More on McPew

Stephen Hanson jose at scr.siemens.com
Wed Oct 19 13:56:10 EDT 1994


Good Luck, Steve



          The McDonnell-Pew Program in Cognitive Neuroscience
              Investigator-Initiated Grants 1994-1995


          The McDonnell-Pew Program in Cognitive Neuroscience is a
          collaborative effort established by the James S. McDonnell
          Foundation, St. Louis, Missouri and the Pew Charitable Trusts,
          Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to support research.   Since its
          inception in 1990, the Program has awarded $21.5 million in
          support of institutional centers and individual investigators.

          Cognitive neuroscience attempts to understand human mental
          events by specifying how neural tissue carries out computations.
          Work in cognitive neuroscience is multidisciplinary, drawing on
          developments in clinical and basic neuroscience, computer science,
          psychology, linguistics and philosophy.

          The McDonnell-Pew Program does not support research based on
          descriptions of psychological function that do not address
          underlying brain mechanisms or neuroscientific descriptions that
          do not speak to psychological function.

          The Program has two components:

          1)  Institutional Center grants that established large research and
              training programs; all Center grants have been awarded.
          2)  Investigator-initiated grants supporting interdisciplinary
              training and  providing seed funds for collaborative research.
              The Program accepts investigator-initiated grants as described
              in this brochure.

          Program goals:
          The Program will preferentially support innovative,
          interdisciplinary research of the highest caliber that is unlikely to
          be funded from  traditional sources.   The Program hopes to
          encourage researchers to seek interdisciplinary training and
          collaborations with persons outside their own discipline.

          The Program particularly encourages research on higher cognitive
          functions including, high-order vision, language, planning, and
          problem-solving.   The cognitive question to be studied and the
          neuroscientific methods to be applied must be clearly
          articulated in the research proposal.

          The awards will provide a maximum of $35,000 per year for up to
          3 years.   Indirect costs are included in the $35,000 maximum and
          cannot exceed 10% of  total salaries plus fringe benefits.  An
          individual cannot receive support from more than one investigator-
          initiated grant.  The grants are non-renewable.

          Examples of the types of research proposals sought by the program
          include:
              using neurobiological methods to study higher cognitive
              processes

              applying formal modelling techniques to cognitive functions,
              including emotions and higher thought processes

              dveloping new theories of the human mind/brain systems using
              sensing (EEG, MEG)  or imaging techniques (PET, MRI) to
              observe the brain during conscious activity.

          Preference will be given to training proposals that exemplify multi-
          disciplinary and collaborative research as described below:

              a junior scientist pursuing a research project in the laboratory
              of a senior scientist in a different field of cognitive
              neuroscience;

              collaborations between two or more scientists representing
              different subdisciplines of cognitive neuroscience;

              a scientist with expertise in a subdiscipline of cognitive
              neuroscience obtaining hands-on training in a new
              methodology or technique to be used in the study of higher
              cognitive function.

          Eligibility:
          Individual investigators at institutions with McDonnell-Pew
          Center grants, who are already receiving support from a
          McDonnell-Pew Center grant are not eligible for the
          investigator-initiated grant program.  Researchers who are at
          institutions that have been awarded a McDonnell-Pew Center grant
          but who do not receive any support from the Center are eligible.

          There are no US citizenship restrictions or requirements, nor must
          the proposed work be conducted at a US institution, providing the
          sponsoring organization qualifies as tax-exempt under IRS
          guidelines (see the "Applications" section of this brochure).

          The Program described in this brochure will not support
          dissertation research, workshops, conferences, or travel for the
          purpose of attending meetings.

          Proposals to investigate basic neurobiology unrelated to
          human, higher-order cognition will not be funded.

          Application guidelines:
          Applicants should submit five (5) copies of the following
          information:

          1)  A completed cover sheet (enclosed);
          2)  A brief, one-page abstract describing the proposed work;
          3)  A brief, itemized budget that includes direct and indirect costs
              (indirect costs may not exceed 10 percent of total salaries and
              fringe benefits);
          4)  A budget justification;
          5)  A narrative proposal (not to exceed 5,000 words) that describes
              the cognitive question to be investigated and all
              methodological approaches in sufficient detail to allow the
              proposal to be evaluated by the advisory board.  If the
              application is requesting support for training, a description of
              the training plan and the relationship of the training to the
              applicant's research goals should be included;
          6)  Curriculum vitae for each of the participating investigators;
          7)  An authorized document indicating clearance for the use of
              human and animal subjects;
          8)  An endorsement letter from the officer of the sponsoring
              institution who will be responsible for administering the grant.

          One copy of each of the following items must also be submitted
          along with the proposal.  These documents can be obtained from
          the sponsoring institution's grants or development office.

              A copy of the IRS determination letter, or the international
              equivalent, stating that the sponsoring organization is a
              nonprofit, tax-exempt institution classified as a 501(c)(3)
              organization.

              A copy of the IRS determination letter stating that the
              sponsoring organization is not listed as a private foundation
              under section 509(a) of the Internal Revenue Service Code.

          No other documents should be appended to the application.

          Submissions will be reviewed by the program's advisory board.
          Applications must be received in the Foundation office no later
          than February 20, 1995.  Incomplete or late proposals will not be
          reviewed.


          Contact:
              Susan M. Fitzpatrick, Ph.D.
              McDonnell-Pew Program in Cognitive
                   Neuroscience
              James S. McDonnell Foundation
              1034 South Brentwood Blvd., Suite 1610
              St. Louis, Missouri  63117

          Phone:  314/721-1532
          e-mail:  C 6819CN at WUVMD.WUSTL.edu




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