Limited Submissions

Internal Review Process


From time to time, granting agencies and foundations will restrict the number of proposals they will accept from any one institution. The Executive Vice President for Academic & Research Affairs (EVPARA) has instituted the following Limited Submission pre-application process for such programs:

  • Investigators interested in any of the programs noted below must submit a pre-application packet to research@uthouston.edu by the specified internal deadline. Each pre-application packet should include the following:
    • A letter of interest;
    • The investigator's NIH Biosketch; and
    • A brief (2-page) description of their proposed research to include how the research meets the sponsor's criteria for this award.
  • If the number of interested investigators exceeds allowable proposals, a committee comprised of the school Associate Deans for Research will review the pre-applications and recommend the best qualified applicant(s) to the EVPARA.
  • The EVPARA will communicate results of the selection process to both the investigators and the Office of Sponsored Projects.
  • Selected investigators are then responsible for submitting a full proposal to the sponsor by the program deadline. 

Please note that we make every effort to identify and post limited submission competitions on this web site as they become available. If you become aware of an limited opportunity that is not listed below, please send an email to Deanne Hernandez with the pertinent information.

*UPDATED* If a faculty member identifies a funding opportunity for which UTHealth is only allowed a limited number of applications, he/she should contact Deanne Hernandez in the Office of Academic and Research Affairs (ARA) as soon as possible (713-500-3192).  

  • If ARA is contacted two months or more in advance of the agency’s submission deadline, an internal competition will be announced on this page (www.uthouston.edu/evpara/funding.htm) and held as noted above to select the UTHealth nominee(s).

  • If ARA is contacted less than two months before the agency’s application deadline the UTHealth nominee(s) will be selected on a first come, first served basis, i.e., the first faculty member to contact ARA will be the UTHealth nominee. 



Active Programs

Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences

Sent on behalf of George M. Stancel, PhD, Executive Vice President for Academic & Research Affairs

Dear Colleagues,

The Pew Charitable Trust has invited UTHealth to nominate one promising junior faculty candidate to its Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences program. Awards "provide funding to young investigators of outstanding promise in science relevant to the advancement of human health."

Eligibility (from the Pew Trust directions)

The ideal candidates are "outstanding individuals who are in their first few years of their appointment at the assistant professor level." A select list of eligibility criteria include:

  1. Candidates must hold a doctorate in medicine or biomedical sciences.
  2. As of November 1, 2013, candidates must hold full-time appointments at the rank of assistant professor or equivalent at one of the invited sponsoring institutions. On July 1, 2013, they must not have been in such an appointment for more than three years (not appointed prior to July 1, 2010), whether or not such appointments were on a tenure track. This time may have been spent at more than one institution. Time spent in clinical internships, residencies, or in work toward board certification does not count as part of this three-year limit.
  3. Candidates may be nominated by their institution two times in total.  If a candidate was not selected to receive a Pew Scholars award on their first attempt, they may reapply provided they still meet the current criteria and are selected as the UTHealth candidate.
  4. Applicants with committed awards that overlap the first two years of the Pew Scholars Program from the Searle Scholars Program, Rita Allen Scholars, Burroughs-Wellcome Career Awards, Beckman Young Investigators Program, Ellison New Scholar Award, W. M. Keck Foundation, Damon Runyon-Rachleff innovation award, and the Kimmel Scholar Award are not eligible. 

Interested and eligible faculty members should first discuss this opportunity with their department chairs who are responsible for nominating candidates, with approval from the Dean.  Chairs’ letter should thus state that the nomination is approved by the Dean or designee.

Nominations and pre-applications should be submitted electronically to the Executive Vice President for Academic and Research Affairs at research@uth.tmc.edu with the subject line to read “Pew Scholar Nomination,” and should include a letter of nomination from the department chair (nominator) explicitly addressing the candidate’s qualifications that meet the Pew Trusts’ criteria, the candidate’s CV, and a brief but explicit summary (not to exceed two pages) of his/her research proposal. The deadline for receipt is Friday, June 28, 2013. An internal selection committee comprised of notable UTHealth scientists will convene to review all pre-applications and select UTHealth's 2014 nominee.

UTHealth is limited to one (1) nomination under the terms of this notice.  This is an extremely competitive and prestigious award and institutions typically nominate faculty members who are the most highly competitive as starting assistant professors by national norms.

Key dates are as follows:

Internal LOI

Due to research@uthouston.edu by Friday, June 28, 2013

Selected candidate notified by Monday, July 15, 2013

Application (online only)

Application due: November 1, 2013

 

Past UTHealth Pew Scholar Recipients

Ambro van Hoof, Ph.D. (2003) Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, Medical School

Valentin Dragoi, Ph.D. (2004) Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, Medical School

Jianping Jin, Ph.D., (2008) Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical School
 

2014 Searle Scholars Program

DEADLINES

Internal Deadline:   August 1, 2013                            Sponsor Deadline:  September 27, 2013

PROGRAM SUMMARY

Applicants for year 2014 awards will be expected to be pursuing independent research careers in biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, immunology, neuroscience, pharmacology, and related areas in chemistry, medicine, and the biological sciences.

ELIGIBILITY

Candidates should have begun their first appointment as an independent investigator at the assistant professor level on or after July 1, 2012. The appointment must be their first tenure-track position.

The Searle Scholars Program does not ordinarily support purely clinical research but has supported research programs that include both clinical and basic components. Potential applicants who are unsure if their research is appropriate for our Program are encouraged to examine the research interests of present and former Searle Scholars on the website listed below.

FUNDING

Grants are currently set at $300,000 for a three-year period, with $100,000 payable in the first year and equal sums payable in the second and third years, subject to the receipt of acceptable progress reports. Normally, fifteen new awards will be made annually.

NOMINATION LIMIT

UTHealth is eligible to nominate one candidate. 

PAST UTHEALTH RECIPIENTS OF THIS AWARD

Edgar T. Walters, Ph.D. (1984) 

INTERNAL SELECTION PROCEDURES

Deans and Department Chairs are invited to nominate eligible candidates. Please submit nominations electronically to the UTHealth Scientific Review Committee at (research@uth.tmc.edu) and include a letter of nomination, the candidate’s current CV, and a brief (not to exceed three page) summary of his/her research proposal. Nominations are due no later than August 1, 2013 with candidate selection and notification expected by August 15, 2013.

The Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic and Research Affairs will assist the selected candidate as needed with the Searle Scholars Program application process.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 http://www.searlescholars.net