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Research Initiatives Subcommittee Awards Seed Funding
Biomedical research is changing at a rapid pace, and
answers to the key problems in biomedical science will
come from interdisciplinary approaches uniting different
fields in a common endeavor.
"In the next five to ten years, fundamental discoveries are going to be made using interdisciplinary approaches and collaborative relationships that didn't really exist ten years ago," claims Richard Schilsky, M.D., Professor of Medicine. "What we're doing with the RISC is responding to that paradigm shift and encouraging our faculty to pursue their research along these new lines."
The RISC, or Research Initiatives Subcommittee, is co-chaired by Schilsky and Marsha Rosner, Ph.D., Director and Charles B. Huggins Professor in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research, and is under the larger umbrella of the Research Advisory Committee (RAC), which is chaired by Julian Solway, M.D., Walter L. Palmer Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine. The RAC was formed out of the AIMS process and one of its main objectives is to help foster productive and innovative research approaches in biomedical research. The RISC takes this a step further by providing pilot funding for interdisciplinary efforts deemed worthy of investment. Michele Seidl, Ph.D., Senior Project Manager, Office of the Dean, provides staff support to both the RAC and the RISC.
The Seed Fund Program (SFP) was created with funding from the Division and from the Cancer Research Foundation. The original solicitation for proposals was sent out in February of this year, and the committee received 18 proposals by the March 10 Deadline. The selection process is rigorous (proposals are scored according to NIH criteria), and only proposals meeting the following three criteria were considered: the science must be high-quality and innovative; the team must be interdisiplinary and represents a new collaboration; and a strong potential must exist for future external funding. After careful consideration, the RISC funded three proposals:
Real-time dynamics of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling system within a single mammalian cell
This study will focus on developing a method to measure molecular changes within a single mammalian cell, which will allow investigators to examine how fluctuations in the molecular cascade create variability in cell fate.Principal Investigators: Phillipe Cluzel, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Physics; Marsha Rosner, Ph.D., Charles B. Huggins Professor in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research
Co-Principal Investigators: Shohei Koide, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biocheistry & Molecular Biology; and Rick Stevens, Director, Mathematics & Computer Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory and Professor of Computer Science
Magnetic resonance imaging of rodent models of early breast cancer
This study will focus on applying MRI technology to the early detection and accurate diagnosis of breast cancer in patients.Investigators:Gregory Karczmar, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Radiology; Suzanne Conzen, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine; Thomas Krausz, M.D., Director of Anatomic Pathology & Professor of Pathology; Martha McClintock, Ph.D., David Lee Shilingla, Distinguished Service Professor of Psychology; Gillian Newstead, M.B., Ch.B, Associate Professor of Radiology, Xiaochuan Pan, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Radiology; and Wendy Recant, M.D., Associate Professor of Pathology
Development of general methods to obtain affinity reagents for membrane proteins
Researchers will attempt to develop a methodology for generating affinity reagents that can selectively attract and bind to specific membrane proteins.Investigators: Shohei Kiode, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; William Green, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Neurobiology, Pharmacology & Physiology; Anthony Kossiakoff, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; and Sangram Sisodia, Ph.D., Professor of Neurobiology, Pharmacology & Physiology
"The Ultimate goal for these grants is that they would spark research that would lead to a competitiveness for national funding," says Seidl. "I think that based on this first round of awards and what I'm sure will be an equally as outstanding second round of awards this summer, we will be very competitive for various NIH Roadmap initiatives and other national funding initiatives.
In addition to her role within the RAC and RISC, Seidl plays a key role in assisting faculty members with the compilation of their grant proposals.
"I know how difficult and time-consuming it can be to compile a grant proposal, especially when that effort is coupled with the daily demands of being a faculty member at the University of Chicago," Seidl offer. "I am here to facilitate that process, to ensure that the proposal is exactly what the investigator wants it to be and to simply offer support to those applying for grants.
For more information about either the RISC Seed Fund Program or support for major grant application, please contact Michele Siedl at mseidl@bsd.uchicago.edu.