The CURE: Digestive Diseases Research Center invites applications (new or second year renewal) for the 2007-2008 academic year. Funding will be available for high quality research in the field of gastroenterology, which is of relevance to the overall CURE Research Program in gastrointestinal biology and neurogastroenterology, with special emphasis on receptor and signal transduction mechanisms, brain-gut interactions, mucosal physiology, and mechanisms underlying gastrointestinal diseases. Proposed projects should lead to the submission of a NIH grant (e.g. K01, K08, R01), VA Career Development or Merit Review Application or related agency research support.  Funding level awarded is up to $25,000/year.

ELIGIBILITY:
1.  New investigators without current or past NIH or related agency research support (including career developmental awards) as principal investigators, who are seeking to establish their own independent research program.
2.  Established investigators with other research support, who have not been involved in gastrointestinal research and who want to enter this field of research.
3.  Established investigators with other support for gastrointestinal research, who want to pursue a new research direction in the field of gastroenterology, which represents a significant departure from their funded research.
Highly innovative proposals are encouraged. Category 1 is given preference.

AWARD TERMS:
1.  Applicants must hold a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent degree and have at least 2 years of postgraduate research experience.
2. Trainees who are recipient of an NRSA individual award (F32) or are supported by an institutional training grant (T32) are eligible in their last year of training.
3.  Applicants must have a UCLA appointment (post-doc or beyond) by July 1, 2007 and be nominated by a CURE member.
4.  Postdoctoral fellows need to provide documentation of support of a UCLA faculty sponsor.
5.  An investigator is eligible only once for the pilot support unless the additional proposed study represents a substantial departure from the previous research.
6.  Applicants are required to use at least two Center cores
7.  Applications that will establish or continue collaborative interactions within the Center are encouraged.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

LETTER of INTENT: A one-page letter of intent should be submitted by November 10, 2007 as e-mail attachment to the program coordinator, Jackie Ismen (JIsmen@mednet.ucla.edu). The letter of intent should include 1) the category for which the applicant wishes to apply, 2) the rank and department of the applicant, 3) the title of the project, 4) two or three sentences describing the project, 5) the hypothesis to be tested, and 6) which cores the applicant will use for the proposed project.  The letters of intent will be evaluated by the PFS committee for eligibility. Applicants will be notified approximately a week after the deadline of their eligibility to submit a full application.

FULL APPLICATION DEADLINE: January 4, 2008; Starting Date: February 28, 2008

Application forms with detailed instructions can be obtained from our website or from:

For questions, please contact the coordinator, Jacqueline Ismen at jismen@mednet.ucla.edu

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