BMRC supports and provides funding for research activities that will contribute to the vision of Singapore becoming a premier centre for biomedical research and development.

Our calls for proposals are aligned tightly with Singapore's current and future needs in the biomedical sciences.

Current Calls

1. A*STAR - NKTH Joint Grant Call 2008

2. Joint SBIC - SIgN Grant Call 2008

A*STAR - NKTH Joint Grant Call

The Singapore Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and the Hungary National Office for Research and Technology (NKTH) jointly announce the first call for proposals under the A*STAR – NKTH Master Collaboration Agreement signed on 9 October 2007.

Introduction

The goal of the call for proposals is to promote R&D collaboration between (i) Hungarian-based public and private institutes, and (ii) Singapore public sector research organizations including A*STAR RIs, through joint scientific projects, technology transfer, commercialization of research deliverables, and encouraging training and staff exchange.

A*STAR and NKTH plan to hold 3 joint calls for proposals (one each in 2008, 2009 and 2010), covering fields of mutual interest such as physical sciences, communications, computational science, nanotechnology, energy and new materials, chemistry and pharmacology, biomedical sciences including biotechnology and pharmaceuticals and medical devices and technologies.

For 2008, joint proposals in the following areas are invited to be submitted:

1. Drug Discovery & Biomaterials
2. Chemistry
3. Pharmacology
4. Nanotechnology
5. Biomedical Sciences, including Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals

Applications are now open!

All submissions are due by 23 September 2008, 5.00 pm Singapore Standard Time. The application form (Parts 1,2 & 3) are available here:

Part 1 - A*STAR-NKTH Joint Grant Call proposal details
Part 2 - Budget proposal
Part 3 - Capability indicators

Proposals will be reviewed by a panel of experts that will help identify proposals that are innovative, demonstrate a high level of scientific pursuit, challenge paradigms and set international benchmarks.

Each research team must be made up of at least one Singapore-based researcher and one Hungary-based researcher. The research project, which can last up to 3 years, must be conducted in Singapore and in Hungary. A*STAR will fund the research costs of the Singapore-based researcher, while NKTH funds the research costs of the Hungary-based researcher. The total value of a combined grant award will typically be in the range of S$440,000 to S$1,100,000 (approximately €200,000 to €500,000).

Application to A*STAR and NKTH will be separate; however, the team of researchers must jointly submit one scientific abstract. An original application (hard copy) endorsed by the Host Institutions and a soft copy (Word format) must be submitted to A*STAR and NKTH through the Host Institution research offices. Queries on the initiative and submission of forms by Singapore-based researchers should be addressed to the following A*STAR email address:

A-STAR_NKTH_Grant_Call@a-star.edu.sg

Joint SBIC - SIgN Grant Call 2008

Introduction

The Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC) and Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) are jointly announcing a Grant Call for collaborative research proposals. The theme for the Joint SBIC-SIgN Grant Call is “Imaging Immune System and Infectious Diseases”.

Projects under the grant call could include (but are not limited to):

• In vivo imaging of the immune response in models of infection
• Imaging immunity in physiological and pathological conditions
• Imaging tumor development in vivo
• In vivo imaging of immunity in models of inflammation

Features of the Grant Call

• SBIC is funded by BMRC and SERC, while SIgN is funded by BMRC. Under the joint grant call SBIC and SIgN will each contribute funding to make up a total grant budget of S$4M.
• Average funding per grant is about S$0.5M up to a maximum limit of S$1M.
• Grant Period ­is usually three (3) years contingent upon satisfactory progress as assessed during annual reviews.

Eligibility

The objectives of this grant call are to be achieved through innovative, collaborative, inter- and multi-disciplinary investigations.

Researchers from ALL institutions including restructured hospitals, national centres, research institutes, local universities and A*STAR are eligible to apply for Collaborative Grants.

There shall be only one (1) Network Director for each Collaborative Grant application. In the context of collaborative research the Network Director is a Principal Investigator who co-ordinates team effort and manages the grant award. The research must be conducted in Singapore. There should be at least one (1) PI from the physical sciences and one (1) PI from the biological field. Collaboration between external and A*STAR researchers is strongly encouraged and applications involving such arrangements for collaboration would generally be given preference over those without such efforts. For applications whereby the Network Director is from an A*STAR research institute (RI), justification from the Executive Director of the Institute will be required on why the proposed research could not be covered by the RI’s own budget and what the RI is planning to contribute towards the proposed research.

Inter-institutional collaborations would be preferred over intra-institutional collaborations.

Application

Kindly state as the email subject/on your hardcopy application envelope that you are applying to the “Joint SBIC-SIgN Grant Call”.

PIs of short-listed outline proposals will be informed by mid October 2008 to submit their full proposal. All full proposals will have to reach SBIC by 17 November 2008.

Full applications will be evaluated by an International panel who will also interview the applicants and the outcome will be announced by January 2009.