Request for Applications
BioinformaticsWorkshop Seed Grant Program
Gulf Coast Consortium for Bioinformatics
Gulf Coast Consortia

The Gulf Coast Consortia (GCC) were organized to catalyze interactions and provide a supportive environment for collaborative research and training programs that require expertise beyond that available in any one institution. The GCC has been fostering inter-disciplinary, inter-institutional collaborations to develop research and training efforts through a seed grant program designed to facilitate workshops, seminar series, retreats, symposia, collaborative grant planning meetings, and other collaborative planning activities. The Gulf Coast Consortium for Bioinformatics (GCCB) would like to build on this tradition through this seed grant program designed to enhance the bioinformatics community through educational workshops.

1.  Program Goals

The Bioinformatics Workshop Seed Grant Program from the GCCB is designed to promote workshops to build the GCC bioinformatics community through educational workshops, such as the recent hands-on Semantic Web and Systems Biology workshops.

2.  Eligibility Information

• Preference will be given to GCC Bioinformatics members.
• PIs must be full-time faculty members at a Gulf Coast Consortia institution (Baylor College of Medicine, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Rice University, University of Houston, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston).  

3. Selection Criteria

The selection criteria may include the following:

• Educational goals
• Potential for bringing together new sets of faculty for future research
• Novelty of the effort
• GCCB community impact

Responsibility for the review process is vested with the GCC Oversight Committee which will approve the final awards.

4.  Award Information

• Awards – Awards of up to $10,000 per grant are available to support bioinformatics workshops.
• Non-allowable expenses include:
• • Indirect costs/overhead
  • Faculty, staff, or student salary
  • Graduate student tuition
  • Renovation
• Total funding available – Approximately $30,000 will be available for awards. 
• Project period – one year with a projected start date of March 1, 2010

5.  Proposal Submission

• Deadline:  December 15, 2009
• Process: Click here for on-line submission site
• Institution approval is not required.

6.  Proposal Format

Applications not following these instructions will be not be accepted:

• Re-state bolded key words and respond to each item within the stated page limitations
• Print single-spaced on 8 1/2” x 11” paper with 1” margins
• Type must be at least 12 point type using Times New Roman font
• Captions and footnotes must be at least 9 point type

Workshop Summary [1 page maximum]

• Abstract:  Provide an executive summary of this workshop for a well-educated lay audience, including overall goal, methodology and significance.
• Unique Aspects:  Describe unique or distinctive aspects of this workshop. Describe hands-on aspects of this workshop.
• Budget:  State total cost of this project, amount requested from the GCC, and the amount of institutional support. Describe how funds requested from the GCC will be allocated.
• Justification for GCC support:  Explain why support from the GCC is essential for this activity.

Workshop Description [1 page maximum]

• Overview:  Provide an overview of the efforts to be undertaken and the need for this workshop. 
• Relevant Efforts:  Describe past and current efforts at your institution or within your group (e.g., cluster, consortium, training program) that are relevant to this workshop.
• Goals and Methodology:  State the major goals of this activity and summarize the methodologies and time frame to be used in achieving them.
• Impact:  Describe the potential impacts of achieving these goals, including educational benefit.

PI Information

• Include a biosketch for the PI.
• Include a list of grant support for the PI.

7.  Terms

• The GCC will provide administrative support for these workshops.
• Grantees must submit a brief final report summarizing the outcomes of the workshop.
• Awards may not be transferred to a non-GCC institution.

8.  Contact Information

• Catherine Higgins, Program Director, Research Consortia, Gulf Coast Consortia, Catherine.L.Higgins@rice.edu
• Sallie Keller, Chair, Gulf Coast Consortium for Bioinformatics, sallie@rice.edu
• Peter Davies, Chair, Gulf Coast Research Consortia, Peter.J.Davies@uth.tmc.edu
• Karen Ethun, Executive Director, Gulf Coast Consortia, kethun@rice.edu
• Kathleen Matthews, Chair, Gulf Coast Consortia Oversight Committee, ksm@rice.edu

More information about the Gulf Coast Consortia [click here]