TVAREF Seed Grant Program - Application

Instructions and Narrative [Jump to Application Link]

ELIGILBILTY

• Applicants must be 5/8’s time, or 100% geographically located at the VA and be a US citizen (or have a Green card) and be eligible for VA funding for a Career Development Award or a Merit Review Award. Each applicant shall hold a M.D., Ph.D., or equivalent doctoral degree in medical, biological or behavioral science. Co-applicants are not allowed.
• Final deadline for applications to be received in the Tampa VA Research and Education (TVAREF) office, no later than close of business, Friday, March 29, 2013 for a start date of July 1, 2013 and completed within one year of start date. A no cost extension may be requested if deemed necessary and approved by the Executive Director. Please submit entire application forms in pdf format to Doug Reeder.
• Complete all items on the attached forms. The application narrative shall be no more than three pages in length. Prepare the application on standard 8.5” x 11” white paper, single-sided and single spaced, height of the letters must be at least 11 points. Except for margin requirements of specific forms, allow a one-inch (1”) margin at all edges and use a single column. All tables, diagrams, graphs and charts, must be clear and legible.
• All figures and tables shall be included in the text. As long as it is clearly legible, type size for figures, charts, tables, footnotes and figure legends, may be smaller.
• Failure to follow these instructions and provide complete information may result in administrative withdrawal of the application.
• Supplemental information, such as CV’s and letters of support from department chairmen for junior investigators, is encouraged.
  

PROTOCOL APPROVAL

• Applications approved for funding must subsequently be approved by appropriate Research & Development subcommittees. [Human Studies Subcommittee , Subcommittee on Animal Studies, Radiation Safety, and/or the Bio-safety Committee]. Final approval from these committees must be obtained before funding is released. Any variations from the original grant proposal are subject to review and approval or disapproval by the appropriate Committees and the TVAREF Board of Directors prior to implementation.
  

  Grant questions should be directed to Doug Reeder at 813-780-2623, x103.

NARRATIVE

Include sufficient information to facilitate an effective review without reference to any previous application. Brevity and clarity are essential components in the presentation of a research plan. There is a 3 page limit on the narrative portion of applications. The publications and literature citations are not counted toward the 5 page limit of the narrative. Any application that goes beyond the 3 page limit will not be reviewed. The following format is required:

1. RATIONALE
   1. Briefly state the problem to be investigated.
   2. State the hypotheses or key questions to be answered by the study.
   3. Summarize specific objectives. Briefly and concisely list the short-term and long-term objectives of this research; for long-term objectives identify expected intermediate goals. Outline an anticipated timetable for achievement of the short-term objectives.
   4. State the current status of research in the area. Describe the research that has been done toward solution of the problem(s) and how this knowledge relates to the hypotheses, or questions presented above. This description should be sufficiently complete to demonstrate that the principal investigator is aware of all related work. When pertinent, studies both supportive of and contrary to the hypotheses should be quoted and discussed. This discussion should be concise and relevant to the problem(s), hypotheses, or questions.
   5. State the significance of this research. Explain the potential importance of the proposed work, and identify any unique ideas or potential contributions that might result from this study. Significance relates to the likelihood that the research will lead to new knowledge or advances within its field of science, when judged by the "current state of art" of that field of science. This is a judgment of the inherent value of the research.
   6. Indicate the relevance of the proposed work to VA patient care mission. For this purpose, Clinical Relevance can be either the Research itself, or the direct or indirect contribution of the applicant to the clinical care mission of the Veterans Health Administration.
      
      
2. BACKGROUND AND WORK ACCOMPLISHED (Preliminary Work/Progress Report): Describe briefly any studies you and your co-workers have done that are pertinent to this proposal. If this is an ongoing program or a request for supplemental funds, include a detailed report of the progress made since the program's inception. The Progress Report should describe accomplishments to date and may include charts, graphs, or other materials that succinctly present significant data. If progress can be best described by some of your publications, submit pertinent papers (up to 3) to support your Progress Report.
   
   
3. WORK PROPOSED: Methods of procedure. Give details of your research plan, including descriptive examples of the types of experiments or other work that you propose, the major methods to be used the specific techniques (e.g. instrumentation, statistical methods) to be employed, the kinds of data that you expect to obtain, and the means by which the data will be analyzed and interpreted. Be as specific as possible. When animals are to be used, list the number and types, including strains and species.
   
   
4. RESOURCES: Describe the facilities and personnel required for the project. Indicate which are available and which must be obtained, including office and laboratory space, data processing facilities, clinical research facilities, access to specific patients, access to VA staff, animal rooms, and major equipment and/or supply items.
   
   
5. COLLABORATION: Describe any proposed collaboration with institutions and investigators. Include a description of the role of additional professional personnel and a letter from each agreeing to participate
   
   
6. LITERATURE REFERENCES: Include full titles of each published paper cited. Limit this information to a maximum of 2 pages.
   
   
7. The TVAREF should be mentioned in any publications or presentations.
   
   

Seed Grant Application (PDF, 42 KB)