On June 16, Governor Deval Patrick signed a $1 billion, 10-year initiative that provides $500 million in capital funding for life sciences in the Commonwealth, including more than $200 million for the UMass system. The legislation is the result of a year-long collaboration between the Governor, legislators, academics, life sciences industries, and patient advocates. UMass Amherst will benefit from $95 million devoted to a new life sciences center on campus and $5.5 million for the Mello Small Business grant program, named in honor of UMass Medical School researcher Craig Mello. The complete press release and text of the legislation is available online.

 

The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center board of directors, which will be responsible for deciding how the newly authorized $1 billion in state funding will be allocated, has recently added several new members and retained UMass President Jack Wilson as a board member. On July 23 the board approved $7 million in matching research grants to Massachusetts institutions, including a MLSC New Investigator Grant for UMass Amherst's Jesse Mager and a New Faculty Start-Up Grant in systems biology for UMass Amherst's Daniel Schnell.

 

Future issues of Research ACCESS will provide more information about this initiative as it progresses.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) was commissioned by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to develop an in-depth analysis of the Life Sciences "Super Cluster" in Massachusetts. The report was released at the annual meeting of the Biotechnology Industry Association in San Diego in June and is now available online (PDF). PWC's analysis included a survey of 150 life sciences leaders in the Commonwealth; they were asked to rank "the ease of establishing working relationships with various technology transfer offices in Commonwealth academic institutions." The results of the survey are:

Given the presence of over 30 technology transfer offices in the Commonwealth, and the relative youth of the UMass CVIP Office (started in 1995), this is an impressive accomplishment. To learn more about technology transfer at UMass, be sure to read the upcoming September and October issues of Research ACCESS, which will feature a two-part series on the topic. 

The creation of a single organization to consolidate federal innovation investments moved a small step closer to reality in June with the introduction of S. 3078, the National Innovation and Job Creation Act of 2008, in the Senate. The bill calls for the creation of a National Innovation Council and several new grant programs to support state-directed technology-based economic development initiatives.
 
Five new grant programs would be administered by the Council if S. 3078 passes in its current form. The size of the mandated awards suggests a considerable pool of new federal investment would be required after nearly a decade of reduced or level funding for most federal tech-based economic development. S. 3078 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. More information is available online.

 

 

 

Technology Innovation Program Grants
Deadline: September 4, 2008
Estimated Award Size: Up to $3 million for 3 years for single-institution projects; up to $9 million for 5 years for partnership projects
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) seeks proposals for projects to develop innovative technologies for inspecting, monitoring, and evaluating critical components of the nation's roadways, bridges, and drinking and wastewater systems. These grants provide first-year funding for R&D projects focused on new, efficient, accurate, low-cost, and reliable sensors and related technologies that provide quantitative assessments of the structural integrity or degree of deterioration of bridges, roads, water mains, and wastewater collection systems. More information is available online.
 
FOUNDATION FUNDING

 

Faculty interested in applying for the following foundation-sponsored opportunities are encouraged to contact Susan Worgaftik (413-547-2956) for assistance or more information.

 

Art Cataloguing and Documentation Funding

 
Childhood Obesity Research Grants
Deadline: August 28, 2008
Estimated Award Size: Varies by grant type (up to $50,000)
Active Living Research is a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that supports research for increasing physical activity, decreasing sedentary behaviors, and preventing obesity among children and adolescents.
 
Social Science Research Council's Abe Fellowships
Deadline: September 1, 2008
Estimated Award Size: Varies, for 3 to 12 months
The Abe Fellowship Program encourages international multidisciplinary research on topics of pressing global concern in the social sciences relevant to security and diplomacy, global and regional economic issues, or the role of civil society.
 
Cottrell Scholar Awards
Deadline: September 2, 2008
Estimated Award Size: $100,000
Awarded to tenure-track faculty in astronomy, biochemistry, biophysics, chemistry, or physics, Cottrell Scholar Awards reinforce faculty mentoring, communication, and a heightened appreciation for instruction in university science departments.
 
Lymphoma Research Grant
Deadline: September 10, 2008
Estimated Award Size: $50,000 in the first year; $55,000 in the second
The Lymphoma Research Foundation is accepting applications for post-doctoral Fellowships to conduct research with results clearly relevant to the treatment, diagnosis, or prevention of Hodgkin and/or non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
 
Biomedical Research Award
Deadline: September 11, 2008
Estimated Award Size: $100,000 per year for 3 years
The Smith Family Awards for Excellence in Biomedical Research invites applications from junior faculty in any biomedical field and seeks to launch the careers of outstanding biomedical researchers with the ultimate goal of acce lerating medical discoveries.
 
Cancer Prevention Research Grant
Deadline: September 14, 2008
Estimated Award Size: $40,000 per year for 2 years
The Prevent Cancer Foundation seeks proposals for basic, clinical, translational, and population-based research projects; education programs in cancer prevention; early detection projects; and behavioral intervention projects.
 
Child Health Research Awards
Deadline: September 16, 2008
Estimated Award Size: $75,000 per year for 2 years
The Charles H. Hood Foundation's Child Health Research Awards Program supports newly independent faculty in demonstrating creativity and transitioning to other sources of research funding for projects relevant to child health.

Health Care Research Grants

 
Albert Szent-Györgyi Prize for Cancer Research
Deadline: September 30, 2008
Estimated Award Size: $25,000
The Albert Szent-Györgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research provides a cash prize to a distinguished individual who has demonstrated significant advancement in the field of cancer research, specifically through basic cancer research leading to prevention, diagnosis, or treatment.
 
Music Science Research and Archive Grants
Deadline: October 1, 2008
Estimated Award Size: Varies
The Grammy Foundation Grants Program is accepting applications for scientific research projects related to the impact of music on the human condition or archiving and preservation projects that advance the conservation of the music and recorded sound heritage of the Americas.
 
Dissertation Development Program Research Directors
Deadline: October 3, 2008
Estimated Stipend Size: $10,000
The Social Science Research Council invites applications from experienced dissertation supervisors for positions as Research Directors in the Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship program, designed to help graduate students in the humanities and social sciences formulate dissertation proposals that are intellectually pointed, amenable to completion in a reasonable time frame, and viable for fellowship competitions.
 
Kresge Health Initiative & Environmental Initiative
Deadline: Ongoing
Estimated Award Size: Varies
The Kresge Foundation's Health Initiative supports approaches to health work within three broad areas: the natural environment, the built environment, and the social environment. Kresge's Environmental Initiative supports approaches to climate change concerns within three broad areas: reducing greenhouse gas emissions, accelerating the adoption of renewable energy technologies, and developing strategies for adapting to climate change.