SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse University (SU) and Upstate Medical University have announced a new grant program targeting “collaborative” research between the two institutions that focuses on “pressing” biomedical and health-care needs.
Sam Nappi, a member of the SU board of trustees, started the grant program, dubbed “Driving Inspiration and Innovation through Collaboration,” according to a news release that SU issued on Wednesday.
Nappi has provided SU with $1.5 million for biomedical and chemical-engineering research.
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Of that figure, $500,000 will fund the first phase of this research program, SU said.
The schools have designed the program to “stimulate promising biomedical or health care-related research that is responsive to national needs,” according to the release.
“Biomedical and health-care related research is absolutely critical to addressing some of the most profound challenges facing society today,” Nappi said. “As our population continues to age, breakthroughs in these areas will become even more critically important. This region is so fortunate to have two strong institutions that excel in these areas, and I am hopeful that this program generates opportunities for them to pool their expertise in ways they might not otherwise have had.”
The funding will support networking opportunities, matching efforts to build awareness, and “pilot projects that facilitate collaborative, interdisciplinary, or translational research,” SU said.
The program will award grants of up to $100,000 to handle direct costs for up to two years. Most grant awards will likely range between $50,000 and $60,000.
Research teams must include two or more researchers or clinicians representing both campuses. The program expects awards to result in the submission of “competitive proposals to external sponsors of biomedical or health-care research.”
Reaction
Gina Lee-Glauser, SU’s vice president for research, “played a strong role in facilitating the initiative,” the school said.
“This program aligns perfectly with the University’s academic priorities that call for an enhanced focus on collaborative research and innovation,” said Lee-Glauser. “By drawing on the distinctive strengths of both institutions, it magnifies the potential for seeding research activity that simultaneously advances theoretical knowledge and enhances clinical practice.”
Several instructors from Upstate, SU, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Foresty and the VA Medical Center have been working together through the Hill Collaboration on Environmental Medicine, David Amberg, vice president for research at Upstate, said in the SU release.
Launched in 2011, Hill Collaboration on Environmental Medicine is designed to “stimulate research in the area of how environmental factors contribute to major human diseases such as cancer, diabetes and disorders of the nervous system,” according to a November 2011 article on Upstate Online, a publication of Upstate Medical University.
But Amberg also notes that the Nappis’ “generosity will empower” SU and Upstate faculty with grants that are “sufficiently large to develop the preliminary data to go after the kind of large federal grants that are given for transdisciplinary biomedical research.”
“When you look at our two universities’ research portfolios, you can see synergies that naturally exist in the big research powerhouses like John Hopkins, Harvard, and UCLA. We believe we can get to a much more competitive position through collaboration. In fact, if you look in the [Central New York] region, there is a tremendous collective strength and diversity in expertise that if pooled and leveraged could make our region a research and development powerhouse,” Amberg said.
A research advisory panel will make the final selections. The panel will include Sam Nappi; the vice presidents for research from Upstate and SU; and two external experts, SU said.
The process
The panel will use a two-stage review and selection process that is similar to one that the National Institutes of Health uses. It will also incorporate an oral presentation.
Among other criteria, the group will evaluate proposals for scientific and technical merit and their “significance to and potential impact on” national biomedical or health-care needs.
The panel will also factor in consideration of the project’s “potential to generate intellectual property or to transform the field or discipline” in making the final selections, SU said.
Faculty members, clinicians, or research scientists interested in applying for a seed grant should submit a letter of intent by Oct. 16 and a full application by November 10.
The advisory panel will make final selections by Dec. 4.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
