Request for Proposals for funding in 2024
Duke University (Duke) and Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke-NUS) are pleased to announce a call for proposals for collaborative research pilot projects between faculty based in Durham with those based in Singapore. The ultimate goal of this program is the development of international research teams that will advance basic, translational, and clinical research. This Request for Application (RFA) will support applications undertaking basic, translational, and clinical research on “Effects of Climate Change on Human Health”.
Global warming and climate change are now recognized as key threats to human health in the 21st century, with increasing temperatures, urbanization, and environmental pollution affecting both industrialized nations (Singapore, USA) and LMIC (low- and middle-income) countries. Climate change has the potential to impact many acute and chronic conditions, including new outbreaks, pathologies of the respiratory, cardiovascular, kidney, and gastrointestinal track, and mental and immunological well-being. The field requires new platforms and multi-disciplinary efforts to study and quantify the full effects of climate change on human biology, across molecular ((epi)genome, transcriptome, metabolome), cellular (model systems), and physiological scales (heat stress, nutrition). For healthcare and hospital systems, climate change is also imposing pressures on staff wellness, and challenges to reduce the carbon footprint of medical services perhaps through new technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is hoped that through this joint grant call, Duke and Duke-NUS teams will be catalyzed to think out of the box for novel team-based approaches to address these key global health challenges.
For each project USD$100,000 will be available to the Duke PI and SGD$100,000 to the Duke-NUS PI. Awards are for 2 years, though a single no-cost extension of an additional 6 months may be considered upon request. Applications will be evaluated according to the scientific merit of the proposal, and the strength and clarity of the collaboration between the Duke and Duke-NUS Co-PIs.
For the purpose of this award:
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Duke-NUS faculty are defined as based primarily in Singapore and holding Duke-NUS Tenure/ Research / Educator / Practice Track appointments as Assistant Professor or above, including faculty in SingHealth who hold a Clinical or Adjunct appointment with Duke-NUS.
- Duke faculty are defined as those who hold regular rank Duke appointment at the Assistant Professor level or above.
Descriptions of currently active research programs at Duke-NUS and within SingHealth are available at:
https://www.duke-nus.edu.sg/research
https://www.singhealthdukenus.com.sg/
Information on research at Duke is available at:
Application Guidelines and Resources
Downloadable Resources
The links below are provided to assist with the application process and will open as separate PDFs. The Full Announcement document includes the full text of the announcement as well as the application Instructions. Simplified Instructions are provided separately as a guide to the application process and timeline. Finally, the Work Plan is a document created by the Duke Office of Research Contracts that will need to be completed and submitted as part of the online application.
Coming soon, we will add a list of the questions in the full application for PIs to review before submitting.
Application Phases & Dates
- Phase 1: Letter of Intent
- Interested parties must complete the online application by 22 April 2024 (by 11:59 pm Duke Durham time).
- Phase 2: Full Application
- Invitations to submit full proposals will be sent to those applicants judged to be most competitive by 17 May 2024. Full proposals will be due 15 July 2024 (by 11:59 pm Duke Durham time).
- Selection Process for New Awards:
- We anticipate announcing awards by 1 October 2024, with an expected start date of 1 December 2024.
Examples of previously-funded collaborative projects are available at the link below.
If you have any questions please contact the Office of Duke-NUS Affairs at dukenusaffairs@duke.edu or Gwendoline Goh at gwen.goh@duke-nus.edu.sg.