Biomedical Competition is now open for applications. The last date for submission is 18 September 2024.

Sree Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Research Grant
For Translational Biomedical Research 2024

Scope of the Grant and Focus Areas:

Interested individuals and teams from not-for-profit research organizations are invited to apply for a three-year grant.

The grant call is open to projects from any branch of science and technology that involve cutting-edge “Bench to Bedside” translational research. The projects should aim to develop interventions that improve the health of individuals and the general public. Any project focused on addressing specific disease-related topics, utilizing advanced techniques and analysis to provide translational solutions for illness or clinical problems, is eligible for application.

However, this grant does not cover projects related to climate change, agricultural sciences, and ecological sciences.

SreePVF expects the proposals submitted under this funding initiative to describe ambitious projects that generate significant benefits to human health with measurable impact. The grant aims to facilitate the development of deployable solutions that can be successfully applied at the bedside. A key requirement of the grant is that the proposed research should produce tangible outcomes within the three-year grant period that can be translated into innovative tools, products, treatments, or interventions within 3-5 years after the grant ends. These outcomes are envisioned to be accessible and cost-effective, benefiting large segments of the population.

Proposals with a duration of less than three years will not be considered.

Eligibility

Interested individuals and teams from universities, research and development (R&D) institutions, medical centers, and recognized non-profit research organizations in India are eligible to apply.

Proposals can be submitted by a single institution or multiple institutions. International collaborations are also eligible, but the leading organization must be based in India. In the case of international collaborations, a strong justification must be provided explaining the essential nature of the collaboration for project execution, the added value it brings to the proposal, and why the work cannot be conducted solely in India. Any necessary regulatory approvals from the Indian Government for collaboration, material transfer, etc., must be highlighted.

The minimum eligibility criteria for applicants is a PhD/MD/MS degree or its equivalent.

Since no salary is provided, applicants should have already secured a salary and workspace from their host institution before applying.

The Principal Investigator should be below 50 years of age (with a 5-year age exception for women applicants).

SreePVF grants are not intended to duplicate support available from other Indian government or external sources. If applicants have already received substantial funding for their core activities or similar work, they will only be eligible if they can demonstrate that the funding being sought is for additional activities beyond what has already been funded by other sources.

Budget:

The maximum budget for a single grant is Rs 3 Crores. The grant will be disbursed in three tranches, with each tranche not exceeding Rs. 1.0 crore per year over three years.

Eligible costs for funding include capital expenditure (equipment), personnel costs, consumables, travel (local and international), local hospitality, contingency, overheads, outsourcing, and other expenses such as training, awareness programs, workshops, publications, and review meetings. The requested costs should align with the proposed research and be strongly justified.

However, the salary for the Principal Investigator is not covered by the grant. The host institution is responsible for providing salary and workspace for the duration of the grant period.

The grant will only be awarded to the primary host institution in India. In the case of multi-institutional grants, the primary lead institution is responsible for the disbursement of funds and must establish a suitable mechanism for this purpose.

Application Procedure:

The application form can be downloaded from here.

The deadline for submitting the three-year proposal is 18 September 2024.

Applicants must email soft copies of the duly filled application as a single consolidated PDF file with all necessary signatures to sreepvfgrants@gmail.com. The file name of the submitted application should be the full name of the lead applicant in the format “first name last name.pdf”.

Hard copies of the application are not required.

Applicants are advised to carefully fill out the form and provide all necessary information as required.

Shortlisted candidates will be required to attend an interview with the Selection Committee.

Important Timelines:

Launch Date: 1 July 2024
Last Date for submission of applications: 18 September 2024
Short-listing and Interviews (Expected): February 2025
Announcement of Results (Expected): March 2025

Previous Awardees:

Information on the previous awardees and their winning projects can be found here.

Contact Information:

For further information on the grant call, selection process, and previous awardees, please visit this link.

For any queries, please contact sreepvfgrants@gmail.com.