animals, include a vertebrate animals section which addresses the following: 1) a description of procedures which includes species, strains, sex, ages, and number of animals to be used in the proposed project; 2) justification for model used; 3) address minimization of pain and distress; and 4) method of euthanasia according to NIH guidelines (see https://olaw.nih.gov/guidance/vertebrate-animal-section.htm for additional information).
Note: Submit your animal protocol for IACUC approval while you are preparing your RP application if you do not already have it approved.If your campus does not have an OLAW assurance or IACUC and you want to propose a project involving vertebrate animals, contact Dr. Edie Goldsmith (Email) before submitting your application. Research involving vertebrate animals must have IACUC approval before work on the project can begin. For applications selected for funding, the IACUC approval letter will be due to John Clarkson (Email) no later than July 18, 2025. The Administrative Core will not release funds to any investigator who has proposed to use vertebrate animals in their research until the project has been approved by NIH/NIGMS.
Select Agents Research (1 page; if necessary). If your proposed activities involve the use of select agents at any time during the proposed project period complete this section. In this section address the following: 1 Identify the select agent(s) to be used in the proposed research; 2) Provide the registration status of all entities* where select agent(s) will be used; 3) Provide a description of all facilities where the select agent(s) will be used. If there are no select agents, do not complete this section.
Resource Sharing Plan (1 page, if applicable): Should be provided for applications which propose the development of novel model organisms or novel research resources/tools.
Data Management and Sharing Plan (1 page). Describe the plan, consistent with NIH data/resource sharing policies (https://grants.nih.gov/policy/sharing.htm), for sharing of research data/resources generated. The Data Management and Sharing Plan (DMSP) must include the following sections: 1) data type; 2) related tools, software/code; 3) standards; 4) data preservation, access and associated timelines; 5) Access, distribution or reuse considerations; and 6) Oversight of data management and sharing. A sample plan is available on this website (https://sharing.nih.gov/data-management-and-sharing-policy/planning-and-budgeting-for-data-management-and-sharing/writing-a-data-management-and-sharing-plan#after).
Authentication of Key Biological/Chemical Resources (1 page). Describe methods/procedures for validating the identity of significant biological/chemical agents used.
Plans for Further Development of the Work (1 page). Describe plans for publication and how you plan to use the data in grant proposals; if possible, mention specific opportunities for funding; new collaborations.
Checklist: This is the page where the indirect costs associated with the project are calculated and shown.
Review
Upon submission, each application will undergo an initial administrative review by the SC INBRE program manager. The program manager will confirm that an LOI was received for each submitted application and after the submission deadline will contact investigators who submitted LOIs, but did not submit a full proposal to ensure there were no issues with the submission process. As part of the administrative review, applicant eligibility will be confirmed, and applications checked to ensure that all required components are included in the application.
Applications for which no LOI was received or where the applicant does not meet the eligibility criteria will not be considered.
Applications submitted prior to the deadline, but found to have administrative errors (i.e. exceeding budget limit, missing support letters) will be provided an opportunity to correct errors provided corrections are received prior to the posted submission deadline.
In January 2025, NIH transitioned to a new simplified peer review framework for research project grants (R01, R03, R15, R16, R21) and SC INBRE V will adopt the new framework for the review of DRPP applications. Transitioning to the new review procedure will prepare SC INBRE applicants for the review format and comments they can expect when submitting future NIH grant applications and familiarize investigators who may be asked to serve on NIH review panels with the new review process.
All proposals that meet the eligibility requirements and guidelines will be independently evaluated by SC INBRE’s Scientific Review Committee. Reviewers will apply the following review criteria:
Factor 1: Importance of the Biomedically-related Research as evidenced by the significance and innovation of the proposed work (Scored 1-9).
Factor 2: Rigor and Feasibility based on the approach described (Scored 1-9).
The following items are not scored individually, but are considered as part of the overall impact score:
Factor 3: Expertise and resources which considers the investigator(s) and environment. Will be denoted as “appropriate” or “gaps identified.” Potential to lead to a competitive extramural grant proposal and potential for publication.
Qualifications of advisors and quality/appropriateness of career development plan
Quality of proposed training plans for students
For BIPP renewals only (progress during previous award period)
Final decisions on funding will be made by the SC INBRE External Advisory Committee and NIGMS.
Awards and Reporting Requirements
All applicants will receive a notice of award/declination and copies of the reviewers’ comments via email. Award recipients are required to provide the SC INBRE Administrative Core with project data for evaluation and reporting purposes, as follows:
PP award recipients — faculty and MSP students — are required to present their results at the annual SC INBRE Science Symposium.
Award recipients will be required to submit an annual progress report by the date specified by the Administrative Core. The progress report will include an update on progress towards completing the aims of the research project, and any project achievements to date (students trained, publications, presentations, proposals submitted/funded). As part of the annual report, the Administrative Core will confirm with each PP recipient that they are continuing to conduct their research in accordance with their IACUC approval.
A comprehensive final report is due 30 days after the end date of the award.
All publications and presentations, resulting even in part from work supported by SC INBRE, must acknowledge SC INBRE support and grant number P20GM103499. A PMCID must be obtained for each publication in a timely fashion. PMCID information must be provided to the SC INBRE program manager administrative staff as soon as available.
PP award recipients are expected to obtain an NIH Commons ID for all student and postdoctoral participants.
After the expiration date of each award, SC INBRE will continue to contact awardees for outcome-related data such as grants, publications, etc. Failure to provide any requested materials for the award or program evaluation purposes will constitute default under this program and disqualify the PP recipient from further SC INBRE support.
Human Subjects Information
Applicants seeking PP funding may propose to use human subjects as part of their research plan. However, human subject research that qualifies as a clinical trial is not allowed.
Research that qualifies as human subjects — i.e. recruiting participants, collecting human samples, etc. is not allowed. Investigators can use human tissues/samples as along as the work doesn't meet the definition of human subjects work.
If you are working with human cells or de-identified samples, or uncertain if your research qualifies as human subject research, please review the flow chart at this link to see if your work qualifies as Human Subjects research.
Human Subjects Forms
