CID Research Incubator Fund

None

Collborative Research Incubator Fund Call

A small projects fund to foster innovative and interdisciplinary research in infectious diseases.

How to apply

Download and fill in a short application form

Then email it to info@infectiousdisease.cam.ac.uk

By: Deadline Open/Rolling 2019-20.

Purpose 
Building a community that values coming together is a core strategy for CID, and capacity-building to develop an interdisciplinary mind-set is high on our agenda. To achieve this, we are are pleased to be supported by the Isaac Newton Trust to offer flexible small grants to individual Early Career Researchers who wish to explore new cross-discipline research projects/collaborations, as additive to current research activities, or as a novel project.

Guidelines- what you can apply for

You may apply for a grant between £500 and £2,000.Examples of activities that  we might support include

- a lab exchange/visit in the UK or overseas to share knowledge and develop new approaches by visiting and working alongside another researcher/s or bringing in a researcher/s to assist in widening your project scope/generating data to support an interdisciplinary project/ paper/grant proposal

- a pilot research project between two or more researchers from different schools that will assist in widening your project scope/generating data to support an interdisciplinary project/ paper/grant proposal.

We especially seek to grow new partnerships that:

  • Promote novel interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration between one or  more distant disciplines e.g. Between Schools of Physical Sciences, Technology, Arts and Humanities, Humanities and Social Sciences and Schools of Biological Sciences or Clinical Medicine.
  • Address fast-moving topical infectious diseases challenge areas e.g. AI and diagnostics/imaging, economics and social epidemiology, climate change and infectious diseases, aging and infectious diseases.
  • Develop novel methodological approaches or tools, or apply tools from one discipline in another
  • Are likely to lead to the development of further collaborative research grant proposals.

Eligibility: Applications are open to Early Career Researchers  - this includes PhD students, Post Doctoral Researchers, and researchers/clinical researchers establishing themselves within 10 years of completion of their PhD, wishing to conduct activities within Cambridge or travel away from Cambridge for a specific purpose matching the guidelines. 

  • Each proposal should be submitted by co-applicants from at least 2 different research discipline groups ( either at Cambridge or Cambridge+external University in UK or overseas).
  • At least one applicant must be a full members of the University of Cambridge and CID for the duration of the project.
  • Applications must include a signed and dated supporting letter from your research supervisor.

Anticipated Outcomes/Outputs

1. Increase the number of early career researchers engaged in collaborative infectious disease activities;

2. Joint publications between researchers from different departments/schools;

3. Applications for joint funding to a wider range of funders;

4. Engage different disciplines in contributing to infectious diseases research activities

5. Linking early career researchers belonging to/across other Interdisciplinary research centres, initiatives, networks e.g. Public Policy, Conservation, Global Challenges

Notes

  • Conference travel is not supported. 
  • All applications must list the disciplines involved and give justification for how the project/activity would facilitate a genuine transfer of knowledge/techniques between disciplines.
  • Applicants must complete the relevant risk assessment and/or ethics forms through their department before travelling. 
  • Funds must be spent, and a short report and 2 jpg photographs submitted together with hard copy receipts for travel costs incurred.
  • Not more than one application should be submitted per applicant.
  • Financial support from the Isaac Newton Trust and Cambridge Infectious Diseases should be acknowledged in any outputs.

Application Dates
• Open/rolling 2019- we will review applications quarterly and close the application period once all funds have been allocated. 

Eligible Costs

Awards can be requested to meet 100% of directly incurred travel, accommodation/subsistence, and research related operating costs. No salary or capital items.

How to apply
Applicants must complete and submit their application by filling in an a short application form and emailing it to info@infectiousdisease.cam.ac.uk

Notification
An awards committee will ensure that the activities supported contribute to the overall objectives of CID IRC, and are grounded in the applicant’s area of research and interdisciplinary in scope, as well as ensuring equal opportunities and gender equality. Notification of funding decisions will be made by early May.

Questions ? Contact
Please contact info@infectiousdisease.cam.ac.uk

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Isaac Newton Trust in providing matched funding for this scheme and encourage potential company /industry sponsors to get in touch with us if you would like to contribute to this fund and grow the future.

Funded Projects

Round 1 in 2018 resulted the following projects being awarded funding in this initial round:

1. Building bridges between the Kingdom of Bhutan and Cambridge: clinical experience and genetic analysis of canine transmissible tumour. Dr Andrea Stratkova (1st year Post Doc, supervisor Elizabeth Murchison, Department of Veterinary Medicine). Funds are being used to bring Dr Yoenten Phuentshok (one of only 12 qualified vets in Bhutan), to Cambridge to learn diagnostic techniques in genetics he will introduce to colleagues on return to Bhutan. A long-term collaboration is ongoing.

2. Modelling emerging phenomena to aid the design of a novel virological assay. Dr longzhu Shen (Post Doc, Supervisor Prof Derek Smith Department of Zoology). Funds are being used for Longzhu to a visit Prof Benzhuo Lu at the Chinese Academy of Science Mathematical Institute, to work collaboratively on a mathematical solution to a problem and to present work, and build relations with early career mathematicians in China.

3. Rapid identification of key arthropod vector species in the field. Dr Sam Subbs (2nd year Post Doc, Supervisor Dr Barbara Blacklaws, Department of Veterinary Medicine). The funds will be used to support a local field trip with Sam accompanying a field entomologist from LSTHM to learn mosquito trapping and ensure accurate species identification to optimize a PCR field diagnostics species test, which he will them implement himself in a new project in Indonesia in 2019.

4. Unravelling how an uncharacterised methyltransferase sustains phenazine toxin biosynthesis in the human pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Dr Stephen Dolan (2nd year Post Doc, Supervisor Dr Martin Welch, Department of Chemistry). The funds are being used for Stephen to visit the lab of Dr Lars Dietrich, University of Columbia, New York to learn new techniques in electrochemical detection and digital micropscopy, and then apply these back in the lab with colleagues in Cambridge.

The Fund is helping CID implement our strategic objective to build a strong community of Early Career Researchers with the broad skills needed to make future breakthroughs, with the benefit of a common language and approach to problem solving. Supporting early career researchers is a key factor in developing our long-term, interdisciplinary research capacity to address key global challenges across fields. This includes finding ways to catalyse research collaborations nationally and internationally for exchange of knowledge and ideas.