VUMC Limited Submission Opportunity: NIH Screening for Conditions by Electronic Nose Technology (U01); deadline is March 25

 VUMC:  These instructions are for VUMC investigators. VU investigators should apply through InfoReady and address any questions to VU-LSO@vanderbilt.edu.

VUMC may submit 1 application to the NIH Screening for Conditions by Electronic Nose Technology (SCENT) (U01 Clinical Trial Optional) program. The RFA seeks applications for a portable sensing device to detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs, i.e. scents or odors) emanating from skin and to develop a catalog of VOCs as distinct signatures for at least 20 human diseases and conditions. These sensing devices must be able to associate VOC patterns using artificial intelligence to patients with various conditions for diagnostic purposes along with capabilities to incorporate and integrate vital signs. For VOC monitoring, these sensing devices can be Electronic-nose (E-nose) technology, Gas Chromatography (GC) or any sensing technology able to detect VOC patterns associated with disease.

To ensure project success, this RFA requires multidisciplinary collaborations and a team science approach. Groups may include a combination of the following: Biomedical engineers, material scientists, biosensing experts, software engineers, chemists, clinicians, clinical trialists, biostatisticians, data analysts and/or other relevant experts in academia and industry.

Leveraging Existing Research Resources: Applicants are strongly encouraged to leverage existing research resources for their studies whenever possible including improvements to existing prototypes. Additionally, NIH has developed innovative solutions that will improve the efficiency, quality, and impact of the process for turning observations in the laboratory, clinic and community into interventions that improve the health of individuals and the public through programs such as: NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program, patient data resources and repositories. Applicants are encouraged to leverage all available internal (e.g. home institutional) and external (e.g. external institutional, NIH, and NCATS) resources to identify clinically relevant patient populations.

Award Information: NIH anticipates funding 2 - 3 awards. Application budgets are limited to $650,000 direct cost per year for Years 1 and 2, and $800,000 direct cost per year for Years 3 - 5.

See the RFA for more information.

Internal Application Process:

Anyone interested in being considered to submit VUMC’s proposal must submit the following (in a single PDF) to LSO@vanderbilt.edu by 5 p.m. on March 25:

• Brief (2-page maximum) research plan including summary budget
• Letter of support from department chair/center director
• NIH Biosketch

Any questions about this opportunity or the LSO process may be directed to LSO@vanderbilt.edu