Description:

In partnership with Global Affairs, InCHIP is excited to announce a new funding initiative in human and planetary health. One project for up to $40,000 will be awarded.

Human and Planetary Health: Research on human and planetary health explores how the natural environment impacts human physical and emotional health. This includes examining how access to nature impacts human physical and emotional health. This research is commonly interdisciplinary and reflects an engagement, if not outright collaboration, with communities impacted by environmental change and/or engaged with ecosystem management and restoration.

Climate Change: One facet of planetary health research is the critical work being conducted on climate change and human health. This research explores how climate change impacts health, the development of interventions to mitigate these impacts, and how policy decisions related to climate change affect human health. Understanding and combatting ‘eco-anxiety’ is now an expanding piece of climate change research and mitigation work.

What We Won’t Fund: It is important to note that this opportunity will not fund research related to social or cultural environments or research on the environment that does not examine a facet of human health (this includes studies that exclusively examine the outcome of environmental factors on animal health). Projects with extensive community engagement may also consider pursuing funding through InCHIP’s Community-Engaged Health Research FOA.

Potential Research Topics include but are not limited to studies that:

• Explore the relationship between our natural environment, contemplative and spiritual practices, and human health and well-being.
• Examine the relationship between location-specific environmental factors such as a neighborhood or city’s drinking water or air quality and the etiology of human diseases and health.
• Intervene on environmental factors to improve human health.
• Describe the physical and mental health impacts posed by climate change as well as plans to mitigate the consequences of or adapt to climate change.
• Evaluate policies, programs, and interventions aimed at behavior change to prevent climate change and reduce the adverse effects of climate change on human health.
• Examine the consequences of natural and human-made disasters, emerging environmental public health threats, and policy changes in the U.S. and abroad.
• Examine the positive impact of the environment on human health (such as the impact of time spent in nature on stress and mental health).
• Contribute novel findings on strategies for the dissemination of timely, transparent, and equitable research findings on climate change and human health to policymakers, clinicians, and those communities most affected.
• Contribute novel findings on how best to communicate approaches that promote understanding and action related to the effects of the environment and/or climate change on human health across multiple sectors (e.g., health care, religion, transportation, labor/occupational, education, energy).

Funding decisions are typically given within 8 weeks from the date of submission. Proposals receiving a revise and resubmit may take longer for a final decision on funding. Please note that applications submitted during semester intercessions may also take longer to process due to reviewer availability.

Applicants must include a plan to pursue external funding upon completion of the pilot project. Each application should include potential external funding mechanisms and/or funders whose goals, missions, and funding history aligns with the proposed project. Please read the instructions in the application guide carefully regarding how the planned pilot project will inform future extramural funding applications.

Included below are funders that may be relevant. The mechanisms available through these funders may also help applicants to frame projects focused on environment and health.

• Burroughs Wellcome Fund
• National Academy of Medicine
• Planetary Health Alliance
• Future Earth
• AXA Research Fund
• National Geographic Society
• National Academies | Sciences, Engineering, Medicine

Use the Application Guide below. Make sure to complete all sections, save the document to your computer, and upload via the application below.

• Format: Proposals must be single-spaced, in Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri font size no smaller than 12-point type, left-aligned with one inch margins. Do not include appendices.Your proposal should be collated and sent as one PDF document including letters of support and biosketches. Proposals that do not conform to guidelines will be returned to the PI.
• Writing Style: Remember that many members of review committees will not have specific expertise in your area and that proposals should be written for a broad academic audience.
• Protection of Human Subjects and Animals: Investigators are expected to receive approval from the IRB for human subjects or from IACUC for animal model studies before beginning their study.

Have you been awarded extramural funding within the last 5 years?

• The proposed project should represent a new study or direction of research for the PI(s). This award cannot go towards funding a portion of a project that has already been awarded external funding. 

If you have not been awarded external funding in the last 5 years:

• • If it has been several years since you were awarded external funding or have never been awarded external funding, InCHIP offers extra support that aims to improve, tailor, and structure proposals toward this funding mechanism and ultimately the targeted external agency.
  • To access this support, please submit an “Intent to Apply” form a minimum of 4-weeks prior to submission making sure to select that you are asking for support.

Information for New Investigators and/or Early Career Faculty:

• • New investigators are faculty who have never been awarded an external grant with a budget greater than 500K/year.
  • Early Career status indicates that the faculty member completed their terminal degree within the last 10 years.
  • Funding for Mentoring- For those who meet one or both of these criteria, we encourage you to make use of this pilot funding opportunity to establish a relationship with a new research mentor who is an established investigator working in your research area. Need help finding a mentor? Contact Greidy Miralles at greidy.miralles@uconn.edu.

• Innovation: Is this a new research area, project, or collaboration? Priority is placed on new ideas for projects that involve cross-department and/or cross-college (interdisciplinary) connections among UConn faculty.
• Significance: Does the proposed project make a significant difference to science and/or human health? What problem does the proposed study solve? Or what gap in knowledge does it fill?
• Are the goals of the project clear and in alignment with the planned activities? Proposals should have a well-articulated plan of activities that include appropriate literature review, clear objectives, and a detailed methodology.
• How diverse are the collaborators? Teams should ideally be comprised of investigators who range in discipline, seniority, and experience.
• Does the team have a timeline and plan for achieving their goals? Proposals must include a specific product (e.g., external grant proposal) and a timeline for its attainment.
• To what extent is the proposal aligned with the mission of InCHIP? Projects should clearly demonstrate an examination of human health-related phenomena or health outcomes.
• Does the proposal provide evidence for access to the population of interest? For example, building partnerships with community organizations, clinics, or hospitals can demonstrate points of access. Likewise, for studies using secondary data analysis having a description of how the team will gain access to the data is vital.

• The Principal Investigator (PI) must have an advanced degree (e.g., PhD, MD, PharmD), have an eligible faculty appointment at UConn Storrs, UConn Health, or one of the regional campuses, and be eligible to submit external grants through InCHIP or UConn Health. To view the complete list of faculty eligible to act as a PI, please see this list from the OVPR. 
• Leadership Roles: While research teams can include students, post docs, faculty from other institutions and other external collaborators, our goal is to support interdisciplinary teams led by UConn faculty. For this reason, team leaders should be UConn faculty with continuing appointments who meet the OVPR’s PI criteria (see above).

Global Affairs and InCHIP invite Seed Grant proposals with budgets of up to $40,000. Seed Grants are awarded for up to two years after award.

Allowable Costs

• Personnel who are essential for conducting the research project, such as graduate research assistants, student labor, and postdocs (postdoc stipends should follow the NIH NRSA stipend levels).
• Individuals who are not on the regular state payroll (i.e., consultants and other off-campus assistance) may be hired to perform special research-related tasks as needed.
• Resources that require fee-for-services within UConn.
• Participant incentives for recruitment or study participation.
• Out-of-state travel that is necessary to conduct the research.
• Equipment necessary for conducting the research (“equipment” is defined as an article of tangible, non-expendable personal property that costs $5,000 or more).
• Project supplies, including drugs and services.
• Other specifically authorized expenses essential for carrying out the project.

Not-Allowable Costs:

• The salary of any Principal Investigator, Co-Investigator, or other faculty member who has an appointment at UConn Storrs, UConn Health, or any of the UConn campuses. This includes Connecticut Children’s faculty with joint appointments.
• Living expenses.
• Laptops or desktop computers, unless used exclusively for the project and not for any other activities.
• Service/maintenance contracts on equipment.
• Laboratory renovations or other infrastructure renovations.
• Institutional and/or individual memberships in professional organizations.
• Travel to professional meetings to present the results of the research, or any conference attendance.
• Indirect costs, including clerical and administrative personnel salaries.
• Costs associated with the publication of results of the research, such as the purchase of reprints.
• Investigator training costs, including tuition.

The awarded PIs are responsible for obtaining all required approvals for the research from their relevant IRB(s). Please visit the UConn IRB website for more information on IRB approval for research conducted at the UConn Storrs Campus, the five regional campuses, the School of Law and the School of Social Work. For more information on IRB approval for research conducted at UConn Health, please visit the UConn Health IRB website.

Awardees will be required to submit a brief progress report after 6 months, a final report at the conclusion of the project or award period, and periodic check-ins over the following 5 years to track external grant applications/awards stemming from the seed grant. Changes to the project’s objectives, PIs, and budget will require prior approval from InCHIP staff.

Detailed awardee instructions/requirements will be distributed to seed grant winners when they are notified of the award decisions. All awardee requirements described above are subject to change in accordance with updated institutional procedures (e.g., routing requirements).

The Elisabeth DeLuca School of Nursing’s Biobehavioral Research Laboratory (BBL; https://bbl.nursing.uconn.edu/) is offering supplements to InCHIP seed grant applications that aim to include biobehavioral components. Projects that involve biological sample collection (e.g., saliva, blood, hair, nails) and assessment of biomarkers (e.g., cortisol, cytokines, hormones) that can be processed and analyzed in the BBL are eligible for this supplement. Awards up to $5,000 in BBL credit are available.

Click here for more information about the BBL Supplement.