The goal of the North Carolina Diabetes Research Center (NCDRC) is to increase the impact of the already important diabetes research ongoing at Duke University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), and Wake Forest School of Medicine (WF). Each has rich resources and outstanding investigators, and the NCDRC represents a timely opportunity to enhance interactions among these research communities and expand unique capabilities at each site to their neighboring campuses. The mission of the NCDRC is to provide investigators, both established in or new to diabetes research, with access to powerful research technologies to enhance the impact of their work, as well as to connect investigators with collaborators, both at intra - and inter-institutional levels, to broaden the scope of their projects.
Required Letter of Intent Deadline: August 25, 2021, 11:59 p.m.
Invited Full Application Deadline: October 20, 2021, 11:59 p.m.
Project Start Date: April 1, 2022
To be considered eligible to apply for P&F funding, independent investigators holding faculty appointments at the participating NCDRC institutions have to fit into one of the following four categories:
- New investigators that have no current or past R01-level NIH research support, or equivalent VA or Foundation support, as a PD/PI, as per the NIH policy on Early Career Investigators.
- Established investigators new to diabetes research. Specific to the LOI, these investigators have to demonstrate that they have not had previous funding/work in diabetes and describe how they will apply their expertise to a problem related to diabetes (basic mechanisms of diabetes, diabetes-related complications, co-morbidities, etc.).
- Established investigators in diabetes. A subset of awards will be allocated to investigators already well established in the diabetes field and that propose to test innovative ideas embodying a clear departure from ongoing research interests.
- Research methods or technology advancement. Investigators developing new research techniques or novel technologies that could be used in a DRC Core facility will also be considered for P&F funding.
More than one proposal may be submitted per faculty member acting as PI, but the faculty member is only eligible to receive one award as PI during a given funding cycle.
Up to three projects will be funded. Successful pilots will receive up to $50,000 in direct costs per year for one year . All projects must meet the above specifications outlined under “Purpose” and “Eligibility”. Final project budgets will be based on a complete review of the submitted budget and budget justification. See “Budget Guidelines” for more details. All funds are to be spent within a one-year project period.