Funding Bioinformatics

1. Funding Bioinformatics Chuong Huynh NIH/NLM/NCBI, Bethesda, MD USA huynh@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

2. Acknowledgement • Beth Fischer and Michael Zigmond • University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA • Phelix Majiwa • International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi, Kenya

3. Outline of Presentation • General Funding Strategy • Discussion: Case scenario • Opinions on funding direction in Bioinformatics

4. General Funding Strategy

5. What is Bioinformatics? - Research, development, or application of computational tools and approaches for expanding the use of biological, medical, behavioral or health data, including those to acquire, store, organize, archive, analyze, or visualize such data. What is Computational Biology? - The development and application of data-analytical and theoretical methods, mathematical modeling and computational simulation techniques to the study of biological, behavioral, and social systems. What is Bioinformatics? (Working Definition of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology - July 17, 2000). http://www.grants2.nih.gov/grants/bistic/CompuBioDef.pdf

6. General Strategy • Have an adequate concept • Identify sources of funding • Present your idea effectively and comprehensively • Understand the grant process • Be persistent

7. General Strategy • Have an adequate concept • A good idea is necessary, but not sufficient. The idea does not necessarily have to be original. • Identify sources of funding • Present your idea effectively and comprehensively • Understand the grant process • Be persistent

8. Does the concept FIT? • Fill a gap in knowledge? • Important to a field, funding agency, your group? • Test a hypothesis (hypothesis-driven) • Short term investment in long term goals (resource-driven) Indequate concept = NO FUNDING

9. Audience Participation!!! What kind of bioinformatics concept is worth funding? Examples …. • Identify the problem (bigger perhaps more money) • What do you want to do about the problem • Know your field very well (or create a new field) before you begin Focus questions: Why?, So What?, Who cares? Who will benefit and when?

10. Before You Grant Writing • Identify your role in the project: primary, catalytic or facilitator • Identify stakeholders and potential collaborators (i.e. the interested parties) in the project • Identify (or devise) a strategy to get others interested in getting the project done. • Get all the relevant parties talking electronically or through a meeting if possible. • Have a draft of the project for this purpose • Endorsement of involved parties

11. General Strategy • Have an adequate concept • A good idea is necessary, but not sufficient. The idea does not necessarily have to be original. • Identify sources of funding • Present your idea effectively and comprehensively • Understand the grant process • Be persistent

12. Types of Funding • Grants – funds provided, but not required to be repaid (solicited and nonsolicited) • Loan – funds provided, and REQUIRED to be REPAID • Investment – funds provided, for a percentage of the future returns (VC) • Siphoning – redirected funds previously allocated from other funds

13. Categories of Grants • Solicited • Institute initiated research • Program announcements – ongoing opportunity for research (Little or No programmatic funding involvement; funds may/may not be preallocated) • Requests for application – invitation application in well defined scientific areas to stimulate activity (High programmatic involvement during performance of the work; funds preallocated) • Nonsolicited • Investigator initiated research

14. Objective Research Training/Career Fellowship Career development Conference Equipment Infrastructure Travel Form Contracts Investigator-initiated Groups Individual Types of Grants

15. Availability of Grants • Governments • US National Institutes of Health; National Science Foundation; Singapore Ministry of Economics; South African Medical Research Council; Canadian Research Challenge Funds • Non-government organizations • WHO/TDR; • Philanthropic Foundations • Gates Foundation; Compaq Foundation; Wellcome Trust; Jack Kent Cook Foundation • Corporations • Intel; IBM; Genetic Savings and Clone, Inc.; Pharmaceutical companies; biotechnology company; Venture capitalist • Private Individuals • John Sperling

16. Targeted Funding

17. US Bioinformatics Funding Opportunties • NIH Bioinformatics Funding Informationhttp://grants.nih.gov/grants/bistic/bistic_funding.cfm - Biomedical Information Science and Technology Initiative (BISTI) • DARPA Bio-Computation Announcement BAA #01-26http://www.darpa.mil/ito/Solicitations/CBD_01-26.html http://www.darpa.mil/DSO/solicitations/00/index.htm • Pharma Foundation Genomics & Informatics > Center for Excellence in Integration of Genomics & Informaticshttp://www.phrmafoundation.org/awards/genomics/excellence.phtml

18. Grant Search Engines • http://www.grantsnet.org/ • http://www.sciencewise.com/ • Funding alert via email • Funding search of gov’t, NGO, corporate, international sources

19. General Strategy • Have an adequate concept • A good idea is necessary, but not sufficient. The idea does not necessarily have to be original. • Identify sources of funding • Present your idea effectively and comprehensively • Understand the grant process • Be persistent

20. How much money do you need? • Scale? • Supplies – back up tapes • Equipment cost (minor and major equipment) • Salary for personnel • Administrative cost • Taxes/Duties/Custom • Technical Support • Training/Education Cost • Travel cost • Scientific meeting cost Keep the money coming, I’ll tell you when to stop 

21. Preparing 1. establish frame of mind 2. develop concept 3. identify funding source 4. inform your institution 5. refine concept Writing 6. think like a reviewer 7. outline, write, edit 8. get feedback & revise Submitting 9. get approvals 10. obtain assignment 11. submit application 12. provide add’l material 13. ensure receipt Responding 14. await review 15. study report 16. respond to report Think ahead and plan backwards. Don’t Forget the Deadline. Grantspersonship

22. Present Your Idea Effectively • No grammatical mistakes, no misspelled word • No vague words • Active voice • Organized • Table of contents

23. General Strategy • Have an adequate concept • A good idea is necessary, but not sufficient. The idea does not necessarily have to be original. • Identify sources of funding • Present your idea effectively and comprehensively • Understand the grant process • Be persistent

24. is concept relevant current instructions who reviews what are criteria funding percentage level (amount, years) characteristics strong proposals weak proposals appendix material ok? when, to whom? pre-review possible Ask program staff

25. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) • Richard Morris, Ph.D.NIAID6700-B Rockledge DriveBethesda, MD 20852TEL: 301-594-7670FAX: 301-402-2571Email: rm69e@nih.gov • Linda ShawNIAID6700-B Rockledge DriveBethesda, MD 20892TEL: 301-402-6611FAX: 301-480-3780Email: ls15k@nih.gov

26. Forgarty International Center (FIC) • Joshua Rosenthal, Ph.D.FIC31 Center Drive - Room B2C39Bethesda, MD 20892-2220TEL: 301-496-1653FAX: 301-402-2056Email: Joshua_Rosenthal@nih.gov • Silvia MandesFIC31 Center Drive - Room B2C39Bethesda, MD 20892TEL: 301-496-1653FAX: 301-402-0779Email: mandess@mail.nih.gov

27. Identify Past Funding • Search databases for previous funded projects to determine what has been funded in the past • CRISP – A database of biomedical research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) https://www-commons.cit.nih.gov/crisp/

28. Suggestions • Sources of Information: internet, reference books, colleagues, acknowledgements on papers, office of research at your institution, libraries • Communicate with program staff • Make yourself known – market yourself/group and your project • Network • Persistent • Involvement • WHY the project should be done is more important WHAT should be done. • Most Call for Application has a short time line. Act quickly.

29. General Strategy • Have an adequate concept • A good idea is necessary, but not sufficient. The idea does not necessarily have to be original. • Identify sources of funding • Present your idea effectively and comprehensively • Understand the grant process • Be persistent

30. Why didn’t you get funded? • Inadequate rationale • Unoriginal concept • Poor presentation (diffuse or superficial) • Lack of knowledge • Poor reasoning • Uncertain future directions • Unrealistic workload • Uncritical approach • Poor understanding of the process • Lack of persistence • Not within scope (interest or mandate) of the funding agency

31. Summary • There is money available • But getting the money: • A good idea • A proper match • Good grants • Persistence • It is hard work • It is worth it!!!!

32. Discussion: Case Study

33. Case Study for Funding • The director of the University of Paraguay ask you to organize a bioinformatics training course for biologist in your institution and other regional institution in South America, unfortunately the university has no money to fund the bioinformatics training course completely. So your task is to find funding for a bioinformatics training course. • What would you do? What are the steps?