Infectious Diseases Institute

IDI Trainee Transformative Research Grant Program

Research grant funding is available for trainee‑driven, up to $2,000, transformative research grants intended to foster new collaborative efforts and to increase a project's impact, ability to publish and/or how the research might lead to novel discoveries.

Guidelines 

The goal of this funding mechanism is to provide support for targeted (up to $2,000), trainee‑driven, transformative research grants. Applicants must be trainee members of IDI performing research that aligns with the mission of the IDI. Trainee members include research assistants/associates, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research scientists and medical fellows.

Applicants must identify an aspect of their project that would be enhanced by a collaborator with expertise not currently available in their own laboratory. The applicant must justify how this grant would increase the impact of their study, their ability to publish their research, and/or how the proposed studies might lead to new directions for their project. 

The applicant must identify a PI at Ohio State or Nationwide Children’s Hospital whose group has the necessary expertise. This cannot be a core facility. The PI will connect the applicant with someone in their lab that can provide technical and intellectual input to allow completion of the proposed experiments. This person acts as the co-applicant, with their PI’s approval. The expectation is that the applicant and coapplicant will work together on the proposed experiments. If the experiments are successful, this should result in a publication between the two laboratories. 

Requested funds can be used for reagents, software, animals, computing time, core facility charges, or other appropriate costs, not including salary. If using a core facility or external provider, the data generated must be further utilized by the applicant and co-applicant to advance their joint study. 

The potential range of projects is broad, but to provide some indication of possible collaborations, two examples are provided below. 

  1. A trainee has identified a potential glycan receptor for a viral protein using a glycan array. This receptor is not commercially available, but the applicant has identified a lab that synthesizes similar carbohydrate structures and is willing to collaborate to synthesize this structure, which the applicant will use in binding studies.
  2. A laboratory has identified a host molecule, the expression of which is induced during a bacterial infection. The applicant wants to identify specifically which cell type(s) are responding and identified a laboratory that routinely performs similar studies. The applicant’s proposal seeks funds to submit the tissues to a core facility for embedding and slicing and for subsequent analysis in collaboration with the co-applicant by fluorescent staining, microscopy and image analysis. 

Submission and Review Process

Proposals must be submitted via email to IDI@osu.edu.

Proposals must be submitted in PDF format and must include the following: 

  1. Cover form including PI signatures
  2. A description of the project including the proposed experiments, justification of the need for these experiments (including a mention of the trainee’s independent initiation of the project), and justification of collaborating PI and co-applicant
    1. Two-page limit, including figures, tables, and references
    2. Single spaced, half‐inch (.5) margins and 11‐point font (or larger)
  3. Applicant’s and co-applicant’s CVs
  4. Detailed budget describing how the funds will be used (no specific format)
  5. Budget justification

Timeline and Funding

Applications are accepted twice per year. Applications must be submitted to as a single PDF by 5:00 PM (ET) on the due date. If the due date falls on a weekend or University holiday, the due date is the next business day.

  • Fall Cycle
    • Request for Applications: September 1
    • Applications Due: October 1
    • Earliest Start Date: December 1
  • Spring Cycle
    • Request for Applications: March 1
    • Applications Due: April 1
    • Earliest Start Date: June 1

Proposals fulfilling program requirements will be reviewed by the IDI Education Committee. These reviews will be used to select recipients and will be provided to applicants in order to strengthen future applications. Applications can be resubmitted on one additional occasion.

Application Requirements

  1. The applicant and their PI have to be members of IDI prior to the application being submitted. The co-applicant and their PI have to join IDI if the grant is awarded.
    1. Become an IDI member
  2. Applicants and co-applicants can be named on only one application per cycle.
  3. Applicants are not eligible for a second award within a two-year period. 

Award Requirements

  1. An IACUC/IRB approval letter (if applicable) will be forwarded to the IDI Trainee Transformative Research Grant Program administrator within 60 days of the award start date
  2. Become a member of the IDI Trainee Association (IDI-TA) and participate in at least one outreach event
  3. The IDI will be acknowledged in all Invention Disclosures Forms (IDFs)/Intellectual Property Disclosure Reports (IPDR) to OSU or to collaborating institutions, all publications, posters and presentations, news releases and other communications resulting from this award. Where applicable, please include the following support acknowledgements:
    1. “This work was supported by funds provided by the Infectious Diseases Institute (idi.osu.edu)” for publications
    2. When providing funding sources on invention disclosure IPDRs or other potential intellectual property assets (e.g., material(s) transfer agreements, data use agreements) please list the IDI (CC10995) as one of the funding sources
  4. Any IDFs filed and subsequent steps toward commercialization (patent applications, commercial marketing activities) directly funded from this trainee grant, in whole or in part, should be reported to the IDI on an annual basis using our reporting form including all IDF information and associated matter numbers.
  5. A final project closure report will be submitted to the IDI Trainee Transformative Research Grant Program administrator
    1. The final project closure report will be submitted by the required date as communicated and will include the following:
      1. Documentation of funding proposals emanating from the award
      2. Information re: presentations and publications of data directly funded from the award and any IDFs filed or planned to be filed and any associated IP filings created or agreements incorporating the IDF incorporating the IDF and the associated matter numbers
      3. Impact of the award on your research
  6. Annual updates regarding Return on Investment  (e.g., publications, presentations, grant submissions, grant awards, intellectual property) must be submitted within two weeks of the request date
  7. All university and college/unit-specific policies will be followed
  8. All policies, standards, and proper research protocols will be followed as you conduct your research
  9. Funds will be transferred into a non-OSP fund
    1. The IDI fiscal staff will work with your college/unit to facilitate the funds transfer