VUMC Limited Submission Opportunity: NIH Emergency Awards: RADx-RAD: Screening for COVID by Electronic-Nose; deadline is Aug. 25
Applications due August 25
VUMC: These instructions are for VUMC investigators. VU investigators should apply through InfoReady and address any questions to VU-LSO@vanderbilt.edu.
Overview:
VUMC may submit 1 application to the NIH Screening for COVID-19 by Electronic-Nose Technology (SCENT) (U18 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) program. This emergency FOA provides an expedited funding mechanism as part of the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics-Radical (RADx-rad) initiative.
Specifically, this FOA is seeking applications for a portable sensing device to detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs, i.e., scents or odors) emanating from skin or exhaled breath, saliva and different oral tissues from the oral cavity. These sensing devices must be able to associate VOC patterns to patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19. These devices are expected to actively detect VOCs from skin and oral cavities of COVID-19 patients, without being invasive, or affecting the integrity of the skin and oral cavity. For VOC monitoring, these sensing devices can be Electronic-nose (E-nose) technology or Gas Chromatography (GC). Therefore, this program is called SCENT, which stands for Screening for COVID-19 by Electronic-Nose Technology.
This FOA seeks to advance novel biosensing technologies that are innovative, safe, and effective using integrated artificial intelligent, pattern recognition and machine learning systems that would make it possible for the detection, diagnosis, prediction, and monitoring of COVID-19 in clinical, community and everyday settings.
This FOA requires multidisciplinary collaborations to ensure project success. Disciplines may include: biomedical engineers, material scientists, biosensing experts, software engineers, chemists, dentists, clinicians, virologists, clinical trialists, biostatisticians, data analysts and/or other relevant experts in academia and industry.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to leverage existing research resources for their studies whenever possible.
Award Information:
NIH intends to commit $10 million in total costs over a two-year period. NIH anticipates funding 5 awards. Application budgets are not limited but need to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. See the RFA for more information.
Internal Application Process:
Eligible faculty interested in being one of VUMC’s nominees must submit the following (in a single PDF) to LSO@vanderbilt.edu by 5 p.m. on August 25:
1. Brief (2-page maximum) research plan including summary budget;
2. Letter of support from department chair/center director;
3. NIH Biosketch
Submissions should reference the program name in the subject line of the email. Any questions about this opportunity or the LSO process may be directed to LSO@vanderbilt.edu.