Overview of Research Grants
There are numerous granting opportunities available to faculty in School of Medicine. The major grant givers are
Each of these funding organisations will call for grants at fixed times throughout the year and application forms can be obtained from their respective websites. In addition, depending on the type of research done other grant awarding bodies are available. These include but are not restricted to:
- Singapore Bioimaging Initiative (SBIC)
- Singapore Cancer Syndicate (SCS)
- Singapore Immunology Network (SigN)
- Singapore Stem Cells Consortium (SSCC)
- Economic Development Board
- National Research Foundation
- and more
Within the University, faculty can apply for a variety of research grants under the Academic Research Fund Tier (AcRF) 1 and Tier 2. Funding for
- AcRF Tier 1 (URC) ranges between $180,000 and $500,000
- AcRF Tier 2 looks at proposals with a budget of $500,000 to $1 million
These applications are internationally reviewed. All grants obtained require the faculty to gain approval from OSHE, IACUC and IRB (or whichever combination is relevant) before work can commence.
Schedule of Grant Calls
| Grant Call |
Deadline |
|
Academic Research Fund (ARF)
- FRC level (grants < $180K)
- URC level (grants ≥ $180K - < $500K)
- MOE level (grants ≥ $500K)
|
- Mar/Apr & Sept/Oct
- February and August (subject to changes by ORE)
- February and August (subject to changes by MOE)
|
|
Adhoc A*STAR grant call
- Singapore Immunology Network (SiGN)
- Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC)
- Stem Cell Consortium
- Singapore Cancer Syndicate
|
Deadline set by A*STAR
Calls are made once a year
|
| Biomedical Research Council (BMRC) |
May/June |
| Cross Faculty Research grant for Interdisciplinary research |
July and January |
| DSTA grant |
September |
| EDB Proof of Concept |
Every Quarter |
| MINDEF grant |
Deadline set by MINDEF |
| National Medical Research Council (NMRC) |
May/June and Nov/Dec |
| NUS Young Investigator Award |
August |
| Translational and Clinical Research (TCR) Flagship Programme |
June and November |
| STaR Investigatorship Award |
June and November |
| Start up Grant |
Adhoc |
Application for Start-Up Grants
Financial support is available to newly hired faculty in the form of a 'package' of money derived from a number of different sources. These include contributions from the National Medical Research Council (NMRC) and from the central University (called Block Start Up Funding). The amount of money available would start from approximately $180,000. Additional funding may well be available on a case by case basis. The new faculty will be asked to fill in a form describing the type of research he/she intends to carry out and breakdown of the budget. New faculty will also be given top priority when it comes to disbursing financial support from the Academic Research Fund (AcRF Tier 1 - FRC). This scheme allows for applications requesting support for amounts less than $180,000, for a period of up to three years. These applications are peer reviewed.
New faculty should note that before any research can be done it is University policy that they gain the necessary approvals (e.g. for laboratory work in the form of a proper risk assessment, for working with animals or for working on samples of human origin). The offices which deal with these various approvals are:
Once these necessary approvals are in place the funds will be released and work can begin.
For further information please contact Ms. Poonam Rai in the Research Section of Dean's Office (medprai@nus.edu.sg).
Budget Preparation for Start-up Grants
Start-up grant applications are subject to the following conditions:
- budget funded will be up to a maximum of $180,000 for a period of 1-2 years. Applicants receiving start-up funding from other sources are to indicate the quantum given as well as the source of funding.
- budget should only be for the purchase of consumables and small equipment (only applicable to the funding from NMRC Blockvote). For the Block Funding, PI may request for research personnel, in addition to consumables etc, without exceeding the maximum quantum.
- As far as possible, the investigator should use the major core equipment present either in the Clinical Research Centre or other laboratories in the Department.
- only staff who have assumed duties with the Faculty will be funded.
- only Assistant Professors and above are eligible to apply.
The following items will not be funded (under the NMRC Blockvote Budget):
- travel / conferences
- publication costs
- maintenance of equipment
- purchase of personal computers, laptops, printers, handphones or pagers
- journal subscriptions
- rental
The following items will not be funded (under the Block Funding Budget):
- purchase of handphones or pagers
- purchase of laptops (reviewed on a case-by-case basis)
- rental
Application Procedure
Research grant application forms should be submitted through the Head of Department. Please send in a soft copy and 3 hard copies (one original and 2 photocopies) of your research proposal to:
Administrator
Division of Research
Dean's Office, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS
Level 2, Clinical Research Centre (MD 11)
10 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597
Start Up Application Form for NMRC Blockvote Component. (DOC: 128KB)
Funding Exercise:
Please look out for Dean's office, Division of Research circular for the funding submission deadlines or calls.
Application for Academic Academic Research Fund (ARF)
The MOE Academic Research Fund (AcRF) Tier 1 and Tier 2 supports research in Singapore based universities that have academic significance and a good potential for creating new knowledge that will benefit the larger academic community. The research outcomes should also drive future research, potentially leading to innovations and discoveries.
AcRF Tier 1 funds research projects on a competitive basis within the Faculties (ie. Faculty-level funding approved by FRC) and across Faculties (ie University-level funding approved by URC). Each grant proposal submitted should have a total project value (TPV) of (i) less than $180,000 for FRC projects; and (ii) between $180,000 and $499,999 for URC projects over a 3 year duration.
AcRF Tier 2 funds research projects on a competitive basis across Singapore-based universities. Each grant proposal submitted should have a total project value (TPV) of between $500,000 and $1 million over a 3 year duration. Two grant calls are planned for each year, in February and August.
Application Procedure
Depending on the total project value, the approving authority for research grant applications is as follows:
| Approving Authority |
Total Project Value |
| Faculty Research Committee (FRC) |
< $180,000 |
| University Research Committee (URC) |
≥ $180,000 and < $500,000 |
| Academic Research Fund Committee (ARC) |
≥ $500,000 and ≤ $1 million |
FRC and URC will announce their grant calls separately. All research proposals have to be assessed by Heads of Departments before they are forwarded to the relevant Dean's Office (Research Division).
Guidelines for Application
- Principal investigators should be full time academic faculty of the University for AcRF Tier 1 and priority for AcRF Tier 2 funding will be given to Principal investigators who are full time faculty of Singapore-based universities. Co-investigators and collaborators of AcRF Tier 1 and Tier 2 projects have to be fully based in Singapore and research funded has to be conducted in Singapore.
- The call for AcRF Tier 1-FRC proposals will be decided by the Faculty and the call for AcRF Tier 1-URC and Tier 2 will be held twice a year in August and February.
- Application for AcRF Tier 2 proposals will be capped at $1 million over a funding period of 3 years, contingent upon satisfactory progress as assessed during the annual reviews, although proposals for larger funding for a 3 year period may also be considered if well justified. Applications should be submitted to MoE through the OREs. PIs should not communicate with MOE directly. PIs will receive acknowledgement of their application for MOE, through the OREs.
- Applicants should submit their grant proposals using the prescribed forms and format for Tier 1 and MOE's prescribed forms and format for Tier 2 funding listed below.
- Applicants and Approving Authority should refer to the ARF Tier 1 fundable/non-fundable items guidelines when applying for and evaluating proposal applications respectively.
Research Proposal Application Forms & Guidelines
Approval of Project Grants
- PIs will be notified of the results of the their applications through the OREs for AcRF Tier 2 applications and through the Division of Research, SoM for the AcRF Tier 1 applications.
- Appeals for unsuccessful applications will not be entertained. Applicants whose proposals have rejected for AcRF Tier 1 and Tier 2 funding are ineligible for resubmission.
- Applicants, whose proposals have been invited for resubmission, may do so during the next grant call, but has to provide a point-by-point rebuttal to the expert panel's comments and addressed any concerns raised.
- iv) Where relevant, PIs have to submit full Ethics Approval (applicable for projects involving cells, humans or animals etc) from relevant authorities and Statement of Undertaking/Letter of Acceptance to the Approving Authority within 2 weeks from the date of the initial approval notification. For projects with revision, an updated ethics approval is required before fund disbursement.
- In the event where Ethics Approval cannot be obtained in 2 week's time, PIs must submit the Statement of Undertaking/Letter of Acceptance first and inform the Approving Authority or MOE (for AcRF Tier 2 projects) of the status of his/her ethics approval which should be submitted to MOE within 3 months from the date of the approval notice or the application will be considered withdrawn. For multi-institution projects or trials, Ethics Approval must be obtained from each participating institution.
- PIs of on-going projects which require ethical review annually or once every two years must keep the Approving Authority informed of any changes to the protocol. PIs in the process of obtaining new ethics approval for new trials or for new procedures are not allowed to use the AcRF to conduct recruitment or to carry out parts of the research requiring ethics approval. PIs bear the full responsibility to ensure that proper ethics approval is obtained for the projects or parts of the projects.
- In the event that any ethics approval is withdrawn or suspended, affected PIs are to inform the Approving Authority of such decisions immediately.
- For AcRF Tier 1 proposals, where relevant PIs must satisfy the University's research compliance requirements (eg. risk assessment) necessary for account activation and project commencement. The project must start within 4 months from the Approving Authority's initial approval notification to the PI. PIs will also be required to submit a budget phasing for grant approval. The proposed budget phasing and project start date should be as realistic as possible and take into account the time needed to obtain any ethical approvals or meet any research compliance requirements.
| Forms |
| Tier 1 |
Form LOA - Statement of Undertaking/Letter of Acceptance |
New
(wef May 07) |
| Tier 1 |
Budget Phasing |
New
(wef May 07) |
Assessment by External Reviewer
For new proposals that are to be approved by the URC or with a total equipment budget exceeding $100,000, assessment by external reviewers are required.
Please click here for Criteria for Selection of External Referees for Review of Research Projects.
Based on the project's total value, the following minimum number of external reviewer's reports must be received:
- Less than $1 million : 3 external reviewer's report
- $1 million and above : 4 external reviewer's report
Grant Extension
- In the course of the project, PIs who need a longer time than the previously approved project duration must seek the Approving Authority's approval for project grant extension. For AcRF (Tier 1) proposals, the need for grant extension should be project-based and not merely for continuation of manpower appointments. In the latter case, for continuation of manpower appointments beyond the approved project duration, PIs should seek alternative funding sources (eg. bridging loan or grant).
- The total period of grant extension is capped at 6 months, unless there are very compelling reasons to extend for longer period.
- Request for grant extension should be submitted at least 3 months before the project's expiry date, using Form RGF1-Tier 1 (for AcRF Tier 1 projects) and Form RGF1-Tier 2 (for AcRF Tier 2 projects). The Approving Authority reserves the right to reject any late request. The request for grant extension must be well justified and be accompanied by evidence of satisfactory progress (eg. copies of publication arising from the research, abstracts of conferences attended, etc).
- For AcRF Tier 2 projects, the request for grant extension has to be approved by the Academic Research Board.
| Forms |
| Tier 1 |
Form RGF1 - Tier 1 - Project Amendments (incl extension & termination) |
New
(wef Apr 07) |
| Tier 2 |
Form RGF1 - Tier 2 - Project Amendments (incl extension & termination) |
New
(wef Apr 07) |
Grant Variation
- If there is a need for PIs to re-allocate approved funds without a change in the overall funding quantum, FRC - Faculty (for AcRF Tier 1 funded projects) and ORE (for AcRF Tier 2 funded projects) may approve a PIs requests to vary the grant allocation for up to $10,000 per request without change in the total project value and without change in objectives.
- For grant variation above $10,000 per request without change in total project value and without change in objectives, PIs must seek approval from the ORE through the Faculty (for AcRF Tier 1 funded projects) and University's President through the ORE (for AcRF Tier 2 funded projects).
- PIs are not allowed to vary project grants for the purchase of items that should not be funded under AcRF Tier 1/AcRF Tier 2, regardless of variation amount. The exception for AcRF Tier 1 projects is when formal approval is given by ORE (FRC projects) and DP (R&T) (for URC projects). Variation from EOM to other categories is also not allowed regardless of variation amount.
- General policy on purchase of equipment (for AcRF Tier 1 projects): There shall be no purchase of equipment 3 months before project completion date. PIs should take note of this in managing their grants.
- AcRF Tier 1 project grant variations must be submitted using the prescribed form RGF2-Tier 1 AcRF Tier 2 project grant variations must be submitted to MOE using the prescribed form RFG2-Tier 2 through the OREs
Budget Revision
For AcRF Tier 1 grants
- In the course if the project, if there is a good reason for PIs to request for an increase in the peviously approved funding quantum, PIs must seek approval using the prescribed form RGF3 - Tier 1.
- The budget revision will have to be approved by the Approving Authority. The budget augmentation will be borne by the Approving Authority.
- For any exceptional item or items not covered in the ARF Tier 1 Fundable/non-fundable guidelines, approval is required by Director, ORE for FRC projects and Deputy President (Research & Technology) for URC projects.
For AcRF Tier 2 grants
- In the course if the project, if there is a good reason for PIs to request for an increase in the peviously approved funding quantum, universities and PIs must seek MOE's approval using the prescribed form RGF3 - Tier 2, through the OREs.
- The following authorities must be consulted by MOE for the budget revision
- Chairman of Academic Research Council - for change in total project value up to 20% of funding (cumulative);
- Academic Research Council - for change in total project value over 20% of funding (cumulative)
- The budget revision will have to be approved by the Academic Research Board.
Report Submission
- PIs are to submit progress reports for each project annually, or upon request by the Approving Authority or MOE using Form RGF 4-Tier 1 or RFG4-Tier 2.
- For AcRF Tier 1 projects grants with completion date between 1 April - 31 August, PIs must submit Final Report only. SOM will set internal deadlines to ensure timely submission. PIs are to submit their final reports within 1 month after the project expiry date, using Form RGF5-Tier 1. The Final Report should reach the Approving Authority within 3 months after the project expiry date. The PI must clear any outstanding payments within 1 month from project completion date.
- For AcRF Tier 2 projects grants PIs must submit their final reports within 3 months after the project expiry date, using Form RGF5-Tier 2. Universities are to submit annual appraisal reports (for Financial Year) by 31st August to MOE.
- PIs who failed to submit the Annual Progress Reports of Final Reports may be:
- Denied any grant variation or extension until such reports are submitted;
- Disqualified from future applications as PI for AcRF grants until the Final report is submitted; and
- Issued a "not submitted" status in the Annual Appraisal Report for final reporting; and/or
- Have their current AcRF grant/s suspended or terminated.
Change of PIs/Change of Scope of Project
- PIs who wish to nominate new persons to take over their projects must obtain approval from the Approving Authority by submitting the CV of the nominees and documentary concurrence from their HODs and Faculties/Universities using Form RGF1-Tier 1 or RGF1-Tier 2 (through ORE).
- New PIs are required to seek concurrence from their HODs and sign a Statement of Undertaking/Letter of Acceptance for each of the projects.
- In the event that the PI could not fund a suitable person to take over the project, or the change of PI is not approved by the Approving Authority, the Approving Authority reserves the right to terminate funding for the project.
- The change of PIs will have to be approved by the Approving Authority.
- Any change in scope of the project will have to be supported by the Faculty (for AcRF Tier 1 projects) /University's ORE (for AcRF Tier 2 projects) and approved by the Approving Authority.
Transfer of University (For AcRF Tier 2 Projects)
PIs who wish to transfer the administration of their grants from one Singapore-based University to another Singapore-based University are required to seek approval from both universities and inform MOE.
Termination of Employment and /or Project Grant
- The PI is responsible for informing the Approving Authority, through the Faculty, at least 3 months before their contract expires with the University or if there is termination of employment by the university.
- For AcRF Tier 1 projects -
- Current University guidelines on resignation/termination of appointment shall apply. Please refer to Guidelines on "Resignation of PIs - Procedures of Handing Over" for more information.
- Faculty should explore all possible options to bring the project to proper completion (eg. change in PI) before consideration of project termination.
- Faculties should closely monitor such cases and ensure that the guidelines are met, and that a Final Report is submitted prior to the PIs departure
Intellectual Property
The following Intellectual Property (IP) guidelines will apply to all AcRF Tier 1 and Tier 2 projects of non-publicly funded universities:
- The IP arising from the projects will be jointly owned by MOE and the University
- The net IP revenue will be shared between MOE and the university; and
- MOE will reserve the right to commercialization of any IP arising from AcRF projects
Application for National Medical Research Council Grants (NMRC)
The NMRC provides research grants for individual researchers through the Individual Research Grant (IRG) Scheme to carry out medical research in public institutions. Applicants should submit their grant proposal using the prescribed format provided by the Council.
To be eligible for the IRG, the proposed research project must be based in Singapore and the Principal Investigator of the project should reside in Singapore. Applications for IRG are accepted twice a year in April/May and October/November. All Applications are subject to peer review for approval of funding support.
The terms and conditions for NMRC grants are governed by Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was signed between NUS and NMRC. The relevant sections of the MOU are highlighted. A copy of the MOU is with the Dean's Office, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. Please ensure that you are familiar with the terms and conditions of this agreement, as the researcher is also bound by the terms of the agreement.
Application and Approval for Project Grant
- Grant amount is capped at $1,000,000 per application, unless specified by the Council and the duration is up to 3 years.
- Only one Principal Investigator (PI) is allowed per application.
- PIs for Exploratory/Developmental Grants have to be a) Full time Academic Staff b) Adjunct Staff who have a lab in SOM and the study has to be conducted at NUS c) Post docs and research staff employed under the Department's EOM.
- Applications must be submitted through the research coordinator at SOM.
- PIs are given 2 weeks from the date of notification by the NMRC to submit missing information if their application forms are found to be incomplete.
- PIs and research coordinators will receive acknowledgement slips with application ID and password to access the NMRC website for the status of their application.
- PIs will be notified of the results of their application by mail. Appeals for unsuccessful applications will generally not be considered as the funds would have been fully allocated. However unsuccessful applicants may re-submit their revised applications in the future application exercises. Resubmission without revision to address reviewer's comments or concern will be rejected.
- PIs have to submit full Ethics approval (applicable for projects involving cells, humans or animals etc) from relevant authorities and Statement of undertaking to the NMRC within 2 weeks from the date of approval notification. For multi-centre projects or trials, Ethics approval must be obtained from each participating institution. For projects with revision, an updated ethics approval is required before fund disbursement.
- No disbursement of funds shall be made to applicants even if they are successful in their application if their Ethics Approval and Statement of Undertaking are not submitted to the NMRC within the stipulated time, subject to case by case consideration by the NMRC.
- In the event where Ethics Approval cannot be obtained in 2 weeks, PI must submit the Statement of Undertaking first and inform NMRC of the status of his/her Ethics Approval. The Ethics Approval should be submitted to NMRC within 3 months from the date of approval notification. Applications would be considered as withdrawn if PIs do not submit their Statement of Undertaking and Ethics Approval.
- PIs of on-going projects which require ethical review annually or once every two years must be keep NMRC informed of any changes to the protocol. PIs who are in the process of obtaining new ethics approval for new trials or for new procedures, are not allowed to use NMRC fund to conduct recruitment or to carry out parts of research requiring ethics approval. As NMRC will not be suspending fund to such on-going projects, PIs bear the full responsibility to ensure that proper ethics approval is obtained for the projects or parts of the projects.
- In the event that IRBs withdraw or suspend any ethics approval, PIs of these affected projects are to inform NMRC of such suspension immediately
List of Non-fundable Items for NMRC Funded Project Grants
- The following items are non-fundable, unless specifically approved by the NMRC:
- Administrative charges from Institutions
- Equipment already funded by Block Grants
- Handphones
- Laptops
- Overhead costs such as facilities management, TOL (i.e. rental of space) and utilities charges
- Pagers
- Patenting expenses
- Personal computers
- Printers
- Refreshments
- Relocation expenses
- Renovation expenses
- Stationery
- Contingency Funds (already in application form, not listed here)
- Personal Membership of Scientific Society
- Funding for attending conferences and scientific meetings should only restrict to conferences and meetings where research findings arising from the project grant are presented. The PI is required to submit a copy of the abstract when claiming reimbursement for such expenses.
- Funding for training of research personnel should restrict to personnel employed under the project grant and for training that is of direct benefit and specific to the research project.
- Reimbursement of expenses would only be made for expenses incurred during the grant period. For the avoidance of doubt, the expenses are deemed incurred only when the goods are received or services are rendered. Expenditure committed during the grant period but incurred after grant expiry would be rejected.
Grant Extension
- PIs must seek the NMRC's approval for project grant extension.
- The total period of grant extension is capped at 6 months plus 50% of the duration originally approved. Eg. a maximum of 18 months extension may be allowed for a 2 year project grant. However the NMRC may allow grant extension beyond the maximum extension duration, subject to case by case consideration.
- Request for grant extension should be submitted at least 1 month before the project's expiry date. All late submissions must be accompanied by an explanatory letter. The NMRC reserves the right reject any late request.
- Grant extension are to be submitted using the prescribed form IRG Grant Extension Form.
Grant Variation
- Institutions and PIs may vary for amounts up to and inclusive of $10,000, up to a maximum of 3 times a year, but must inform the NMRC (unless specifically approved by NMRC).
- PIs of project grants are not allowed to vary project grants for the purchase of non-fundable items. If a grant variation involves purchase of any non-fundable items, PIs must seek NMRC's approval regardless of the variation amount. NMRC reserves the right to reject claims for such expenditure if prior approval was not obtained.
- Institutions and PIs must seek the NMRC's approval for variations that are more than $10,000.
- All project grant variations must be submitted to the NMRC using the prescribed forms - IRG Grant Variation Form
Report Submission
- PIs are to submit progress reports - IRG Progress Report Form every 12 months, or upon request by the NMRC.
- PIs are to submit their final reports using the prescribed - IRG Final Report Form within 3 months after the completion of study.
- PIs not submitting the Final and Progress Reports are subjected to:
- Disqualification from applying as PI for new IRGs until he or she submits the final report, and
- A "not submitted" status in the Annual Report for final reporting, and
- Suspension of any grant variation or extension requests until progress reports are submitted.
Change of PIs
- PIs who wish to nominate new persons to take over their projects must obtain approval from the NMRC by submitting the following documents:
- Concurrence from their HODs / Directors of Institutions, and
- CVs of the nominees.
- New PIs are required to seek concurrence from their HODs / Directors of Institutions and sign a Statement of Undertaking for each of the projects.
- In the event that the PI could not find any suitable person to take over the project, or the change of PI is not approved by NMRC, NMRC reserves the right to terminate funding for the project.
Transfer of Institutions
- PIs who wish to transfer the administration of their grants from one Institution to another Institution are required to seek approval from both Institutions and inform the NMRC.
- The Institutions taking over the administration of grants must have signed a MOU with the Government of Singapore.
Additional information on the Administrative Guidelines and Financial Regulations for NMRC grants is available on the following NMRC webpage:
http://www.nmrc.gov.sg/corp/index.aspx
Please ensure that the policies and procedures set out in the NMRC Administrative Guidelines are complied with. You should seek the necessary approval from NMRC, where appropriate.
Funding Exercise:
Please look out for Dean's office, Division of Research circular for the funding submission deadlines or calls.
Application for Biomedical Research Council Grants (BMRC)
The Biomedical Research Council supports and also provides funding for research activities that will contribute to the vision of Singapore becoming a premier centre for biomedical research and development.
The calls for proposals will also be aligned tightly with Singapore's current and future needs in the biomedical sciences.
Application Procedures for Project Grants
Application to A*STAR can be made electronically at the A*STAR website. An original application (hard copy) endorsed by the Host Institution and a soft copy (Word format) must be submitted to BMRC, A*STAR through the Host Institution's research office following the electronic submission. Principal Investigators may approach their respective Research Offices should they have difficulty accessing the online system.
- The BMRC application form comprises of Part A (General & Financial Information) and Part B (Research Proposal). You are advised to complete the Part B offline before completing Part A. You will be asked to upload the completed Part B towards the end of the online application process. To begin, you may download Part B here (template of the research proposal) and work on the research proposal first.
- With the completed Part B (research proposal), you are ready to proceed to fill in Part A of the application.
- Create your own user ID and password. Please remember your login name and password as the system is unable to recall them later.
- All fields are mandatory unless stated otherwise.
- Both Part A and Part B of the application must be completed and submitted online. Please use the "Save as Draft" button frequently to save your entries.
- Before you submit the application (Part A and Part B) online, a PDF printout of Part A will be generated by the system. Please save and print the PDF file as you will not be able to access the application online once you have submitted it.
- Please ensure that the submitted application is the final version. No revision(s) to submitted application will be allowed.
- The total file size of all your upload documents (the Research Proposal & other documents) must not exceed 4MB.
Funding Exercise:
Please look out for Dean's office, Division of Research circular for the funding submission deadlines or calls. Submission to be made to:
Administrator
Division of Research
Dean's Office, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS
Level 2, Clinical Research Centre (MD 11)
10 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597
Funding from A*STAR Grants
Singapore Immunology Network (SigN)
The Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) was established to build upon Singapore's existing core strengths in immunology research.
The objectives are as follows:
- To foster more interaction among institutions and to promote good quality research in the field of immunology.
- Preference will be given to projects that encompass some aspects of human immunology research.
- It aims to enhance research particularly in the area of
- allergy and atopic diseases
- autoimmune disorders
- tumour immunology and immunotherapy
- infectious diseases
- functions and phenotypes of cells in the immune system
However, projects that pursue other aspects of immunology not highlighted above will also be considered. Applicants are expected to work with at least one SIgN scientist on each grant proposal for a more directive approach.
There will be a two-tier process to this grant call. Applicants are to submit a 2-page outline proposal for preliminary evaluation.
Short listed outline proposals will then be invited to submit a full proposal which will be subjected to international peer review.
Each grant will be capped at S$1.5mil over a funding period of 3 years, contingent upon satisfactory progress as assessed during annual reviews.
Funding Exercise:
Calls for proposal are made ONCE a year. You may look out for the submission deadlines from the Division of Research, Dean's Office.
Singapore Stem Cell Consortium Grant (SSCC)
The Singapore Stem Cell Consortium (SCCS) was established to build upon its existing core
strengths in human stem cell derivation, characterization, genomics and bioinformatics. SSCC will serve as the primary coordinating body for stem cell-related research activities in Singapore with the aim to build strong linkages between basic science and clinical research groups. The SSCC plans to make a commitment of S$70 million to stem cell research over 3 years to give a boost to this very promising field.
The SSCC invites research proposals to develop enabling platform technologies for eventual
therapeutic use of stem cell research.
Examples of enabling technologies could include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Development of human, cellular or animal models for particular diseases
- Development of bioimaging techniques
- Development of approaches to better understand the regulatory signaling pathways that modulate human diseases
- Collaborative development of improved bioinformatics tools to mine and validate stem cell databases
The objectives of this grant call are to be achieved through innovative, collaborative, inter- and multi-disciplinary investigations.
There is a two-tier process to this grant application. Applicants are to submit a 2-page outline proposal for preliminary evaluation by the SSCC EXCO in the first instance. Subsequently, selected shortlisted outline proposals will be invited to submit a full proposal that will be subjected to international peer review. The review process for the full proposal will take about 8 weeks.
Each grant will be capped at S$1.5mil over a funding period of 3 years, contingent upon satisfactory progress as assessed during annual reviews.
Funding Exercise:
Calls for proposal are made ONCE a year. You may look out for the submission deadlines from the Division of Research, Dean's Office.
Singapore Cancer Syndicate Grant (SCS)
The Singapore Cancer Syndicate (SCS) is a funding agency under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), working with the Singaporean clinical and research community to expand the competitive cancer research infrastructure and programmes. The aim is to generate a coordinated National Cancer Research Programme.
As the main coordinating body promoting a pipeline for discovery in cancer biology, the SCS acts to integrate the pipeline in a series of "linked consortia" with coordination and support of the SCS staff. The pipeline of funded activities ranges from biomarker discovery, pharmacokinetics profiling work, molecular pathology to animal modelling, disease-specific consortia and clinical trials. The programmes funded by the SCS are coordinated as national projects.
- Focus on expanding and hardening the existing SCS quality programmes.
- Seek to establish new partnerships for existing programmes with local investigators from other institutions. Funding priority to be given to proposals that engage new partners.
- Initiate novel, new ideas in expanding existing consortial programmes.
Funding Exercise:
Calls for proposal are made ONCE a year. You may visit the following website: www.scs.a-star.edu.sg for further information and look out for the submission deadlines from the Division of Research, Dean's Office.
Funding from National Research Foundation
Competitive Research Program
The National Research Foundation's (NRF) Competitive Research Programme (CRP) Funding Scheme aims to support programmes, each comprising multiple related projects under a unifying theme, through a bottom-up approach. This complements the strategic research programmes that have been identified top-down and will serve to identify potential strategic research areas in which Singapore can invest to develop new industries for the future.
Instead of funding individual projects, CRP will fund programmes or groups of related projects through a competitive process. Programme funding will allow a more coordinated, integrated and sustained way of supporting high-impact interdisciplinary research because a larger budget can be allocated to fund a number of related projects that address a given problem. The tight linkages amongst the projects in a programme will also make commercialisation of the research results easier. This scheme is a useful mechanism to identify potential strategic areas in the future.
CRP is open to all areas of science and technology. Multi-disciplinary programmes of up to five years in duration are encouraged. There will be two grant calls per year with a maximum of S$10 million per award.
CRP proposals will be assessed by an eminent Evaluation Panel chaired by Dr Rita R. Colwell, a member of the National Research Foundation's Scientific Advisory Board and a former Director of the US National Science Foundation.
Interested applicants will be required to submit a White Paper of up to five pages detailing their research plan, research aims and outcomes to NRF in response to a grant call.
The Evaluation Panel will select promising white papers to be further developed into Full Proposals.
Full proposals will be sent for international peer review. Top ranked proposals will be submitted to the Evaluation Panel for final selection.
Proposals will be evaluated on the criteria of research excellence, manpower development, economic impact and industry involvement (where relevant).
Funding Exercise:
Please look out for Dean's office, Division of Research circular for the funding submission deadlines or calls.
Interactive Digital Media in Education
The National Research Foundation (NRF) has allocated S$500 million over the next five years to fund the development of a strategic Interactive Digital Media (IDM) research programme to support Singapore's long-term vision of growing into a global IDM capital.
Leading NRF's IDM push to explore and enhance a new frontier to support Singapore's economy, the multi-agency IDM R&D Programme Office within the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) is set-up to spearhead the growth and development of Singapore's IDM sector, and coordinates a cross-disciplinary effort to deepen Singapore's research capacity in IDM.
The programme aims to realise a value-added contribution of S$10 billion, up from S$3.8 billion in 2003, as well as create approximately 10, 000 new jobs by 2015.
General research in IDM is under the purview of the MDA while research on the use of IDM in education is spearheaded by the Ministry of Education.
Funding Exercise:
Please look out for Dean's office, Division of Research circular for the funding submission deadlines or calls.
Environment & Water Research Programme (EWRP)
The Incentive for Research & Innovation Scheme (IRIS) is administered by the Environment & Water Industry Development Council (EWI), Ministry of the Environment & Water Resources. It aims to encourage and assist the public sector entities (including wholly owned subsidiaries of public sector entities) and academia (including Tertiary Academic Institutions and Research Institutes with operations in Singapore) to engage in basic and applied research to develop and create new capability in environmental and water technologies (EWT). The ultimate goal is to open new markets, achieve maximum economic success and create a competitive advantage for the local environmental and water industry and for Singapore.
EWRP provides grants to support costs arising from the projects such as manpower, training, equipment investment and professional services costs. More information can be found in the brochure here.
Funding Exercise:
Please look out for Dean's office, Division of Research circular for the funding submission deadlines or calls.
Funding from Biomedical Sciences Group of Singapore (BMS) Economic Development Board (EDB) Proof of Concept
The Biomedical Sciences Proof of Concept (BMS POC) scheme aims to provide pre-seed funding to support the development of early ideas that are patentable, and could lead to the formation of new start-ups or licensing deals with biomedical sciences companies.
Through the scheme, EDB's Biomedical Sciences Group (BMSG) hopes to:
- Accelerate the development of high value, leading edge and commercially-relevant technologies.
- Help translate discoveries from public research to the marketplace, and
- Foster the creation of viable biomedical sciences companies.
The proposed POC project must meet the following criteria:
- Pre-commercial activities undertaken at Singapore-based academic institutions. Employees of polytechnics, universities, hospitals, specialty centres and A*STAR-funded research institutions are eligible to apply (as Principal Investigator or PI).
- At the time of application, the PI must have secured a potential biomedical sciences industrial partner or investor with credible track record for the project to be commercialized. The industrial partner/investor(s) are expected to:
- Devote time and effort to advise on POC project technical development, and draft a commercialization plan together with the scientific team, and
- Be committed to ensure commercialization of the POC project upon successful completion at the end of the POC funding.
The potential industrial partner or investor does not need to make an upfront financial commitment at the point of POC application.
- No employees of companies or business entities are eligible to apply.
- The proposed project must fit the proof of concept criteria and be under one of the supportable areas.
The POC provides up to S$ 200,000 grant support per project for up to 12 months. GST is supported by the POC grant.
Funding Exercise:
Please look out for Dean's office, Division of Research circular for the funding submission deadlines or calls.
Ethics Review, Animal Use and Risk Assessment Forms
Contact Details of Research Compliance Offices:
Ethics
For more information, please refer to the IRB website:
http://www.nus.edu.sg/irb/
IACUC
For more information, please refer to the IACUC website:
http://www.nus.edu.sg/iacuc/
OSHE Risk Assessment
For more information, please refer to the OSHE website:
http://www.nus.edu.sg/osh/manuals/sop.htm
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