SDMRC Grants & Funding

SDMRC Supported Grants & Funding Opportunities

Funding Opportunities

The current IEM/SDMRC supported funding opportunities include:
  1. American Heart Association (AHA) Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships.
    The Departments of Medicine and Bioengineering at UC San Diego are proud to partner with the American Heart Association (AHA) and the Institute of Engineering in Medicine, to enable 5 undergraduate with the possibility for a 10 week research experience during the summer of 2018. More information >

External Funding Opportunities

We also have a curated list of external funding opportunities for skeletal muscle researchers in our SDMRC wiki pages.



Expired Funding Opportunities

Here are expired funding opportunities:
  1. P30 Pilot Project Grants. This grant was a one-year competitive award ($10,000) aimed at young scientists to obtain preliminary data for subsequent NIH grant applications. More information >
  2. Educational Meeting Grants. These are aimed at organizers of local meetings to foster collaboration among scientists interested in muscle research, or to educate the public about the impact of muscle diseases. More information >

SDMRC P30 Pilot Project Grants

The San Diego Skeletal Muscle Research Center (SDMRC) invited applications for Pilot Proposal Grant funding for 2014 under the NIH P30 grant P30AR061303. The purpose of this funding was to provide resources for proof-of-concept studies. These Pilot Grants were intended to increase our understanding of the biology of skeletal muscle and/or provide translational applications, and/or generate preliminary data for future NIH grant applications. These projects helped us accomplish the goal of our Center, which is to leverage existing NIH resources on behalf of San Diego investigators. Priority was given to projects that lead existing skeletal muscle investigators in new directions, or that bring new investigators into the skeletal muscle field. Projects were encouraged to utilize one or more Center Cores and cultivate new collaborations among investigators.

Goals and Purpose:

  1. To create connections among P30 PIs for high-risk experimental or proof-of-principle topics.
  2. To develop innovative technologies instrumental to explore muscle properties at an unprecedented resolution, with the potential to be translated into clinical applications (e.g. generation of biomarkers of disease or age-related muscle decline), and/or to reveal previously unrecognized biological and molecular regulatory networks.
  3. To draw outside expertise and cutting-edge technologies into the SDMRC.
  4. To help young investigators (including early career PIs and senior post-docs) develop skeletal muscle-related projects that can provide topics for larger grant applications (preferably NIH funded) in support of their independent careers.

Award Amounts and Numbers of Grants:

SDMRC may fund up to 5 Pilot Grants in this round. Each project will be funded for $10,000 in direct costs without indirect costs. Funding for a second year may be awarded to projects that have made clear progress at the end of the first year and would benefit from the extension to complete the proof-of-concept, and is subject to the approval of the Pilot Project Committee, consisting of Ju Chen (Chair), Larry Gerace, Natasha Kralli, and Sam Ward (with Rick Lieber, ex officio.)
The number of grants awarded will depend on the number and quality of proposals submitted. SDMRC reserves the right not to select any project(s) for funding. It is understood that any tool or reagent generated as part of this Pilot Grant program will be available for sharing with the SDMRC community.

Eligibility:

All full-time faculty and senior postdoctoral trainees (at least 2 years of postdoctoral training) are eligible to apply. Priority will be given to young investigators (less than 10 years from PhD) to have an opportunity to develop their projects in an independent manner, and at the same time produce knowledge that can be used to improve the existing cores. The proposed research must be skeletal muscle-relevant and preferably designed to address an unmet need. Each faculty member or young investigator is eligible to participate in only one pilot grant application.
This funding application is closed.

Funded projects for 2014 can be found on the Projects page.

SDMRC P30 Educational Meeting & Outreach Grants

Deadline: expired opportunity.

Goals and Purpose:

Two goals of the SDMRC are to promote scientific communication and foster collaboration among scientists interested in muscle research, and to educate the public about the impact of muscle diseases. The SDMRC is pleased to announce financial support to catalyze one-day local meetings. Topics can range from basic science to career development and patient education, as long as there is clear relevance to the mission statement of the SDMRC.

An application must include the following information:

  1. CVs (two-page maximum; format of your choice) of each of the co-organizers. There must be a minimum of two and maximum of four co-organizers. Principal Investigators (PI) can apply for funding at teaching universities.
  2. A description of the meeting, which will include
    • the topic and goals of the meeting
    • proposed date or approximate date
    • the intended audience and institutions to be invited
    • and how the meeting will benefit the local community
    • an outline of the sessions (e.g., including number of talks/posters, anticipated number of attendees, breakout discussion groups).
    • a meeting agenda/outline (does not need to be final)
    • a proposed budget. Funds can cover catering, but not honoraria (including travel, hotel) for speakers
We encourage organizers to invite speakers from the local area, including from SDMRC funded scientists.

Award Amounts and Numbers of Grants:

Up to $1,500 can be requested by the organizers.
One grant will be awarded for each funding cycle. The organizers are required to acknowledge the support by SDMRC.

SDMRC supported meetings

The SDMRC supported the organization of the Alternative Muscle Club (AMC) in San Diego for 2013 and 2014 through this mechanism. For more information, please refer to the AMC website.