UW-Madison sets June 1 deadline for research proposals

UW-Madison sets June 1 deadline for research proposals

Madison, Wis.University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have until June 1 to submit initial proposals as part of a grant program designed to stimulate collaborative research projects.
The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery seed grant initiative will provide $3 million in private funding to encourage collaborative research projects and enable the research to begin well in advance of the institutes’ opening in late 2009. The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, which will be located on the UW campus, are a public-private partnership made possible by a $50 million gift from alumni John and Tashia Morgridge, a $50 million contribution from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, and $50 million from state government.
Martin Cadwallader, dean of the UW Graduate School, said it is critical that collaborative projects begin before the facility opens. “We must start building the innovative partnerships that will carry our research agenda,” he said.
The two institutes, one private and one public, will attract scientists from a broad range of disciplines to fight disease, advance regenerative medicine, and address other scientific and medical issues.
Interdisciplinary work will be a trademark of the institutes. UW-Madison officials are encouraging proposals that could be best performed by faculty from different disciplines, and they are especially encouraging research proposals that team UW-Madison researchers with those from other UW System campuses, private and technical colleges, and private-sector researchers.
After the initial proposals are received, a selection committee will review the letters of intent and request full proposals from selected teams by Oct. 1. Letters of intent may be directed to Sandra Brekke at slb@warf.org as Word or PDF documents.
The selection committee will consider proposals of up to $200,000 a year for two years, or $400,000 over three years.