Regional Centers of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research (RCE) [U54] RFA-AI-08-002

Date Posted: Jan. 31, 2008
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health
Deadline for internal competition: March 10, 2008
Agency deadline for LOI (NOT required): May 3, 2008
Agency deadline for Full Proposal: June 3, 2008
Limit on number of proposals: An institution may submit only one application as the applicant institution in response to this initiative.

The overall goal of the RCE program is to establish and maintain strong infrastructure and multifaceted research and development activities to provide scientific information and translational research capacity that will facilitate the next generation of therapeutics, diagnostics and vaccines against the NIAIS Category A-C Priority Pathogens and emerging infectious disease (EID) agents.

Because the nature and scope of the proposed research will vary from application to application, it is anticipated that the size and duration of each award will also vary. Awards in the range of $3M to $12M direct costs per year are anticipated.

For more information, please see the following URL:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AI-08-002.html

Public briefing on 2/12/08, please see the following URL:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-AI-08-033.html

URL for "Limited submission proposals procedure":
http://www.rgs.ku.edu/depts/rgs/lsp/lsp_2007-03-16.shtml

If you plan to submit a pre-proposal, please alert Barbara Earl (864-7781, bearl@ku.edu) one week prior to the internal deadline. This information will assist RGS in organizing the review committee.

The pre-proposal should include (1) a three-page narrative (describing the proposed research, including key personnel and partnerships, addressing any special components requested in the agency's solicitation [p.3-Research Objectives; p.21-Other Submission Requirements; p.24-Considerations for Evaluation of Application Components], and a generalized yearly budget) and (2) a short vita for the PI and all co-investigators, including funding history and current and pending support. Investigators may include suggestions of faculty members whom they believe are especially well qualified to evaluate pre-proposals for this initiative. Please submit this material electronically to Barbara Earl, manager of Proposal Services, by 5 p.m. on March 10, 2008 (bearl@ku.edu, 864-7781).

If the number of pre-proposals exceeds the mandated limit, an internal review committee will be formed to review all pre-proposals. The committee's intent is to select a proposer by March 21, 2008, thereby giving the proposer six weeks to prepare for the optional LOI submission, and an additional month for the proposal submission.