School of Medicine

Research

School of Medicine - Research Enhancement Program (REP)

BRIDGE GRANT APPLICATION

General Information

The purpose of bridge grant support is to allow faculty members to maintain research activities during a temporary disruption in extramural support. Applications will be viewed in terms of their scientific merit and the probability of securing extramural funding. Bridge grant support receives the highest priority among eligible School of Medicine Research Grant applications. The duration of these projects is for up to two years. However, the second year of funding is contingent on both the scope of the project, and submission of a progress report demonstrating productivity on this
proposal.

Eligibility

All full-time SOM faculty supported by extramural research funding with the last 3 years are eligible to apply for this grant program.

Application Format

  1. Title Page (please use the Title Page template).
    1. Title of the research project
    2. Applicant information (name, degree, academic rank, campus address, email address, and telephone number)
    3. Please provide the funding agency of the previously funded grant (i.e. the
      grant that is being bridged). Also, include the anticipated submission date
      for the extramural grant.
    4. Signature of applicant
    5. Signature of Department Head, with dates, which should serve as an
      affirmation of their support for the application and the overall
      competitiveness of project

  2. Abstract (limited to 250 words)

  3. Introduction (only for resubmissions of a proposal that was previously reviewed).
    For grants that are resubmitted, the applicants are permitted to provide a 1-page response to the previous critiques.

  4.  Specific Aims. Provide a concise description of the research aims to be
    addressed during the period of REP funding. These specific aims should
    describe the research that will be conducted for the REP application, and not
    necessarily all of the specific aims that will be proposed for extramural funding if
    those aims cannot be completed during the period of REP funding (i.e., describe
    exactly what specific aims can be accomplished in 1-2 years).

  5. Research Strategy (limit of 6 pages). The goal of this section is to provide a
    detailed description of the rationale, experimental design, anticipated results, and the problems and alternative approaches for the REP project (as above, this
    section should not just be a repetition of the extramural grant application if the
    REP application is only proposing a subset of the aims planned for the
    extramural grant application).
    1. Significance (recommend 1-2 pages) The goal of this section is to present
      the rationale for the proposed research and to summarize the literature
      supporting this line of investigation.
    2. Innovation (recommend ¼-½ page)
    3. Approach (recommended 3-4 pages)
      1. Experimental design
      2. Anticipated results
      3. Problems and alternative approaches

  6. Proposed Budget – Investigators will need to provide an overall itemized budget
    for the first year of the project, and a second year if they believe it will be needed. The budgets should include personnel, equipment (if required), supplies, and other expenses (such as publication costs). Travel will only be considered as an integral part of data gathering. The total period of support cannot exceed two years, and the annual award cannot exceed $75,000 per year. Salary support for clinical faculty can be requested as release time from their clinical duties. The salary support requested for all clinical faculty involved with the proposal cannot exceed $25,000, including fringe benefits (currently $17,730 salary plus $7,270 fringe – at 41%). Basic Science faculty who are associated with the project cannot request support for their salaries. No-cost extensions will be considered on request to the Associate Dean for Research (currently Dr. Wayne Backes wbacke@lsuhsc.edu). No expenditure of award funds can occur past the grant award period and the approved no-cost extension. The form page can be obtained at this link (REP Grant budget page).

  7. Budget Justification. A budget justification must accompany each budget. The
    budget must be appropriate for the scope of the study. In addition to the
    scientific merit of the proposal, both the duration and amount of funding
    requested will be reviewable by the study section. Investigators are not eligible
    to receive more than $200,000 from intramural grant programs within a 3-year
    period without successfully obtaining an extramural grant.

  8. Plans for Obtaining Extramural Support. Describe your plans to obtain renewal
    support for this proposal. Please include the targeted funding agencies and the
    anticipated time frame for submission of these extramural proposals. Include
    the Specific Aims that are planned for the extramural grant that will be
    submitted.

  9. Summary Statement from the most recent review by NIH, NSF, or other national
    agency review panel if available. This section should also include responses to
    the comments of the reviews. The purpose of the Bridge Grant mechanism is to
    provide support while a revised grant application is prepared for submission. In
    unusual cases, the applicant may submit a REP application to facilitate the
    development of a closely related, new proposal instead of a revised grant
    application.

  10. Current Research Support. List all current research support by agency number,
    title, and total direct costs awarded. They should also identify any departmental,
    institutional, or startup funding that they may have.

  11. NIH-type biographical sketch. The form page can be obtained at this link (REP
    Biosketch).

  12. The signed original application (by both applicant and department head), and an electronic version of the proposal should be submitted to the Chair of the
    Institutional Grant Review Committee (currently Dr. Peter Winsauer
    pwinsa@lsuhsc.edu).


The proposal must be submitted electronically as a single pdf. The title page must
have all signatures to be advanced to the review stage. This proposal should be
submitted to the Grant Evaluation Committee through SOM Research email
(SOMResearch@lsuhsc.edu).


ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE COMPLETE, INCLUDING ALL COMPONENTS LISTED ABOVE WITH ALL REQUIRED SIGNATURES AND DOCUMENTS PROVIDED ON THE ORIGINAL AT THE TIME OF SUBMISSION. APPLICATIONS MUST BE WITHDRAWN IMMEDIATELY UPON NOTIFICATION OF FUNDING BY AN EXTRAMURAL AGENCY.


Grant Deadlines

There are three competitions per year. The deadlines are March 9th, July 9th, and
November 9th.


Evaluation of Grant Proposals

Grant proposals will be reviewed by the Internal Grant Review Committee comprised of scientists who are members of the LSUHSC faculty. This grant review committee will
operate in a manner similar to NIH study sections. The criteria to be evaluated will
include (1) scientific merit and significance of the proposed project; (2) qualifications
and productivity of the applicant; (3) potential for securing support from National agencies; (4) appropriateness of funding for this mechanism; and (5) appropriateness of the budget. The committee will score proposals, and make a recommendation to the Dean of the School of Medicine.


Reporting

Request for second year funding – For two-year grants, the second year of funding is
contingent on adequate progress from the first year of support, and requires the
submission of a 1-2 page non-competing renewal. This renewal application must
include a short summary and evidence of productivity, particularly a list of grants
submitted, new summary statements, and a list of manuscripts and abstracts published, in press, or submitted over the prior grant period. The 2nd-year funding request should be sent electronically to the coordinator of the REP (SOMResearch@lsuhsc.edu), clearly indicating in the subject line the program name (i.e. REP Bridge Grant), the name of the PI, and that this is a request for second-year funding.

Final report – The principal investigator is responsible for submitting a final report within 3 months after completion of the grant. This report should include a one- to two-page summary of the progress made on the proposal, a list of manuscripts and abstracts published during this time, and a list of the grant applications submitted and their funding status. This information should be sent electronically to the administrative coordinator of the REP Program (SOMResearch@lsuhsc.edu), clearly indicating in the subject line the program name (i.e. REP Bridge Grant), the name of the PI, and that this is a final report. It is important for documentation of the success of this program and future requests for funding that we receive any information on grants that were funded with assistance from this program.


Termination

An awardee should promptly notify the Associate Dean for Research of the School of
Medicine (wbacke@lsuhsc.edu) of any change in their status as a member of the fulltime academic staff. The award will terminate on the date of the change to ineligible status. REP awards may not be transferred to other principal investigators or to other institutions. In the event that this project receives extramural support, the Associate Dean for Research should be notified immediately, and the unexpended funds from the REP grant are to be returned.