Research and Graduate Education

Bridge Funding Grants (BFG's)

BFG's and RFDG's have separate submission dates.

The Office of Research and Graduate Education announces the availability of funds to support BFGs (this round) for projects up to one year in duration, which are directed by faculty at the rank of Assistant Professor or above, in the Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, and Nursing. Priority will be given to projects that are relevant to the overall goals of the Strategic Research Plan and its six research focus areas (Neuroscience, Cancer Cell Biology, Cardiovascular Sciences, Respiratory Biology & Lung Diseases, Immunopathology & Microbial Pathogenesis, as well as Diabetes & Obesity)

Deadline for submission of Bridge Funding Grants (BFGs) is Friday August 29, 2008

To verify eligibility, contact Dr. James O’Donnel( jodonnell@hsc.wvu.edu; 293-2433), Professor and Assistant Dean for Research, School of Medicine before submitting a Bridge Application

Bridge Funding Grants
BFGs are provided to assist faculty in renewing grants that have lapsed. They also are provided to faculty members who have submitted external grant applications as Principal Investigator that have been reviewed (ideally with positive reviews), but have not yet been funded. In both cases, our internal grants are provided to maintain research productivity and allow the investigator to obtain additional data in support of the resubmission of the grant application. 

Eligibility:
BFGs are available to WVU HSC faculty, both tenure-track and nontenure-track, at the level of Assistant Professor or above.

Please note: A faculty member can be principal investigator on only one internal grant, either RFDG or BFG, at one time.

Review Criteria:
BFGs are reviewed by a committee composed of faculty members with expertise in research and knowledge of external grant review processes. To be helpful, written critiques organized in the format of NIH study section reviews will be provided to all applicants.

Funding:
The major criteria for funding is the likelihood that the concerns raised in the most recent review of the extramural grant application previously submitted by the faculty PI will be addressed adequately, resulting in the submission of a competitive, revised application. Relevance to one of the six research focus areas as described in the Strategic Research Plan will also be considered.

Award and Use of Grants:
BFG's are awarded for a period of up to one year. Unexpended funds are returned to the Office of Research and Graduate Education at the end of the funding period in order to help other faculty in need. Residual funds must also be returned if the principal investigator plans to leave WVU during the award period. In such an event, the Office of Research and Graduate Education must be notified immediately by both the investigator and department chair. Funds can be used to support existing technical personnel, purchase supplies, or purchase and upgrade equipment directly used in the research project. Funds cannot be used to support faculty salaries, stipends for students in the HSC or WVU graduate programs, purchase general office equipment, international travel, or to hire new personnel. 

Maximum Grant to be Awarded:
$50,000.
Clear justification should be provided for all requests.

Application Process:
Applications and support material should be submitted by the close of business (5:00 pm) on the deadline date to the Office of Research and Graduate Education, 2267 Health Sciences South (to Barbara Allen).

Please submit support material electronically to Barb Allen, ballen@hsc.wvu.edu

 The following should be submitted:
 
 1) Submission of Completed Online Application Form
 
AND

 2) Most recent version of external grant application, via postal services, for which bridge funding is requested, including research plan, NIH-style biosketch, references, and relevant supporting material.
 
 3) Written critique via email, provided by the review committee for the most recent submission (e.g., NIH study section review).
 
 4) Plan to enhance competitiveness of the grant application, via email, not to exceed five pages:

5) Copies of IRB, IACUC, IBC approval, via email or postal services if human subjects or animals will be used or if biosafety issues are involved. If approval has not been obtained, provide evidence that protocols have been submitted to the relevant institutional review committees.

6) If the present application is a revision of a previously submitted but unfunded internal BFG, provide a letter attachment to online application explaining how the newly revised proposal addresses the concerns raised by the prior internal review.


Application Form

Please note: Completion of this online application is only the first step in the application process. You will need to email the items listed above to Barb Allen, ballen@hsc.wvu.edu. All parts of the application must be received before the due date listed above.

For Your Information: Instruction to reviewers
Review committee members are asked to participate in the review of all grants, with the exception of grants from faculty members in their primary department.

The Bridge Review Committee Chair is Dr. Jia Luo. Each grant application is assigned to a primary and secondary reviewer, each of whom provides a written critique following the general NIH review format, as follows. These written critiques are provided to the applicant.

Description:  A brief summary of the scientific rationale and goals and research plan

Critique: Significance: Overall scientific merit and strength of rationale and relevance to funding agency goals

Approach: for BFGs applications, focus on the strength of the plan to address concerns raised in the most recent external review

Innovation: Unique and novel aspects of the rationale, methodology, or design

Investigator: Research training, expertise, and productivity

Budget: Appropriateness of amount requested and justification IRB, IACUC, IBC issues: Overall evaluation: Addresses scientific merit, qualifications of the principal investigator, and likelihood that funding will result in the submission of a revised application for external funding.  

IRB, IACUC, IBC issues:
Overall evaluation: Addresses scientific merit, qualifications of the principal investigator, and likelihood that funding will result in the submission of a competitive application for external funding.  

Review Process: