Internal Project Grants

The NSF-Simons National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology requests proposals for internal research projects aimed at fulfilling our scientific mission. Northwestern University and the University of Chicago were awarded funds from the National Science Foundation and the Simons Foundation to establish the National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology, or NITMB, based in downtown Chicago at the John Hancock Center. The institute will be the first of its kind in the U.S.

Together, the two universities are creating a nationwide collaborative research community that will generate new mathematical results and uncover the “rules of life” through theories, data-informed mathematical models, and computational and statistical tools. Foundational advances in biology and mathematics at the NITMB will have broad impacts, such as increased knowledge of human intelligence, advances in the biomedical sciences, and a better understanding of the effects of climate change on plants and animals. The institute offers bidirectional opportunities: Discoveries in biology will also motivate new developments in mathematics.

Applications Due October 24, 2024

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Policies

Submitting investigator must be an NITMB Faculty or Affiliate Faculty (in Year 2, this corresponds to the membership list https://www.nitmb.org/nitmb-faculty) and their collaborators at Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, or other universities. Funds for project personnel and supplies may only be distributed to Northwestern or the University of Chicago, though project teams may include unfunded collaborators. Women and members of traditionally underrepresented groups in STEM are encouraged to apply.
Investigators and collaborators can be funded by at most two internal projects and serve as PI for at most one project. (If you are already funded by a 2023 project and submitting a renewal application, you may only contribute to one 2024 proposal.) Note that the NITMB mission is to increase engagement among diverse disciplines, so proposals to support investigators already funded by NITMB may receive lower priority.
Funds can be used to support the stipend/salary/fringe/tuition/fees of graduate Research Assistants and salary/fringe of postdoctoral scholars. Funds cannot be used to support tenure-track faculty salaries, non-tenure track faculty salaries, research staff, or administrative staff. Supported trainees are expected to participate in work-in-progress meetings, the annual conference, and site visits.

Funding: Allowable Types of Research Positions

Role	Allowable Years	Restrictions	Mentoring Plan
Undergraduate Research Assistant	Years 01-05		Required
Post-baccalaureate Research Assistant	The first 01-03 years post graduation	Limited teaching assistant work and coursework	Required
Masters Student	Years 02-03	Limited teaching assistant work and coursework	Required
PhD Student/Candidate	Years 02-06	Limited teaching assistant work and coursework	Required
Postdoctoral Scholar	Years 01-05 of 1st Postdoc	1st Postdoc position	Required
Postdoctoral Scholar	Years 01-05 of 2nd Postdoc	2nd Postdoc position in a new field, with intention to apply for faculty positions	Required

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.).
Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training is required for all personnel funded on this award to be completed within the first 6 months of the award. RCR training completed within the last four years counts toward this requirement, but must not expire during the funding period. This includes faculty, senior personnel, undergraduate students, graduate research assistants, and postdoctoral researchers.
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.
All papers and conference presentations resulting from the funded work are expected to acknowledge the NITMB award.
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. Short-term (less than 10 days) and long-term (10 days or more) visits are available.
The principal investigators are required to follow the NSF Animal Protocol where appropriate and fill out associated forms.

Proposals

Proposals may be submitted for funds for 12 months of support of at most

2.0 FTE graduate research assistants OR 1.0 FTE graduate research assistant plus 1.0 FTE postdoc, and
$10,000 direct costs for materials and supplies

Proposals should include a 4-page research proposal, a budget using the provided template, a budget justification, and biosketches in NIH or NSF format for all investigators. Proposals should be submitted online through InfoReady by October 24, 2024, at 11:59pm. Proposals should directly address the Merit Review Criteria and conform to the funding policies detailed below.

Merit Review Criteria:

Alignment with the research mission of the NITMB, including catalyzing new interactions among different disciplines.
How well the research integrates mathematics with biology, with investigators providing complementary expertise.
Collaborations between mathematicians and experimentalists are welcome, but projects are not required to have an experimental component and may use pre- existing datasets.
The extent to which the research will develop new mathematics (including algorithms, computation, and statistical methods). This must be clearly articulated in the proposal. Applying existing computational tools to a new dataset is, on its own, insufficient to qualify as new math. “New mathematics” includes:
- Novel use of some branch/type of math in the study of a phenomenon (e.g., applying topology to a problem previously only addressed with regression models)
- Developing new mathematics that enables quantification of particular types of mathematical objects with biological relevance (e.g., establishing a metric for 2d shapes)
- New pure mathematics addressing theoretical holes (e.g., relaxing simplifying assumptions)
Collaborations between researchers at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago are preferred (though not required).
The quality of the mentoring plan for trainees. Trainees funded through NITMB will be expected to participate in professional development activities, workshops, and present at work-in-progress meetings, annual retreats, and conferences.
How well the proposal articulates how they will further NITMB DEI goals and best practices.
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound (SMART) goals for team engagement with NITMB activities outside the funded research. Examples might include:
- Organizing a workshop
- Mentoring summer undergraduate research
- Serving on NITMB committees (e.g., postdoctoral fellow search, external
  
  grant proposal review and selection)
- Running a training activity or collection of tutorials
- Helping to organize meetings with the External Advisory Board and Scientific
  
  Advisory Board
- Substantive engagement with minority-serving institution partners
- Outreach and education activities

About NITMB
Overview
Community Values
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Jobs

People
Leadership
NITMB Faculty
NITMB Fellows
Visiting Scholars
External Advisory Board
Staff

Activities
Overview
Workshops
Emerging Directions
Meetings & Conferences

Propose
Propose an Activity
Propose a Workshop
Propose a Long Program

Reimbursement
Reimbursement Policy

About Research
Themes
Supported Research
External Project Grants
Internal Project Grants
Internal Grant Renewal

Visiting Scholars
About Visiting Scholars

Travel
Visit NITMB
Reimbursement

Access
Building Access
Room Booking
Code of Conduct

Visiting Scholars
About Visiting Scholars

Overview
Education & Training Overview
Summer Undergraduate Research Program

NITMB Fellows
About NITMB Fellows

Internal Project Grants

Policies

Proposals

About NITMB Overview Community Values Contact Us Jobs

People Leadership NITMB Faculty NITMB Fellows Visiting Scholars External Advisory Board Staff

Activities Overview Workshops Emerging Directions Meetings & Conferences

Propose Propose an Activity Propose a Workshop Propose a Long Program

Reimbursement Reimbursement Policy

About Research Themes Supported Research External Project Grants Internal Project Grants Internal Grant Renewal

Visiting Scholars About Visiting Scholars

Travel Visit NITMB Reimbursement

Access Building Access Room Booking Code of Conduct

Visiting Scholars About Visiting Scholars

Overview Education & Training Overview Summer Undergraduate Research Program

NITMB Fellows About NITMB Fellows

Internal Project Grants

Proposals

About NITMB
Overview
Community Values
Contact Us
Jobs

People
Leadership
NITMB Faculty
NITMB Fellows
Visiting Scholars
External Advisory Board
Staff

Activities
Overview
Workshops
Emerging Directions
Meetings & Conferences

Propose
Propose an Activity
Propose a Workshop
Propose a Long Program

Reimbursement
Reimbursement Policy

About Research
Themes
Supported Research
External Project Grants
Internal Project Grants
Internal Grant Renewal

Visiting Scholars
About Visiting Scholars

Travel
Visit NITMB
Reimbursement

Access
Building Access
Room Booking
Code of Conduct

Visiting Scholars
About Visiting Scholars

Overview
Education & Training Overview
Summer Undergraduate Research Program

NITMB Fellows
About NITMB Fellows