Program Background

The collaborative ventures to support the Alliance’s advancement of nanohealth offer the potential to substantially impact clinical medicine and public health at the national scale and beyond. The mission and goals of ANH are to encourage, support and sustain high quality research in nanotechnology with special attention to its applications in clinical medicine. The central objective of the training program is to advance the ANH mission by integrating researchers relevant to this task as well as drawing new students into nanomedicine research.

The ANH consists of faculty with expertise in computer science, computational and applied mathematics, statistics, chemistry, biochemistry, physics, cell biology, microbiology, molecular genetics and clinical medicine at 8 participating ANH Institutions. With an effective mechanism of communication/collaboration between these disciplines, new avenues of attacking biological problems by means of nanotechnology research are possible. The objective of ANH is to involve intelligent and enthusiastic research personnel at all graduate levels and provide them with the necessary financial support to conduct high caliber research in applied nanotechnology areas. It is anticipated that these researchers at various levels of experience will be instrumental in disseminating the research applications to address many unsolved problems.

The ANH focuses its funding on innovative proposals, particularly those involving multidisciplinary and multi-institutional collaborations that have the potential to make a significant impact on the unsolved medical problems by way of nanotechnology with the participating ANH member institutions (see below).

The ANH encourages trainees and mentors to identify projects that demonstrate firm scientific judgment as well as rationale that coincide with the objectives of ANH and the contracting agencies, viz. NASA and DOE.  In this context, the objective is to fund training focused on a balanced portfolio of scientifically commendable research in nanotechnology.  The ANH seeks proposals for trainees from all disciplines within the basic and clinical research utilizing nano-based techniques and applications.

The ANH must be responsive to the scientific and technical areas of interest for National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Department of Energy (DOE) in allocating the fellowship awards.  The ANH will also examine how well the proposals correlate with the ANH mission to facilitate the translation of nanotechnology from the laboratory bench to clinical practice through commercialization.

Eligibility:

The participating mentors must be full-time faculty members at an ANH Member Institution:

• Baylor College of Medicine,

• The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center,

• Rice University,

• the University of Houston,

• The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston,

• Texas A&M Health Science Center,

• University of Texas Medical Branch and

• The Methodist Hospital Research Institute.

Postdoctoral Fellowships Summary:

The ANH Postdoctoral Training Program seeks applicants and mentors interested in developing nanomedicine-focused research projects that are aligned with the scientific goals of the ANH and NASA/DOE.  The fellowships will provide supplemental support during the training period for the postdoctoral fellows to mature into sophisticated investigators and potential future faculty members. The research should be of sufficient depth to produce publications and prepare the scientists for future federal funding opportunities (e.g. NIH, NSF, among others).

The ANH postdoctoral training program will implement this strategy by funding 2 types of award:

The ANH will offer up to $20,000/year for the new postdoctoral fellows and up to $30,000/year for the more senior postdoctoral fellows. This support aims to cover approximately 50% of the cost of salary over a maximum of a two-year period. Fringe benefits may be added at the appropriate institutional rate of the host institution. Indirect costs may be claimed at a rate of up to 40% of total direct costs.

The application must be prepared and submitted by the candidate in close conjunction with the ANH mentor(s).

(Please see revised RFP.pdf for more details on the application, eligibility, selection criteria and other requirements - Biosketches are now also required)

Application forms for Postdoctoral Fellows here (.doc).  Sample Biosketch here (.doc)

Graduate Student Fellowships Summary:

The ANH Graduate Student Training Program will be open to the graduate students who have completed at least 2 semesters of study or equivalent research and/or industry experience.  Graduate students are encouraged to work with their mentor to identify an interdisciplinary project that incorporates a secondary mentor.  Both mentors must be involved in nanotechnology-related basic or clinical research.  The major areas of focus include, but are not limited to:

Graduate student applicants must have a primary mentor with an expertise in nanotechnology.  An additional mentor should be identified, preferably from another institution or minimally from a different department, so that the student will be guided in basic and clinical sciences between the Primary Mentor and the Secondary Mentor. The focus of research must be innovative and should address an issue relevant to the challenges in nanomedicine with a potential for making an impact on unsolved problems. 

Up to five (5) graduate students will receive the ANH fellowship for 2-years ($26,000 for the first year and $26,780 for the second year) and will be expected to fulfill the graduate criteria of their respective universities and departments. Up to $8,000 may also be claimed for tuition fees. Fringe benefits may be added at the appropriate institutional rate of the host institution. Indirect costs may be claimed at a rate of up to 40% of modified total direct costs (excluding tuition fees from the calculation of the indirect cost base).

The application must be prepared and submitted by the candidate in close conjunction with the ANH mentor(s).

(Please see revised RFP.pdf for more details on the application, eligibility, selection criteria and other requirements - Biosketches are now also required)

Application forms for Graduate Students here (.doc).  Sample Biosketch here (.doc)

NASA Specific Goals

NASA funded research is evaluated on its relevance to NASA’s mission; intrinsic scientific, engineering, educational merit of the proposed effort; cost realism and reasonableness. In addition to being of the highest intrinsic science and technical merit, NASA also solicits research proposals to foster aggressive programs aimed at attracting and retaining students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education (STEM) disciplines, while improving the public's understanding and appreciation of STEM disciplines. Research opportunities in Nanotechnology to seek answers for the tribulations in medicine as well as space medicine concur with NASA’s mission to advance and communicate scientific knowledge, invest in America’s future and inspire the next generation of explorers. NASA Education and Research Goals:
http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/about/index.html

DOE Specific Goals

The DOE mission contributes to the legacy of the U.S. as a nation of innovation by supporting research that leads to major scientific discoveries and innovative challenges. Through the STEM program, DOE aims to prepare a diverse work force of scientists with the intent of mentoring and supporting the next generation of scientists and to continue promoting scientific and technological innovations in support of the DOE mission. The DOE Office of science plays a critical role in advancing basic research in the United States and in bringing new technologies to the marketplace. It also plays a leading role in preparing a diverse workforce of scientists, engineers and educators to keep America at the forefront of innovation and provide the laboratory infrastructure required for the U.S. scientific primacy. Research proposals with a nanotechnology approach in basic and clinical sciences will support the DOE mission of ensuring U.S. world leadership across a broad range of innovative scientific disciplines. DOE Education and Research goals:
http://www.energy.gov/sciencetech/index.htm

Damian Walsh
Program Manager
Alliance for NanoHealth
Department of Biomedical Engineering - Nanomedicine
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
1825 Pressler Street, Suite 537A
Houston, Texas 77030

Phone: 713 500 3768
E-mail: Damian.Walsh@uth.tmc.edu