Is your research concept a good fit for ISAC?

Your concept is likely a good fit for ISAC if you answer YES to the following 3 questions:

1. Will your project support the mission of the Kidney-Urologic-Hematologic (KUH) research communities?
2. Is your application too risky for Pilot & Feasibility programs designed to generate preliminary data for a traditional NIH application (e.g., R01)?
3. Is the project highly innovative and have the potential to lead to groundbreaking or paradigm-shifting results that will change the field?

What does the application look like?

All applications must be submitted via the ISAC website as a single PDF file.

Is preliminary data required?

Preliminary data are NOT required but may be included. If you include preliminary data, it is limited to 2 items (e.g., one figure and one table) and must fit within the 3-page limit of the ISAC Essay. Please note that you cannot circumvent this limitation by including multiple panels within a given item. For example, if you include a figure with two panels, you cannot include additional items. Brief video clips capturing a single experimental observation are allowed but must adhere to the preliminary data limitation outlined above. Applications containing more than 2 preliminary data items will be considered non-responsive and will not be reviewed.

How are ISAC applications reviewed?

Each application will receive a rigorous 3-stage review:

Each application will receive an overall score and written critiques. Scores will range from 1 to 9, where a score of 1-3 indicates an exceptionally innovative application, that if successful, will disrupt and change the field. A score of 4-6 indicates a moderately innovative application that will advance the field. A score of 7-9 indicates an application lacking true innovation and promises only incremental progress. A score of 5 is considered an average score. The entire scale (1-9) will be considered. Please note that the Overall Score is NOT an average of the other scores.

All reviewers will strongly consider the goal of the ISAC Program to support discovery (hypothesis-generating) and exceptionally innovative, disruptive (high-risk/high-reward) research.

PLEASE NOTE: Applications that are incomplete, non-compliant and/or nonresponsive will not be reviewed. No additional materials may be submitted after the receipt date. Scientists from the applicant institution are in conflict and excluded from review. Written comments will be provided for all reviewed applications. Final funding decisions will be made by the NIDDK. All decisions are final, and appeals will not be accepted for applications submitted in response to this solicitation. Funded awards are not allowed to submit a competitive renewal application and unfunded applications are not allowed to revise and resubmit an amended application. All applications are reviewed as new applications with the expectation they will provide new, innovative ideas. Multi-year funding requests are not allowed.

How often will applications be reviewed?

Applications can be submitted to the ISAC web portal at any time. The review of submitted applications will occur two times a year and provide a quick turnaround from review to award.

1. Application Final Submission: March 12^th, September 17^th
2. Peer Review: April and October
3. Notification of Award: May and December

How much money can I request?

Applicants may request up to $100,000 (direct + indirect costs) Total Costs for one year. Any requests for major equipment (cost greater than $5,000) must include a narrative in the Budget Justification for why it is necessary for the proposed project. The number of awards will depend upon the number, quality, duration, and cost of the applications received.

Awards will be made as subcontracts from the ISAC Coordinating Unit at Augusta University and not directly by the NIH. Funded awards are not allowed to submit a competitive renewal application and unfunded applications are not allowed to revise and resubmit an amended application. Multi-year funding requests are not allowed.

Who can apply?

Qualities common to many highly innovative people include an interest in, and the ability to integrate, diverse sources of information; an inclination to challenge paradigms and take intellectual risks; persistence in the face of failure; an ability to attract the right collaborators; and the energy and concentration necessary to plan and execute effective strategies for accomplishing goals.

Individuals with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research are invited to work with their institution to develop an application for support. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support. New investigators are encouraged to apply, but they must have a full-time faculty position or an equivalent position at non-academic institutions. Lower priority will be given to applicants who have received ISAC support in the past three years.

Eligible Organizations:

Higher Education Institutions
Public/State Controlled Institution of Higher Education
Private Institution of Higher Education

The following types of Higher Education Institutions are encouraged to apply for support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education:
Hispanic-serving Institution; Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs);
Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)
Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions;
Nonprofit with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institution of Higher Education)
Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education
Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)
Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institution of Higher Education)

For-Profit Organizations:
Small Businesses
For-Profit Organization (Other than Small Businesses)

Foreign Institutions:
Non‐domestic (non‐U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are NOT eligible to apply.
Non‐domestic (non‐U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are NOT eligible to apply.
Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are NOT allowed.

Are clinical trials allowed?

No. Clinical trials, as defined by the NIH, are beyond the scope of this program. For further details and resources to help clarify the NIH definition, please consult information posted at the NIH Clinical Trials website. When appropriate, the use of human samples is allowed and strongly encouraged. Research involving human subjects is limited to observational studies with non-invasive or minimally invasive testing and must have IRB approval that includes the collection and use of human samples for research purposes.

How will ISAC resources and data be shared?

ISAC awardees must share data, materials, models, methods, information and unique research resources that are generated by the projects in concordance with the NIH policies and agree to submit to the ISAC web portal all information regarding resources resulting from the execution of the ISAC Award. Specifically, consistent with achieving the objectives of the ISAC Program and the ISAC Coordinating Unit RFA, all study data (including, but not limited to, raw data, metadata, digital pathology images, and computational data sets), protocols (including analytical methods), technologies, biological samples, and other research resources are to be made publicly available to the larger community as soon as quality control procedures have been completed. The NIDDK will make all final decisions concerning data and sample deposition and data access policies, and all policies are subject to change by the NIH as deemed necessary to sustain program principles and priorities, or to ensure the highest standards for responsible research conduct within the project.

Awardees will comply with and implement the recommendations and decisions of the NIDDK with respect to the sharing of information, data, biosamples, protocols, resources, methods, and analyses developed by the ISAC investigators under the ISAC Program.

This ISAC Sharing Plan should also address methods for continuing to make ISAC data, tools, methods, and software available to the NIH and the research community upon completion of studies so that accumulated data remain accessible.

The ISAC Coordinating Center will work with ISAC awardees to create relevant citable Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) and Research Resource Identifiers (RRID) for the collaborative management and sharing of research methods, resources, and protocols (e.g., protocols.io).

When appropriate, ISAC awardees are expected to share both positive and negative results that would help guide the research activities of other ISAC Program members, including at routine face-to-face or virtual ISAC meetings to facilitate exchange of scientific ideas, promote collaboration and peer-to-peer mentoring and networking.

Proprietary data and resources will be excluded from sharing consistent with NIH and HHS policies.

This resource and data sharing language will be included in your Notice of Award.

Will you be required to attend ISAC meetings?

Yes. It is expected that the ISAC Coordinating Unit will work collaboratively with all ISAC Awardees (past and present) and other interested partners to develop and organize routine face-to-face or virtual meetings to facilitate exchange of scientific ideas, promote collaboration and peer-to-peer mentoring and networking.

All awardees will have at least one virtual "check-in" with members of the ISAC coordinating team to assess productivity and discuss novel ways to effectively communicate your breakthrough discovery and share validated data and resources.

What else should I know?

A summary of progress of funded projects is due twice (halfway and final) during the execution of the award, including a video summary of your concept to publicly share via the ISAC website.

All awardees will have at least one virtual "check-in" with members of the ISAC coordinating team to assess productivity and discuss novel ways to effectively communicate your breakthrough discovery and share validated data and resources.

Financial acknowledgment of award: Please acknowledge all posters, manuscripts or scientific materials that were generated in part or whole using funds from the Innovative Science Accelerator Program (ISAC) using the following text: 'Financial support for this work provided by the NIDDK Innovative Science Accelerator Program (ISAC, www.isac-kuh.org), grant DK128851'.

For presentations and slides, please use the PowerPoint slide with the funding source logo found in the zip file here to indicate that ISAC is a funding source for your presentations.

Who should I contact with additional questions?

How do I apply for an ISAC award?

In order to download an ISAC application, please answer the following four questions:

Please click the checkbox next to each question if your answer is 'YES':

1. Will your project support the mission of the Kidney-Urologic-Hematologic(KUH) research communities?
2. Is your application too risky for Pilot & Feasibility programs designed to generate preliminary data for a traditional NIH application (e.g., R01)?
3. Is the project highly innovative and have the potential to lead to groundbreaking or paradigm-shifting results that will change the field?