Allen Frontiers Group Allen Discovery Center for Neuroimmune Interactions LOI Deadline

Date: 

Thursday, July 7, 2022, 3:00pm

The Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group 2023 Allen Discovery Center (ADC) for Neuroimmune Interactions Open Call
Sponsor Submission Window for Letters of Intent: June 22-July 7, 2022
FAS/SEAS/OSP Deadline (if invited): December 8, 2022
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals (if invited): December 15, 2022
Award Amount: There will be up to one award made for up to $10M in total funding support provided over four years. The Center may be evaluated for a potential second four-year funding phase based on research progress, future research plans, and attainment of $10 million in “matched” or leveraged funding (for a potential total scope of activity of $30 million over eight years). Indirect costs are not allowed. Since this amount falls short of the 15% overhead required by FAS/SEAS policy, please discuss with your grants administrator before preparing an application.
PI Requirements: Center Leaders must possess at least seven years of independent research experience (e.g., level of associate professor or similar position). PIs may not currently hold significant leadership positions in other centers or similar efforts. Leaders should typically commit 50% effort to the Center’s leadership and research activities, or if shared leadership is proposed the expectation would be a commitment of 40% effort for the primary leader and a minimum of 25–30% effort for the other. PIs may submit up to two LOI submissions total per call.

The Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group requests letters of intent for Allen Discovery Center proposals that will answer large, paradigm-shifting, and fundamental biological questions at the intersection of immunology and neuroscience. Proposed research with a strong focus on one or several of the following is encouraged: peripheral immune and nervous system interplay; two-way communication between the immune and nervous system; and human biology. Projects can be inclusive of additional actors. Approaches could include and leverage systems biology and/or technology development. The core research program should focus on fundamental biological mechanisms and normal physiology. Proposed research programs may include work on a specific disease or diseases as a way to elucidate fundamental mechanisms. Lesser preference will be given to proposals focused primarily or solely on central nervous system–immune system interactions.

The Allen Discovery Centers are leadership-driven, compass-guided research centers, often created in partnership with major research organizations and universities. Ideally, a Center should be comprised of a highly functional, integrated, and creative team with productivity greater than the sum of its parts. A Center should seek to be a leader in the field, pioneering efforts that engage and drive the larger research community. The program seeks to have a lasting impact on the direction of research, aiming to serve as a catalyst upon which future research is founded. This program seeks to enable scientists to take risks with new ideas and approaches, and strongly believes in interdisciplinary approaches that allow scientists to look beyond their own disciplines, and to explore approaches with colleagues in other disciplines in order to bring new perspectives to challenging problems where traditional approaches within a discipline may be ‘stuck.’ The program is especially interested in approaches that are unlikely to receive funding from traditional government sources, including methodological and technological advances that are often necessary complements to scientific advance and often difficult to fund through traditional sources. Up to 10 LOIs will be invited to submit full proposals for consideration. Up to three of the submitted proposals will be selected for finalist site reviews. Up to one award will be made.