The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative invites applications for the third of three cycles for 18-month projects focused on advancing tools and resources that make it possible to gain greater insights into health and disease from single-cell biology datasets.
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) seeks to support projects that will advance the fields of single-cell biology and data science. Grantees will be expected to interact with existing groups to build community and accelerate progress. Applications are encouraged from computational experts outside the field of single-cell biology, but with expertise relevant to overcoming current bottlenecks and driving discoveries in the single-cell biology field. Projects may include: dedicated efforts to democratize access and usability of existing datasets; demonstration of utility by leveraging existing datasets to address impactful and challenging biological questions; and developing methods that enable greater biological insight and other major challenges brought forward. This request for applications is the last of three currently planned cycles, with successful projects receiving 18 months of funding support.
Applications for two types of grants are welcome and will be reviewed independently. The maximum budgets for proposed projects are $400,000 total costs for Expanded Projects and $200,000 total costs for Focused Projects. All project awards will be for an 18-month duration. The goal of this opportunity is to create a network of projects that address broad computational challenges and needs within single-cell biology at a variety of scales. Applicants may highlight existing or prospective collaboration among projects, but should note that all applications will be reviewed for their individual merit and impact.
Deadlines:
- Cycle 1: Dec. 14, 2021
- Cycle 2: August 25, 2022
- Cycle 3: Dec. 5, 2023
- Applications may be submitted by domestic and foreign nonprofit organizations including public and private institutions, such as colleges, universities, hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local government, and eligible agencies of the federal government. For-profit organizations are not eligible to receive funding but may be involved in projects as a collaborator. All grants will be awarded to institutions, not individuals.
- There may be more than one application submitted by each organization.
- Each application should designate one Principal Investigator (PI) as the Coordinating Principal Investigator (Coordinating PI). The Coordinating PI will act as the administrative contact between CZI and all other PIs on the grant (Co-PIs). The Coordinating PI must submit the application on behalf of all PIs. The Coordinating PI must be affiliated with the institution submitting the application, and grant funds will be awarded to that institution, which will take responsibility for distributing funds to any other institutions. Note that institutions outside the U.S. may not subcontract to U.S. institutions, so please be mindful when selecting the Coordinating PI/institution.
- All key personnel must be named in the grant in the budget section along with their percent effort. This includes graduate students, postdocs, and staff scientists. Although recruiting new members to the lab is allowable, it is strongly encouraged that key personnel are in place at the outset of the grant to allow for consistent community building and project progression.
- Each application must have a minimum of one PI (Coordinating PI), but may designate up to three total PIs (one Coordinating PI and up to two Co-PIs).
- Principal Investigators may serve as Coordinating Principal Investigator on multiple applications provided that the proposed scope of work for all applications is non-overlapping.
- PIs/Co-PIs on one application may be employed at the same or at different institutions.
- PIs and Co-PIs must each be permitted to receive grant support by the organization they are applying with. This criteria may be defined differently in different types of organizations. Examples of eligible positions are:
- Tenure track faculty;
- Non-tenure track faculty or staff scientists who lead a lab or are engaged in academic activities and are permitted to apply for grants by their institution;
- Researchers with expertise in the relevant areas that are affiliated with or supported by an institution and permitted to apply for grants; and
- Postdoctoral fellows and graduate students who are permitted to apply for grants by their institution and apply through the institution at which they will conduct the research.
- For graduate students or postdoctoral scholars who wish to participate in a grant but are not eligible to apply for grants through their institution, applications must be submitted through one of the eligible parties listed above.
- Co-PIs from companies are permitted as long as no funds are requested to support them or their work.
- Early-career investigators are strongly encouraged to apply as Coordinating PIs as well as Co-PIs.
- We believe that the strongest teams incorporate a wide range of voices. Those underrepresented in science and technology are strongly encouraged to apply.
- Successful awardees from the first and second cycle are eligible to apply in this cycle, with a budget and scope of work that can be either similar or altered depending on project needs. These applications will be evaluated alongside new applications.