College of Medicine and Life Sciences

RFA: Bridge Funding for Research

We are pleased to announce the next RFA for Bridge Funding. The pertinent details required for preparation of an application are listed below. Applications that are incomplete or do not meet the eligibility criteria will not be considered. 

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Sections: Eligibility | Awards | Application Instructions | Review Process | Recipients

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Eligibility:

Any full-time faculty member, in any track, who is the Principal Investigator (PI) or Multi PI (MPI) on a project funded by a national agency with a peer review process (e.g. NIH, NSF, American Heart Association) and awarded through the University of Toledo for at least two consecutive years preceding the bridge funding request, and whose application for new or continued support from that or another funding agency has not been funded, will be eligible for bridge funding. Projects currently funded via the medical research society (MRS) grants or any internal funding mechanisms are not eligible for bridge funds.

Bridge funding will only be provided for the continuity of a funded research program. It is not intended to support pilot studies or programs that have not had recent funding.  Grants that are primarily for a demonstration project, a training program, or a postdoctoral fellowship are ineligible.

Candidates for bridge funding must have submitted an unsuccessful new or renewal application during the past 12 months. Summary statement from the latest review must be attached to the bridge grant application.

Applicants must show that they have lost, or will lose, a substantial portion of their extramural funding within twelve months of the bridge funding application. Applicants with major extramural funding (>$100,000 direct cost/year) or startup funds of ≥$100,000 beyond the 12 moths are not eligible.

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Awards:

Bridge funding awards will be limited to $50,000 and a maximum of one year or until the grantee re-establishes funding from other sources, whichever comes first. Smaller awards may be made at the discretion of the review panel and/or the Dean of the COMLS. In the event that the PI’s extramural grant is funded during the period of bridge support, unexpended funds will be returned to the College of Medicine and Life Sciences.

Awards may be used to support supplies, small equipment, lab personnel (excluding graduate students), and animal care.  Bridge funding may not be used to support salaries and benefits of tenured and tenure track faculty members, new faculty start-up packages, travel to scientific conferences, graduate student stipends, administrative costs (e.g. department surcharges for service contracts) and budget deficits.  If core lab services are required, this should be covered through the PI’s department chair or via request for core cash as stipulated earlier in this document. 

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Application Instructions:

Applications for bridge funding must be in the form of a single pdf file (except for the cover letter that has any conflicts of interests detailed) containing the following items:

1. A cover letter stating the basis for the request and the ways in which the PI has met the criteria for eligibility.

2. A 2-page summary of the research for which bridge funding is requested.  This should not contain extensive experimental detail.  Rather, it should describe: (a) the specific aims; (b) the significance of the work; and (c) why bridge funding is necessary.

3. A list of the PI's active grants and pending grant applications (even if not funded) for the last three years. Provide an abstract for each project listed. 

4. A Summary Statements (critiques) and priority/percentile scores relevant to the bridge funding application.  

5. A concise and realistic point-by point list (2-page limit) of the studies that will be done with the bridge funds, explaining how they will address the concerns raised in the prior review and strengthen the intended resubmission.  Include a projected date for resubmission.

6. A budget page detailing how bridge funds will be utilized with justifications.

7. A NIH-style biographical sketch for the PI. 

8. A letter of support from the applicant’s Department Chair that includes: (a) an assessment of the likelihood of future funding; (b) a candid assessment of the options for continuation of the research in the event extramural funding is not obtained; (c) evidence that the department is contributing to the continuance of research operations in an appropriate manner (e.g., graduate student support, access to essential equipment, allocation of sufficient lab space), and 4) a description of any mentoring efforts to help the PI improve the grant application.

Completed applications (complied into a single PDF including the cover letter) should be submitted to Mary Ann Schuster via email: MaryAnn.Schuster@utoledo.edu.

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Review Process:

Once the applications are received, they will undergo initial screening to be sure that they are complete and meet the eligibility criteria.  Review of scientific merit will be conducted and the application ranked by the Research Advisory Council (current roster attached, subjected to change) in a NIH Study Section format with written comments. Please indicate any potential conflicts of interests in your application.  Final decisions regarding disbursement of awards will be made by the Dean.

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Recipients