Student-Initiated Research Projects (SIRP) Program

Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

2024 NOFO Links

The South Carolina IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (SC INBRE) and the SC INBRE Bioinformatics Core solicits applications for the Student-initiated Research Project (SIRP) program. This program is designed to enrich the academic experience of students and to better prepare future generations of researchers, investigators, and entrepreneurs throughout the SC INBRE network. SIRP applications must apply bioinformatics tools to biomedical research questions.  The project should include acquisition and/or computational analyses of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and/or health data. The project must fit within the broad scientific focus areas of SC INBRE: Biochemistry/Cell and Molecular Biology, Bioinformatics, Bio/Biomedical Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Neuroscience.

 

Up to five new SIRP awards will be made throughout the state. SIRP awards support bioinformatics training for undergraduate or graduate students.

Important Dates 

Award amounts and number of anticipated awards

Up to five awards of $3,000 each will be awarded

Forms and Links

LOI and Application Submission Instructions and Contact Information

To submit a Letter of Intent (LOI), please click on the link above. The LOI must be completed by 5 pm ET on March 4, 2024.

Completed LOIs will include the title and short description of your project. This short description is limited to 4 sentences total and should accurately describe the biomedical relevance of your project.

Where applicable, please make sure the applicant’s email address is used for correspondence, not the applicant’s advisor.

Completed applications, including required signatures on the Face page, must be submitted to the link above by 5 pm ET on April 5, 2024.

Applications submitted without a Letter of Intent submission will not be accepted.

Applications with missing components will not be accepted.

If you have any questions relating to this NOFO please contact John.Clarkson@uscmed.sc.edu.

Utilization of Core Facilities

If core facility support is required, projects should propose to work with one of the following INBRE-supported facilities:


If utilizing the services of a core facility, applicants must work with facility directors to plan the proposed experiments. A letter of support from the chosen facility’s Director, or a quote if using a commercial facility, must be included in the proposal. 


If the technical services required by the project cannot be provided by any of the listed facilities, or the project is based upon existing collaborations that involve the use of other resources, it is acceptable to use other service providers, in or outside South Carolina, but a justification must be provided.

Eligibility

SIRP proposals are solicited from currently enrolled undergraduate or graduate/medical students at institutions of higher education in the SC INBRE network who have not previously held a SIRP award.

Work must be performed while you are enrolled and prior to graduation from your current program.

 

**Only one proposal per funding period will be accepted from any student. Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

Although more than one application can be submitted per lab per funding period, the projects submitted by students with the same faculty mentor must be distinct projects.  Two students working as a team on the same project under the same mentor can apply together for a single SIRP award although the award amount will remain the same. 

Proposal Preparation Instructions

The application package can be downloaded from the SC INBRE website (www.scinbre.org) in a fillable, pdf format. All forms must be completed according to the published guidelines found on the SC INBRE website. Each package includes the following:

 

No activities involving human subjects can be initiated without appropriate IRB approval of the protocol. Applications with human subjects that do not have prior IRB approval will not be reviewed.

Research involving vertebrate animals must be approved by the IACUC before work on the project can begin.

Review

Applications will be reviewed by the SC INBRE Administrative Core personnel to determine responsiveness to the FOA, eligibility of the applicant, completeness of the application, and information regarding human subjects and vertebrate animals. Applications deemed incomplete, ineligible, or not responsive will be returned to the applicants. 

All proposals that meet the eligibility requirements and guidelines will be independently evaluated by SC INBRE’s Scientific Review Committee. A competitive proposal will describe a focused set of experiments that require bioinformatics methods of data analysis and will provide the applicant with training in bioinformatics tools and approaches. Reviewers will apply the following review criteria: 

Final decisions on funding will be made by the SC INBRE External Advisory Committee and NIGMS. 

Awards and Reporting Requirements

All applicants will receive a notice of award/declination and copies of the reviewers’ comments via email. Award recipients are required to provide the SC INBRE Administrative Core with project data for evaluation and reporting purposes, as follows: 

After the expiration date of each award, SC INBRE will continue to contact awardees for outcome-related data such as post-baccalaureate educational plans and job placement.

Page updated Feb 9, 2024