Limited funding opportunity – Moore Inventor Fellows FY19

November 26, 2018 by School of Medicine Webmaster

The VP for Research has announced the the internal process for selecting the UVA candidates for the Moore Inventor Fellows funding opportunity. Gordon Moore’s contribution to the development of microelectronics helped produce the exponential growth of the digital revolution that continues today. In the spirit of Moore’s passion for science and penchant for inventing, the foundation seeks to invest in people who create new tools and technologies with a high potential to accelerate progress in the foundation’s areas of interest: scientific research, environmental conservation and patient care. Each eligible institution can submit two nominations for consideration. 

The Moore Inventor Fellowships will focus on investment at a critical stage of research to capture opportunities that otherwise might be missed. The Moore Foundation seeks to provide freedom and support to the most promising inventors with the most compelling ideas to pursue creative work.

Eligibility:

  • Must be faculty, research scientists, postdocs, or other full-time staff at eligible institutions. Candidates must be within ten years of receiving the advanced terminal degree in their field (M.S., Ph.D. or M.D.).
  • The Moore Foundation recognizes inventors and innovators come from a diversity of backgrounds, disciplines, and experiences and will look for creativity across a broad array of academic programs and research departments. Examples of such programs include, but are not limited to, environmental science and conservation, oceanography, biology, engineering, physics, chemistry, materials science, neuroscience, public health, rehabilitation sciences and gerontology.

Sponsor deadlines:  Nominations must be received by 5:00 p.m. PT Monday, February 11, 2019, with full application materials due by 5:00 p.m. PT Monday, March 4, 2019.

Funding Information: Fellows will receive funding for three years at a level of $200,000 per year from the Moore Foundation. In addition to funds for the fellow, the foundation will provide $25,000 each year to the institution to cover costs associated with administering the grant award, resulting in a total three-year award of $875,000. Host institutions will be required to make a contribution of $50,000 in annual support of the inventor’s work.

Additional Information: https://www.moore.org/initiative-strategy-detail?initiativeId=moore-inventor-fellows

Instructions for submitting the Letter of Intent:

To apply, click here:  https://virginia.infoready4.com/CompetitionSpace/#competitionDetail/1779701. You will login to the system using NetBadge. If the PI is submitting the Letter of Intent, the PI’s name and email will already be filled in. If you are submitting the proposal on behalf of the PI, please fill in the PI’s name and email address (use the PI’s UVA ID, not an email alias). Enter the proposal title, the list of participating faculty (name and Department), and a short (no more than 1 paragraph) description of the planned proposal. This information will be used to help develop the internal review panel, if necessary. An individual may only submit one Letter of Intent. If you need to submit LOIs on behalf of multiple applicants, please email limited-submission-vpr@virginia.edu for assistance.

Letters of Intent must be received by 5 PM December 17, 2018.

Faculty and postdocs submitting LOIs will be contacted with instructions for submission of application materials. The application will be due on January 17, 2019 at 5 PM and must contain the following:

  1. Statement of invention (no more than two pages, including citations; single-spaced, 12-point font and one-inch margins). The first paragraph should describe clearly and without jargon the invention, the problem it seeks to address, and its potential impact. The statement of invention should also include the following information:
    • Description of invention
    • Importance in the area of science, environmental conservation, or patient care and experience
    • Stage of invention
    • Current funding
    • Feasibility
    • Approach for measuring progress during the grant term
  1. Summary CV (no more than two pages):
    • Educational and professional background
    • Key accomplishments, honors and demonstrated areas of expert knowledge
    • Other background information relevant to this invention
  1. One-page budget narrative that outlines how grant funds will be used
  2. Names of two referees who will be asked to submit letters of reference that speak to promise of applicant and invention; one referee must be affiliated with UVA and the other referee must be from an external institution.
  3. Letter of nomination from the Dean’s Office stating why the candidate is the best choice for nomination. This statement should include:
    • The present status of funding for the idea
    • A specific description of how awarding a Moore Inventor Fellowship will advance this idea
    • Clear articulation of commitment to the nominee if grant is awarded; this must include a commitment to provide the required $50,000 per year in direct support as well as a commitment to cover the F&A costs beyond the $25,000 per year that the Moore Foundation will contribute

Limited Submission Alerts, Process, and Review

To sign up for direct email alerts for all limited submission opportunities, send an email to lso_announce-request@virginia.edu with the word subscribe as the only text in the Subject heading (do not use capital letters or other punctuation in the Subject heading).

More information on the limited submission review process can be found here: https://virginia.infoready4.com/limited-submissions, and in the documents found therein. To summarize, reviewers for individual limited submission opportunities are drawn from a standing committee of tenured faculty members who are nominated by the Schools and appointed by the VPR. Ad hoc committee members may also be invited to serve on specific panels based on their subject expertise and/or their experience with a particular sponsor or program. The internal review committee provides critical reviews of internal pre-proposals and makes recommendations for the pre-proposals that should go forward for external submission. The VPR office follows the best practice of many foundations and agencies and does not disclose the names of individual reviewers who contribute to a specific review panel. The limited submission team notifies individual internal applicants of their pre-proposal review results via email. The limited submission team notifies the Department, School, and Office of Sponsored Programs of the proposal(s) that will go forward for external submission via email.

Questions:  limited-submission-vpr@virginia.edu

Filed Under: Funding Opportunities