BC Environmental and Occupational Health Research Network

JDRF is soliciting EOIs to encourage collaborations among bioengineers, chemists, immunologists, transplant researchers, and pancreatic beta cell biologists to incorporate engineering concepts and designs into current efforts toward improving islet encapsulation as a key component of cell replacement therapy for T1D. Ultimately, the funded projects should have established milestones and make progress toward making encapsulated human islets/porcine islets/hESC-derived pancreatic progenitors a translatable technology applicable in the clinical setting.

This award will provide one year of funding of USD 55,000 for research grant applications that address a high priority research area for JDRF, failed to receive funding but scored within 10% of the funding payline for a review cycle of a research funding agency up to a year prior to the request to JDRF. The goal of this bridgefunding is to help investigators generate additional supporting data for an amended, competitive application.

This award will provide one year of funding of USD 55,000 for research grant applications that address a high priority research area for JDRF, failed to receive funding but scored within 10% of the funding payline for a review cycle of a research funding agency up to a year prior to the request to JDRF. The goal of this bridge funding is to help investigators generate additional supporting data for an amended, competitive application.

JDRF is soliciting expressions of interest (EOI) for innovative studies to identify factors conferring protection or resistance to complications, through analysis of clinical populations with extreme resistance or rapid progression to diabetic complications. JDRF is committed and most interested in investigator-initiated proposals that focus on research that will ultimately translate to results having significant clinical impact.

Expressions of interest are sought from investigators interested in elucidating the existence of and potential role for beta cell antigen modifications in type 1 diabetes immunopathogenesis. The translational potential of the investigations should be highlighted and thus, research plans involving human samples should be emphasized and will be given priority. This initiative encourages collaborations between experts in the fields of T1D, biochemistry, proteomics and other autoimmune diseases. We also welcome investigators with assays or hypotheses relevant to this initiative.

This award will provide one year of funding of USD 55,000 for research grant applications that address a high priority research area for JDRF, failed to receive funding but scored within 10% of the funding payline for a review cycle of a research funding agency up to a year prior to the request to JDRF. The goal of this “bridge” funding is to help investigators generate additional supporting data for an amended, competitive application.

The purpose of this RFA is to invite outstanding proposals to identify and characterize novel drug targets or biochemical intervention points that will promote regeneration or expansion of beta cell mass in a highly selective, safe, and specific manner. Mechanistic studies may be proposed if they are specific to the beta cell and aimed at providing insight into druggable targets that may provide a basis for translation to a drug discovery platform. Validation of the relevance to human beta cell regeneration is a priority.

The purpose of this RFA is to invite outstanding proposals to identify and characterize novel drug targets or biochemical intervention points that will promote regeneration or expansion of beta cell mass in a highly selective, safe, and specific manner. Mechanistic studies may be proposed if they are specific to the beta cell and aimed at providing insight into druggable targets that may provide a basis for translation to a drug discovery platform. Validation of the relevance to human beta cell regeneration is a priority.

The DCC is currently soliciting P&F proposals that advance the mission of the consortium.
Current areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
Application of stem cells, including induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells and regenerative therapies to the repair and reversal of diabetic complications.
Expanded in vivo efficacy studies for preclinical validation of promising new therapeutics for diabetic complications.
• Assessment of multiple complications in model systems (C.elegans, zebrafish, drosophila, etc).
• Testing the role of genes or loci that arise from ongoing human genetics/sequencing efforts.
• Use of relevant model systems to accelerate gene X environment (GEI) studies.
• Interrogation of existing clinical samples or resources with DNA analysis, omics, histology and pathology as well as looking for circulating blood and urine biomarkers.
• Linking and coordination of existing databases relevant to complications research.
• Inclusion of other co-morbidities of diabetes and obesity including non alcoholic fatty liver disease, gastrointestinal complications, peripheral vascular disease and wound healing.
Budget requests should be commensurate with project needs over a one year project period. While average DCC P&F awards are $60,000 Total Costs for one year, well justified requests for support of up to $100,000 Total Costs per year will be considered.

The purpose of the Priority Research Grant mechanism is to provide investigators with support to explore the feasibility and development of proposals that are considered to be on the leading edge of diabetes research and that address the JDRF research emphasis areas. Proposals that have the potential to impact the current state of diabetes research or that clearly lead to avenues of therapeutic benefit are major considerations for the Priority Research Grant. Also of merit are exploratory proposals that may or may not have sufficient preliminary data but have a sound research development plan that is considered to be of high priority to JDRF. The Priority Research grant mechanism is specifically intended to support innovative proposals that can be developed to a level of maturity where generated data strengthens future research project grant applications for ongoing support.

JDRF recognizes the need at this time to support the research of investigators whose research is being curtailed or delayed by failure to receive funding. It is beneficial and of mutual interest to both the scientific community and JDRF to keep these scientists in the field, to help them receive funding for their proposals, and to have them help accelerate the JDRF mission. This award will provide one year of funding of USD 55,000 for research grant applications that address a high priority research area for JDRF, failed to receive funding but scored within 10% of the funding payline for a review cycle of a research funding agency up to a year prior to the request to JDRF. The goal of this “bridge” funding is to help investigators generate additional supporting data for an amended, competitive application.

JDRF provides “seed” funding for highly innovative research with potential significant impact on accelerating the mission of JDRF. The innovative research should have the potential for a change in the current paradigm or conventional wisdom or to lead to a seminal discovery or to be groundbreaking. Preliminary data is not required in the proposal but the underlying premise, goal, or hypothesis must be plausible and the proposal must be focused with a well defined goal.

The JDRF Early Career Patient-Oriented Diabetes Research Award will provide crucial support to investigators who plan to pursue a career in diabetes-related clinical investigation. These prestigious awards are made in the later stages of training and include the ability for recipients to transition to independent faculty or research appointments. The award has a five-year term.

JDRF fosters the development and productivity of the best and the brightest established independent researchers who will bridge the gap between the bench and bedside. The primary purpose of the Career Development Award is to attract qualified and promising scientists early in their faculty careers and to give them the opportunity to establish themselves in areas that reflect the JDRF research emphasis areas. In the five-year term of the award, awardees will focus their research efforts on a subject directly related to JDRF mission goals and research priorities, and position themselves to work at the leading edge of type 1 diabetes research. These awards are designed to assist exceptionally promising investigators. Although JDRF is especially interested in fostering careers in clinical investigation, Career Development Awards may emphasize either basic or clinical topics.

The purpose of the Priority Research Grant mechanism is to provide investigators with support to explore the feasibility and development of proposals that are considered to be on the leading edge of diabetes research and that address the JDRF research emphasis areas. Proposals that have the potential to impact the current state of diabetes research or that clearly lead to avenues of therapeutic benefit are major considerations for the Priority Research Grant. Also of merit are exploratory proposals that may or may not have sufficient preliminary data but have a sound research development plan that is considered to be of high priority to JDRF. The Priority Research grant mechanism is specifically intended to support innovative proposals that can be developed to a level of maturity where generated data strengthens future research project grant applications for ongoing support.

This award will provide one year of funding of USD 55,000 for research grant applications that address a high priority research area for JDRF, failed to receive funding but scored within 10% of the funding payline for a review cycle of a research funding agency up to a year prior to the request to JDRF. The goal of this “bridge” funding is to help investigators generate additional supporting data for an amended, competitive application.

Expressions of interest are sought from investigators interested in characterizing immune responses and beta cell function in people with established T1D. These measurements should augment and enhance knowledge already available, or address and independent and important question. Applicants should consider these objectives when selecting populations to study, and should be prepared to justify their selections as part of the review.

JDRF is soliciting expressions of interest (EOI) for the discovery, development and pre-clinical testing of tolerogenic nanoparticle delivery systems of diabetes specific antigens designed to prevent and/or reverse type 1 diabetes (T1D). JDRF is committed to translation of research findings towards clinical results and is most interested in translationally relevant projects.

The goal of this RFA is to provide a funding mechanism to investigators for laboratory tests on non-renewable (non-DNA) samples generated by type 1 diabetes (T1D) clinical trials and studies.

Expressions of interest are sought from investigators interested in studying human immune memory responses in T1D in the context of pancreas and islet transplantation from: 1) existing stored samples (sample access must be secured by the investigator and demonstrated in the EOI); or 2) samples obtained through a prospective trial of pancreas or islet transplantation (sample access will be facilitated by JDRF). This initiative encourages collaborations between experts in immune memory, immunopathogenesis of T1D, and pancreas/islet transplantation. However, we also welcome investigators with assays or hypothesis relevant to this initiative.