CVM Seed Grants

• The principal investigator (PI) must have a regular appointment at the ISU College of Veterinary of Medicine and be eligible to serve as a PI under guidance from the VPR. However, faculty members in other colleges, graduate students, postdocs, or any other qualified researcher are permitted and encouraged to serve as co-investigators or collaborators.
• Researchers may serve as investigators/collaborators on up to two proposals, but as PI on only one.
• PI's are limited to one seed grant award per cycle, which includes both new and continuation (second year) awards.
• Preference will be given to early career faculty, established faculty changing directions, or projects that foster collaboration between clinical and basic sciences.

$20,000 limit per year for one- or two-year projects. Second year of funding is awarded based on progress, as determined by review of the continuation proposal, and availability of funds.

Proposals must include the following (printable format):

A. Cover Page (one page; suggested template):

1. Project title
2. Name, department and signature of all investigators. Include email address for collaborators outside ISU.
3. Funds requested for the first year ($20,000 maximum)
4. Duration of project (1 or 2 years)
5. Box checked for projects to consider for the Dean’s Award for Clinical-Basic Science Collaboration. All others leave blank.
6. Name and signatures of respective department chairs

B. Project Summary (one page) a 200- to 300-word summary of the project which includes a statement of the problem, hypothesis to be tested, research plan, and expected results.

C. Body of Proposal (maximum of six pages, single-spaced) including:

1. Statement of the problem/hypothesis and objectives/aims
2. Relevant background information and preliminary data (where available)
3. Significance and innovation
4. Plan of work: approach, methodologies, and timetable
5. Plan for extramural grant submissions and potential for successfully competing for extramural funding.
6. (Dean’s Award for Clinical-Basic Science Collaboration submissions only) Summary of how the work addresses the priorities of the award.

D. References(one page, single-spaced)

E. Biographical Sketch (maximum of one page for each investigator, single-spaced) including name, title, education (undergraduate, professional, graduate, postdoctoral), research and professional experience, and up to 10 recent publications.

F. Budget and Budget Justification(one page total; no indirect costs)

(*Note: Continuation requests for USDA Animal Health and Disease Research projects will be requested in a different call in early fall 2020). Proposals must include the following (printable format):

A. Cover Page (one page; suggested template)

1. Project title
2. Name, department and signatures of investigators.  Include email addresses for collaborators outside ISU.
3. Proposal Type: Continuation
4. Funds requested for the next year ($20,000 maximum)
5. Overall duration of the project (including starting year)
6. Name and signature of respective department chairs

B. Project Summary (one page) 200-300 summary of the project including a statement of the problem, hypothesis to be tested, accomplishments made during the first year, plan for the second year, and the overall impact.

C. Progress-to-date (maximum of two pages) including progress on each objective/aim, list of extramural grants submitted and status (funded, not funded, or pending; include review scores if applicable), presentations and publications.

D. Plan for the next year (maximum of two pages) including objectives, research approach, expected results and outcomes, and plans for extramural grant submission.

E. Budget and Budget Justification(one page total; no indirect costs)

Proposals will be divided into two groups according to the potential funding source and reviewed by an ad hoc committee composed of members of the CVM Research Advisory Committee and other CVM faculty members. Two reviewers will perform a comprehensive review of the proposal, rating it according to review criteria and providing a written evaluation. Reviewers then present the proposal, including a brief summary of the potential benefit to ISU, at a panel review session where all proposals are ranked.

Review Criteria (for New and Continuation proposals)

• Significance (New) Does this study address an important problem that is relevant to the funding program?
• Approach (New) Are the conceptual or clinical framework, design, methods, and analyses adequately developed, well-reasoned, and appropriate to the aims of the project? Does the project have a reasonable chance to succeed?
• Innovation (New) Is the project original and innovative? For example: Does it challenge existing paradigms or clinical practice or address an innovative hypothesis or critical barrier to progress in the field? Does the project develop or use novel concepts, approaches, methods, tools, or technologies? Is the project of high risk and is there enough justification to pursuing the risk?
• Investigators (New) Are the investigators appropriately trained and well suited to carry out this work? Is the work proposed appropriate to the experience level of the principal investigator and other researchers?
• Evidence of Progress (Continuation) Has satisfactory progress been made in the previous year? Have efforts been made for seeking extramural funding? If not, is the delay justified?

Principal investigators are expected to submit a grant application to extramural funding agencies in the first year.

All necessary compliances must be in place before project initiation.

A termination report is required when the project is complete; due on July 1.

Termination Report

Submit electronically to cvmres@iastate.edu on or before July 1.

1. Cover Sheet (one page) including title, investigators/collaborators, departments, and date of project completion.

2. Research Summary (one page) including a description of the problem, the original objectives/aims and the results achieved toward each, conclusions drawn from the results, and the impact of the study.

3. Scientific Report (up to three pages):

• Materials and methods used in the study. Should be in sufficient detail to allow for repeatability. If new techniques or tests have been developed as part of the objectives of the project, the specific protocol for the technique or test should be included
• Results and discussion
• Tables and figures (can be inserted into the text where appropriate)
• References

4. List of Presentations and Publications (one page)

5. Evidence for seeking extramural funding (number of grants submitted, outcomes of the submissions, review scores if available).