INSIGNEO Bursary for Clinical Translation – 2015 Call
The Insigneo Institute for in silico Medicine calls for proposals for its 2015 bursaries
for clinical translation.
The bursaries will be assigned according to the regulations attached.
This year funding is available for up to 3 six-month bursaries, and one three-year
PhD scholarship, generously provided by the Sheffield Hospitals Charity.
These are the important dates:
- Publication of this call: 17 October 2014
- Deadline for submission: 5 December 2014
- Panel meeting: December 2014
- For 6-month bursaries:
o Latest start of the contracts: May 2015
o Poster at Insigneo Showcase: 8 May 2015
o Submission report: 30 October 2015
- For 3-year PhD Scholarship:
o Latest start of the contracts: September 2015
o Presentation at Insigneo Showcase 2016, 2017, 2018
o Submission reports: 30 October 2015, 2016, 2017
Applications must be submitted via email to Prof Pat Lawford
[email protected], no later than 12:00am of December 5th, 2014. No
applications will be accepted after this deadline.
The Pam Liversidge Building, Sir Frederick Mappin Building – Sheffield S1 3JD, UK
email: [email protected]
phone: +44 1142 220162
website: www.insigneo.org
INSIGNEO Bursary for Clinical Translation – Regulation
Rationale
The ultimate scope of the bursaries for clinical translation is to improve our ability to
translate into the clinical practice the results of our technological research. A first
essential step in this sense is to drive the applied technological research toward
objectives that are clinically relevant, and have a significant potential for impact. This
means that most applied research projects we conduct should arise from a clear
clinical need to be addressed. In some clinical domains our members already have
enough collaborations with the clinical specialists to know what are the relevant
clinical problems. But in other sectors where the presence of INSIGNEO is less
established, we need a new mechanism that makes possible:
i) To explore if available technologies can solve a given clinical problem.
When this is the case, immediate translation paths should be sought;
ii) If not, to explore if such existing technologies can solve the clinical
problem after some minor adaptations. When this is the case, bridge funds
should be found to complete such modifications, and then translation paths
should be sought;
iii) If not, to elaborate the specifications for a new technology aimed to solve
that clinical problem. Such specifications, and any preliminary results
obtained while compiling them would provide an excellent basis for the
writing of a research grant specifically aimed to the development and
assessment of that new technology.
Bidding process
Every year the Board of the INSIGNEO Institute will circulate to all INSIGNEO
members a call for bids that details the bidding process and its rules.
At least 60 days should be allowed between the circulation of the call and the
deadline for submission of the bids.
The selected bids will be awarded with a bursary of £15,715, sufficient to hire with
fixedterm research assistant contract with the University of Sheffield, a Research
Assistant Bioengineer for six months with a grade 6.1 or for five months with a grade
7.1 in the university scale, and a forfeitary contribution to the research costs equal to
£900 per bursary. Such opportunity would be offered to engineers who recently
completed their master degree; it may also constitute part of a PhD Scholarship.
However, because of the exploratory nature of bursary, the PhD research program
should not rely on the outcomes of the bursary, which should be considered as an
addition to stand-alone PhD program.
The proposal can be presented in collaboration with an industrial partner that
provides cofunding; while this is not required, such industrial co-funding will be
considered favourably by the panel.
The Pam Liversidge Building, Sir Frederick Mappin Building – Sheffield S1 3JD, UK
email: [email protected]
phone: +44 1142 220162
website: www.insigneo.org
Each bid must be submitted jointly by a clinical and a non-clinical member of
INSIGNEO. The clinical member is responsible for hosting the research assistant
with the hospital premise, and to ensure that all data and information necessary to
fulfil the work plan are made available to the research assistant; he/she will also cosupervise the research assistant, ensuring that the results are clinically relevant. The
non-clinical member will be responsible for the recruitment of the research assistant,
and will supervise him/her, ensuring the work is done according to principles of
technical excellence.
Every bid will have to be submitted according to the instructions in the call for bids;
no bid will be evaluated if submitted in violation of those terms. Each proposal will be
written in free format, and should not exceed 2500 words, or three pages with a point
11 fonts.
Every proposal should include:
a) A brief description of the clinical problem to be solved, and of the reason
why such problem should be considered of high impact;
b) A brief translation of the existing technologies that will be explored as
possible solution for the aforementioned problem;
c) A brief description of the materials and methods, in particular on which
clinical data the technology will be tested, and how its efficacy will be
measured.
A panel formed by the members of the INSIGNEO Board and by at least one
representative of the Sheffield Hospitals Charity will evaluate the proposals. If any of
the Board members is involved in one of the proposals under evaluations, he/she will
be excluded from the panel. The Scientific Director of INSIGNEO, who will have no
voting right, will chair the panel. The panel decision cannot be appealed.
Once informed on the panel decision, the selected bidders will have 90 days to
activate the research assistant contract, and to confirm in written that all necessary
ethical permissions are in place to conduct the proposed study; after that period, the
INSIGNEO Direction reserve the right to withdraw the grant; proposals where the
name of the candidate for the bursary is already identified at the time of submission
will be evaluated more favourably.
At the end of the bursaries, the participants will produce each a final report, which will
be collated by the INSIGNEO PMO into a report to the funders.
The outcome of each bursary will be monitored, and it will act as a track record that
will be taken into consideration in future applications of the same members.
The Pam Liversidge Building, Sir Frederick Mappin Building – Sheffield S1 3JD, UK
email: [email protected]
phone: +44 1142 220162
website: www.insigneo.org
INSIGNEO PhD scholarship for Clinical Translation – Regulation
Rationale
The ultimate scope of this scholarship for clinical translation is to improve our ability
to translate into the clinical practice the results of our technological research. A first
essential step in this sense is to drive the applied technological research toward
objectives that are clinically relevant, and have a significant potential for impact. This
means that most applied research projects we conduct should arise from a clear
clinical need to be addressed. In some cases such clinical need can be well
identified, the candidate technologies are clear, but for some reason it is difficult to
attract research funding at that stage; an exploratory research is required, but its
necessary duration exceed that of bursary.
To address these very special cases the Sheffield Hospitals Charities Trust has
generously agreed to sponsor a non-clinical three-year PhD scholarship. We expect
applications related to clinical problems with a considerable socioeconomic impact,
where a clear and highly translational research plan is defined, and that present high
chances at the end of the three years, to transform into full blown research projects
capable of attracting significant external funding.
Bidding process
Every year the Board of the INSIGNEO Institute will circulate to all INSIGNEO
members a call for bids that details the bidding process and its rules.
At least 60 days should be allowed between the circulation of the call and the
deadline for submission of the bids.
The selected bids will be awarded with a bursary of £64,984, sufficient to pay stipend
and home student fees for three years, and a forfeitary contribution to the research
costs equal to £900 per year.
The proposal can be presented in collaboration with an industrial partner that
provides cofunding; while this is not required, such industrial co-funding will be
considered favourably by the panel.
Each bid must be submitted jointly by a clinical and a non-clinical member of
INSIGNEO. The clinical member is responsible for hosting the PhD student with the
hospital premise, and to ensure that all data and information necessary to fulfil the
work plan are made available to the PhD student; he/she will also co-supervise the
PhD student, ensuring that the results are clinically relevant. The non-clinical
member will be responsible for the recruitment of the PhD student, and will supervise
him/her, ensuring the work is done according to principles of technical excellence, in
the respect of the rules and procedures for the award of a PhD degree.
The Pam Liversidge Building, Sir Frederick Mappin Building – Sheffield S1 3JD, UK
email: [email protected]
phone: +44 1142 220162
website: www.insigneo.org
Every bid will have to be submitted according to the instructions in the call for bids;
no bid will be evaluated if submitted in violation of those terms. Each proposal will be
written in free format, and should not exceed 2500 words, or three pages with a point
11 fonts. Every proposal should include:
a) A brief description of the clinical problem to be solved, and of the reason why
such problem should be considered of high impact;
b) A brief translation of the existing technologies that will be explored as possible
solution for the aforementioned problem;
c) A brief description of the materials and methods, in particular on which clinical
data the technology will be tested, and how its efficacy will be measured;
d) A clear motivation of why at this stage such research would be difficult to fund
through an external grant.
A panel formed by the members of the INSIGNEO Board and by at least one
representative of the Sheffield Hospitals Charity will evaluate the proposals. If any of
the Board members is involved in one of the proposals under evaluations, he/she will
be excluded from the panel. The Scientific Director of INSIGNEO, who will have no
voting right, will chair the panel. The panel decision cannot be appealed.
Once informed on the panel decision, the selected bidders will have 180 days to
activate the PhD, and to confirm in written that all necessary ethical permissions are
in place to conduct the proposed study; after that period, the INSIGNEO Direction
reserve the right to withdraw the grant.
Every year the applicants will produce a report of the progress of the research
project, which will be collated by the INSIGNEO management services into a report
to the funders.
The outcome of each scholarship will be monitored, and it will act as a track record
that will be taken into consideration in future applications of the same members.
The Pam Liversidge Building, Sir Frederick Mappin Building – Sheffield S1 3JD, UK
email: [email protected]
phone: +44 1142 220162
website: www.insigneo.org