Internal Grant Renewal

Investigators can be funded by at most two internal projects and serve as PI for at most one project. A renewal application will affect the likelihood of additional proposals by the same investigators being funded.

Funds can be used to support the stipend/salary/fringe of graduate RAs and postdoctoral scholars. Funds cannot be used to support faculty, research staff, or administrative staff. Funds cannot be used to purchase capital equipment. No more than $10,000 (direct costs) may be spent on experimental supplies and services. Funds cannot be used to purchase computer equipment or purchase/lease software. Travel funds are allocated through a separate travel grant process and should not be included in the internal grant application.

The term of funding is 12 months. There is a competitive renewal process by which awardees may request another 12 months and commensurate funding. Renewal will depend on the Merit Review Criteria evaluated above as well as progress made towards project goals, and the engagement of the project’s investigators in NITMB activities (education, outreach, convenings, etc.).

At the end of the funding period (i.e., at the end of the initial 12-month period or at the end of any renewal period), a final written progress report is required from the investigators, documenting research progress, key findings, and future directions. This report must also provide information (level of support and research tasks) about any trainees supported by the funds for the NITMB evaluation process. Any software, datasets, or models resulting from supported research must be made publically available, well-documented, and easily accessible when published as preprint or paper; such materials will be posted on the NITMB web page, Github, Datajoint, Dryad, etc. Each team must also produce a publicly accessible blog, social media post and/or video abstract for each publication resulting from the proposed research. The above artifacts will be evaluated during the competitive renewal process if sought.

The principal investigators are required to attend the annual NITMB Conference. They are required to present their project research at an NITMB convening activity.

Internal Research Project funds can only be used at Northwestern and UChicago. However, external collaborators may apply to the Visiting Scholars Program to facilitate engagement with internal research projects.

The principal investigators are required to follow the NSF Animal Protocol where appropriate and fill out associated forms.