NIH In Vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging Centers (ICMICs) (P50)

WHAT:        Limited Submission Proposal for the NIH In Vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging Centers (ICMICs) (P50) (NCI)

WHO:          Texas A&M University faculty.  TAES, TEES and TTI personnel may wish to submit internal proposals through their own agency.

WHY:          NIH anticipates making awards with a maximum of $2,000,000 dollars in total costs (direct costs plus indirect costs) per year for a maximum of five years.

WHEN:        Internal proposal deadline of June 25, 2007.

HOW:          TAMU faculty should submit internal proposal to osppc@tamu.edu  for review by the internal selection committee.  

THE FINE PRINT:

BRIEF PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:  The NIH In Vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging Centers (ICMICs) (P50) (NCI) Program is designed to:  support unique core facilities; enable to awardees to initiate pilot research in new promising directions; and provide interdisciplinary career development opportunities for investigators new to the field of molecular cancer imaging.  ICMICs are also intended to accelerate the progress in molecular imaging as the basis for the extraordinary, non-invasive and quantitative analytical tools useful in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, as well as in the laboratory environment to interrogate biological pathways relevant to cancer.

Each institution can capitalize on its own unique scientific strengths in order to define the structure and research objectives that create the most synergistic and creative scientific interactions.  Key personnel of ICMICs may comprise scientists from a variety of fields including, but not limited to:  imaging sciences, chemistry, radiopharmaceutical chemistry, cell and molecular biology, pathology, pharmacology, computational sciences and biomedical engineering.  Other specialists in fields such as MRI physics, immunology and neuroscience may also be involved.

ICMICs will provide funding for a minimum of three Research Components, which will apply multidisciplinary approaches based on molecular imaging that are either directly applicable to the clinic or reflect the pre-clinical development of molecular imaging reagents or technologies that will ultimately support clinically-relevant research. ICMICs will also provide Specialized Resource Facilities and Services, which can include demands for equipment, resources and reagents.

In addition, ICMICs will also provide Developmental Funds for feasibility testing of new projects that stimulate interdisciplinary collaborations, while addressing promising emerging research opportunities.  Developmental Projects may not be supported for more than two years as necessary equipment should be provided through the appropriate Specialized Resource.  Finally, ICMICs will provide career development opportunities for new and established investigators, as well as providing support for a limited number of pre-and post-doctoral trainees in a program to be defined by the applicants.  Career development opportunities through the ICMIC will be expected to be highly cross-disciplinary.

NIH anticipates making awards with a maximum of $2,000,000 dollars in total costs (direct costs plus indirect costs) per year for a maximum of five years.

More information can be found here.

Internal Selection Procedures and Deadlines

June 22, 2007:  Deadline for an email of intent, including the names of the PI and co-PIs, title of internal proposal and a 1-3 sentence description of the project.  Send email of intent to OSP.    

June 25, 2007: Deadline to obtain signatures of approval from your department head and college dean to submit an internal proposal to the Office of Sponsored Projects for review by the internal selection committee.  The internal proposal should include:

(1)     An executive summary, up to three pages, based on the proposal description as outlined in the NIH program announcement;

(2)     Summary budget;

(3)     Project and Management Plans (including team members)

The form for completing the internal proposal is here.

This completed form should be submitted electronically (via email) for review by the internal selection committee.

Please read the RFP carefully for specific requirements of the program (here).      

Selection of a proposal will be based on NIH guidelines.  The needs of the university’s reinvestment plan will also be taken into account. 

During the selection process, the internal selection committee may contact departments and colleges for their opinions and commitments.  They may also request additional information from PIs.

July 6, 2007: The Internal Selection Committee will notify PIs of the result of the internal competition.

July 16, 2007: Deadline for optional, but recommended, letter of intent to NIH.

August 16, 2007:  Deadline for full proposal.