SC INBRE Data Analytics
Student-Initiated Training Award (SITA)
Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)
The South Carolina IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (SC INBRE) and the SC INBRE Data Analytics component of the Bioinformatics Core solicits applications for the Student-initiated Training Award (SITA) program. This program is designed to enrich the academic experience of students and to better prepare future generations of researchers, investigators, and entrepreneurs throughout the SC INBRE network. SITA applications must engage in advancing their Data Analytics skills within the frame work of a research project. The project should not include data acquisition and should only focus on the development of skillsets to analyze the data using modern analytics tools such as AI and Machine Learning. The learning objectives of the proposal project must fit within the area of data analytics that include statistical approaches, computational methods, Artificial Intelligence, or Machine Learning. Projects should be focus on some aspect of Biomedical Science (basic or translational) within which the Data Analytics skills are developed and applied.
Up to five (5) new SITA awards will be made throughout the state. SITA awards support Data Analytics training for undergraduate or graduate students.
Important Dates
Release Date: November 6, 2024
Deadline for Letter of Intent: December 13, 2024, 5 pm ET
Deadline for submission: January 15, 2025, 5 pm ET
Period of performance: May 15 through Aug 31, 2025
Award amounts and number of anticipated awards
Up to five (5) awards of $5,000 each will be awarded
Forms and Links
LOI and 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 December 13, 2024.
Completed LOIs will include the title and short description of your project. This short description is limited to four (4) sentences total and should accurately describe the biomedical relevance of your project.
Where applicable, please make sure the applicant’s email address is used for correspondence, not the applicant’s advisor.
Completed applications, including required signatures on the Face page, must be submitted to the link above by 5 pm ET on January 15, 2025.
Applications submitted without a Letter of Intent submission will not be accepted.
Applications with missing components will not be accepted.
If you have any questions relating to this NOFO please contact John.Clarkson@uscmed.sc.edu.
Utilization of Available Facilities and Resources
Applicants are required to participate in one of the following training opportunities:
Short Summer Workshops. TBA. Contact Homayoun Valafar, email, for details.
Individualized Training Sessions. On special instances and based on availability, the Bioinformatics Core of SC INBRE will provide individualized training sessions. To explore this mechanism of training, participants need to provide compelling reasons for the need for individualized training sessions, and reverse their training sessions in advance. These individual sessions will be delivered either in person at USC or remotely via Zoom meeting platform.
Enrollment in a Summer Data Science Course at an SC INBRE affiliated institution. Participants may enroll in a Data Science qualified course in one of the SC INBRE affiliated institutions. Participants are encouraged to communicate their plans with the core director (Homayoun Valafar, email) to ensure the appropriateness of the planned course. The requirement will be satisfied with a passing grade in the agreed course. For instance, a number of courses at USC such as “CSCE 106: Scientific Applications Programming in Python” will serve as an ideal example for this requirement. for enrollment by transient students.
Enrollment in an online Data Science Course. Participants may enroll in one of many online Data Science courses offered by Corsera, Google, or Microsoft. Participants are encouraged to communicate their plans with the core director (Homayoun Valafar, email) to ensure the appropriateness of the planned course. The requirement will be satisfied with a passing grade or attainment of a certificate in the agreed course.
Eligibility
SITA proposals are solicited from currently enrolled undergraduate or graduate students at institutions of higher education in the SC INBRE network who have not previously held a SITA award. Students graduating in May 2025 are not eligible.
**Only one proposal per funding period will be accepted from any student. Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.
Although more than one application can be submitted per lab per funding period, the projects submitted by students with the same faculty mentor must be distinct projects. Two students working as a team on the same project under the same mentor can apply together for a single SITA award although the award amount will remain the same.
Proposal Preparation Instructions
The application package can be downloaded from the SC INBRE website (www.scinbre.org) in a fillable, PDF format. All forms must be completed according to the published guidelines found on the SC INBRE website. Each package includes the following:
Face Page: This page must be filled out in its entirety
Project Summary/Performance site/Key personnel: Fill out all components.
Biographical Sketch for Student PI and Faculty Mentors (NIH-format) (Students, only fill out portions that apply)
Budget Page: Enter total costs; cannot exceed $5,000
Budget Justification:
Allowable costs include personnel; tuition for an approved summer data analytics course; equipment/software; and other costs as allowed on NIH research project grant budgets. Indirect costs are not allowed.
Project Description (3 pages): Proposals must be prepared with 0.5” margins all around, using Arial (or similar sans serif font; font size no smaller than 11pt) and subdivided into sections indicated below (page limits are noted):
Background
Research questions/hypothesis
Project goals/objectives
Project impact/significance
Project design/research plan– analysis of existing data only, no experimental data collection is allowed
Which approved data analytics workshop or course you will attend (see Utilization of Available Facilities and Resources tab for options)
Timeline for completing project
Anticipated results
Plan to disseminate results
Literature cited: one page (not included in page limit)
Mentoring plan for student applicant (Mentor-collaboration form, up to 3 pages). Explain how the mentor will work with the applicant to develop the students’ research and intellectual skills and help them mature as scientists.
Human Subjects/Vertebrate Animals. No human subjects research is allowed. Additionally, no vertebrate animals research is allowed.
Review
Applications will be reviewed by the SC INBRE Administrative Core personnel to determine responsiveness to the NOFO, eligibility of the applicant, and completeness of the application. Applications deemed incomplete, ineligible, or not responsive will be returned to the applicants.
All proposals that meet the eligibility requirements and guidelines will be independently evaluated by SC INBRE’s Scientific Review Committee. A competitive proposal will describe a focused set of experiments that require bioinformatics methods of data analysis and will provide the applicant with training in bioinformatics tools and approaches. Reviewers will apply the following review criteria:
Scientific merit of the proposed project; the project must be related to Biomedical Science.
Clarity of explanation
Overall strength of collaboration between mentor and applicant
Qualifications of project personnel
Quality of proposed training plans for students
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:
SITA award recipients are expected to present their results at the annual SC INBRE Scientific Symposium.
A comprehensive final report is due 30 days after the end date of the award.
All publications, resulting even in part from work supported by SC INBRE, must acknowledge SC INBRE support and a PMCID must be obtained for each publication in a timely fashion. PMCID information must be provided to the SC INBRE administrative staff as soon as available. Acknowledgement Statement
SITA award recipients (both mentor and student) are expected to obtain an NIH Commons ID if funded.
After the expiration date of each award, SC INBRE will continue to contact awardees for outcome-related data such as post-baccalaureate educational plans and job placement.
