Penn-Peru Pilot Grant Program: December 14	Print Issue
October 30, 2012, Volume 59, No. 10

Guidelines

Overview: This pilot grant mechanism is to encourage the development of research collaborations between faculty members at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH; www.upch.edu.pe/) and the University of Pennsylvania (Penn; www.upenn.edu/). Funds are to support pilot research that will lead to health-related extramural research funding proposals with a high probability of success that neither institution would be able to pursue by itself.

Grant Term: Up toone year. Unspent funds must be returned at the end of the funding period. Grantees must acknowledge the Perelman School of Medicine and any other supporters of this pilot program in resulting papers and presentations, present at a meeting of the Peru program at Penn and provide a final written report.

Budget: Applications for funds up to $20,000 in total costs (direct + indirect) will be considered. Funds may be spent at UPCH, Penn or a combination of both. No indirect costs will be available for funds administered at Penn. Indirect costs of up to 10% will be available for funds administered by UPCH; these indirect costs must be included in the $20,000 cap. These funds may not be used to support faculty salaries at either institution.

Eligibility: Research teams must include at least one faculty member at the assistant professor rank or above from each institution (UPCH and Penn). Participation of students and other trainees from either or both institutions is encouraged. Faculty members interested in collaborating with the partner university but without an identified collaborator may contact Sean Hennessy at hennessy@upenn.edu with sufficient lead time to identify a collaborator and prepare the application. 

Evaluation criteria:

• scientific merit
  
• public health significance
  
• qualifications and experience of investigators, including involvement of students/trainees
  
• prospects for future extramural funding
  
• prospects for advancement of the partnership between UPCH and Penn

Instructions

• Research proposal should be written in English and include, in this order: 1) title of the proposal; 2) name, degrees and academic title of key personnel; 3) abstract (≤ 250 words), 4) two-page NIH biosketches of key personnel; 5) specific aims of the pilot study; 6) significance of the overall project and how the pilot will contribute; 7) innovation; 8) approach; 9) specific plans for applying for external funding, including funding agency, mechanism, and deadline; 10) whether the study involves human subjects as defined by US Office for Human Research Protections; 11) literature cited; 12) itemized budget (separated by site where funds will be managed, i.e. UPCH/Penn) with brief justification. Items 5-8 together may not exceed three pages. Please write the proposal so that it can be understood by an educated non-expert in the field. 
  
• Use 11-point font, single spaced, and 1- inch margins.
  
• Approval from the UPCH and Penn IRBs must be obtained before the conduct of any human subjects research supported by this grant. This approval may be obtained after the grant is awarded.

Submission

Please send the application as follows:

• Email by 11:59 p.m. on December 14, 2012 as a single PDF including all components of the application to Felicia LeSure at frlesure@mail.med.upenn.edu
  
• The name of the PDF should be the last name of the PI(s).
  
• For questions, contact Sean Hennessy at hennessy@upenn.edu