ARPA-H: A New Federal Funding Agency

Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H advances high-potential, high-impact biomedical and health research that cannot be readily accomplished through traditional research or commercial activity. Each program is led by a Program Manager, or PM, who champions a core idea, frames a challenge, and awards projects to multidisciplinary teams of performers, whose work is then measured and evaluated to ensure that only the best solutions advance. The four focus areas below illustrate the types of work and impact that ARPA-H may pursue.

Focus areas

Health Science Futures: Accelerating advances across research areas and removing limitations that stymie progress toward solutions. The tools and platforms developed apply to a broad range of diseases.

Scalable Solutions: Addressing challenges that include geography, distribution, manufacturing, data and information, and economies of scale to create programs that result in impactful, timely, and equitable solutions.

Proactive Health: Reducing the likelihood that people become patients. Preventative programs will create new capabilities to detect and characterize disease risk and promote treatments and behaviors to anticipate threats to Americans’ health, whether those are viral, bacterial, chemical, physical, or psychological.

Resilient Systems: Developing capabilities, business models, and integrations to weather crises such as pandemics, social disruption, climate change, and economic instability. Resilient systems need to sustain themselves between crises.

ARPA-H opened its first Agency-wide Open Broad Agency Announcement seeking funding proposals for research aiming at the above four focus areas. The first new specific area program has been announced under a second BAA focusing on the Novel Innovations for Tissue Regeneration in Osteoarthritis, or NITRO, to develop new ways of helping the human body repair its own joints. NITRO anticipates that teaming will be necessary to achieve the goals of the program.

ARPA-H has an initial budget of $1 billion to be used before FY2025 (October 2024). The agency, which is modeled after DARPA, will use a streamlined awards process to fund projects quickly and at scale. ARPA-H will review abstracts on a rolling basis. 

ARPA-H Broad Agency Announcements

• Open-Office BAA
• 3-page abstract submitted at any time until March 14, 2024
• Full proposal by invitation only
• No funding limit set, but budget should appropriately reflect the project.
• NITRO BAA
• Abstract submission — Abstract due by 4 p.m. on Friday, June 23.
• Proposal due by 4 p.m. on Friday, July 28.
• Proposers’ day: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Thursday, June 15.
• Proposers’ Day Registration due by 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 8.

For further discussion, contact: ord@k-state.edu.

Patton Trust Research Grants

Top takeaways

• Multidisciplinary collaborative research is encouraged
• All full-time researchers at BioNexus KC stakeholder institutions are eligible to submit proposals
• Awards are limited to $50,000 for one year and are intended to attract future external funding
• NEW All applicants must register online using the online portal

Application deadlines

• Letter of Intent is due by 5 p.m. on May 25, 2023
• Full application must be received by 5 p.m. on June 28, 2023
• Funding date for successful proposals — September 12, 2023

Resources

• Patton Trust Research Grants RFP
• Online grants portal instructions
• If you need additional support, please reach out to Daniel Kennedy

Innovation Festival aims to elevate students and postdocs while highlighting interconnections between disciplines and sectors. Conference programming this year spans biotechnology, nutrition and the microbiome, human and animal health, engineering, data science, digital tech, pharmacology, deep tech, and more. 

Travel award applications are now open for both those applying to present, as well as those just wanting to attend. 

• Applying to present? The travel award application is included in the Innovation Festival - Conference Presenter Application Form
• Just attending but need some travel support? Complete this form. 

Innovation Festival is taking a novel approach to placing students and postdocs into industry jobs and academic research programs, including full-time jobs; internships; post-baccalaureate, summer, graduate, and postdoctoral training programs; and more! Industry companies and academic institutions will be in attendance to recruit attendees into highly sought-after positions. 

You’ll have the opportunity to:  

• Present your research orally or as a poster to industry and academic leaders, or to just attend! 
• Experience one-on-one conversations with industry and academic leaders interested in helping you reach your goals.  
• Participate in unique experiences to build your network and identify new career or training possibilities.  

Open the door to this unique experience and a wealth of opportunities by submitting an abstract or applying today! Space is extremely limited. 

12:30-1:30 p.m.

Wednesday, May 31

The Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, TIP, advances use-inspired and translational research in all fields of science and engineering, giving rise to new industries and engaging all Americans — regardless of background or location — in the pursuit of new, high-wage jobs in science, technology, engineering and math.

Join this webinar to hear what’s new in TIP. We’ll walk through our new programs and talk about our latest awards.

Register for the Intro to NSF's Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships webinar on Zoom. 

June 5–8

Zoom

Join the National Science Foundation for the Spring 2023 NSF Virtual Grants Conference, to be held during the week of June 5, 2023. 

Registration will open on Wednesday, May 10 at 11 a.m.

Just like the in-person grants conferences, the NSF Virtual Grants Conference is a must, especially for new faculty, researchers and administrators.

Highlights include:

• New programs and initiatives
• Proposal preparation 
• NSF's merit review process 
• NSF directorate sessions 
• Award management topics 
• Conflict of interest policies 
• NSF systems updates 

The NSF Grants Conference is designed to give new faculty, researchers, and administrators key insights into a wide range of current issues at NSF. NSF staff will provide up-to-date information about policies and procedures, specific funding opportunities and answer attendee questions. 

Learn more.

6-7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, June 6

The Hoover Project on China’s Global Sharp Power, the Asian American Scholar Forum, and the Committee of 100 invite you to A Fresh Start: Safeguarding People, Rights, and Research Amid US-China Competition.

Intensifying US-China competition has put American colleges and universities–and specifically researchers, scientists, and scholars of Asian heritage–under a microscope. Against a backdrop of rising anti-Asian hate, recent efforts to protect US technology and research have resulted in pain and mistrust and infringed on civil rights and civil liberties.

In this event, leaders from Committee of 100, a non-profit organization of prominent Chinese Americans, and the Asian American Scholar Forum will join Hoover fellows to consider what went wrong, and explore how to work together to advance international collaboration and uphold civil rights and civil liberties while safeguarding America’s leadership in research, science, and technology and its other vital national interests.

The event will be held both in person (on the campus of Stanford University) and streamed via Zoom.

2-3 p.m.

Tuesday, June 6

As part of the Spring 2023 NSF Virtual Grants Conference, a representative from NSF's Division of Information Systems will present an overview of proposal submission logistics for the NSF Faculty Early Career Development, or CAREER, program.

The overview will include a demo of how to prepare a CAREER proposal in Research.gov, a review of the system-related requirements in the CAREER proposal submission timeline guidance, and a Q&A segment. Submit questions in advance to careerproposalprep@nsf.gov. 

There is no cost to attend the Spring 2023 NSF Virtual Grants Conference but registration is required. Registration opens on May 10, 2023, at the conference website.

3-4 p.m.

Monday, June 12

Please join NSF for a webinar on the Research Experiences for Teachers Sites in Biological Sciences, or BIORETS, program. Program Officers will introduce BIORETS and provide an overview of the program. They will also provide tips on how to write a great BIORETS proposal. It is an opportunity to raise questions and communicate directly with Program Officers in your field.

Register to attend.

2-3 p.m.

Tuesday, June 20

Please join the Division of Biological Infrastructure for our monthly Virtual Office Hour. Program Officers will introduce programs in DBI's Research Resources Cluster, including the Innovation, Capacity, Sustaining, and Major Research Instrumentation Programs. It is an opportunity to raise questions and communicate directly with program officers in your field.

Please register in advance for the webinar.

Kansas State University Revaluates Risk of JEV Introduction and Establishment in the U.S. Swine Web

Half of the world's largest lakes are losing water, shows new study Phys.org

Dodging yellowjackets? Here’s how to make sure wasps don’t ruin your Kansas summer Yahoo! News



Demand pushes K-State to help Wichita woman expand nose bleed product WIBW

K-State English professor focuses research on Kansas Land Treaties Project WIBW

Default Likely to Negatively Impact Country’s Economy, Higher Ed

The United States is heading toward defaulting on its debt—a move that could lead to “economic calamity” unless Congress acts soon, experts and lobbyists warn. Negotiations to avert a default are ongoing. Inside Higher Ed

Mind-body connection is built into brain, study suggests

Calm body, calm mind, say the practitioners of mindfulness. A new study, partially funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, indicates that the idea of the body and mind being inextricably intertwined is more than just an abstraction. The study was done by a large multi-university team led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. NSF

G7 ministers call for rules to improve research security

A research team has turned the bodies of dead mice into vivid 3D maps of anatomy, with A meeting of science ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies held in Sendai, Japan, last week called for appropriate rules to protect against “outside interference” in international education and research to improve research security and integrity. University World News

Earthquake tests could help wooden structures reach new heights

Mass timber — a structural material engineered by bonding together layers of wood — is gaining popularity in the construction sector. Buildings constructed with the material can be erected more quickly and are more sustainable than those using traditional materials such as steel and concrete, which require large amounts of energy to produce. NSF

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