Application Submission Start Date: November 21st  , 2014 Application Submission End Date:  December  31st, 2014 About the Competition CRDF Global; an independent non-profit organization that promotes international scientific and technical collaboration through grants, technical resources, training, and services, is pleased to announce a grant competition for scientists in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The grant will be offered for research activities on emerging and novel pathogens. Applicants should be from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Pakistan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, UAE, or Yemen to be eligible to apply. Applications will be accepted from November 21st to December 31st, 2014. Preference will be given for research activities that promote public or zoonotic health issues and implement laboratory biosafety and biosecurity best practices. Researchers seeking funding for new activities or to supplement existing projects are acceptable. Each award will be valued at up to USD 45,000 and will cover up to 12 months of support. If you are interested to apply read on. Program Goals & Priorities The primary goal of the competition is to foster new or expanded research. It is expected that grant applications will focus on questions of direct relevance to the EMR, promoting the surveillance, detection and control of emerging human or zoonotic infectious diseases. Proposals will be accepted related to the following research priorities: Human or Zoonotic infectious diseases research relevant to EMR focused on at least one of the following areas; · Linking public health and veterinary sectors at laboratory reference centers and/or in field diagnostics · Implementation of rapid diagnostics in disease surveillance and detection · Trans-boundary disease control · Subtyping of endemic strains of zoonotic diseases of public health concern · Vaccine matching Participants will be expected to demonstrate that they will be integrating their research with appropriate safety and security standards for biological laboratories. Eligibility Criteria · There should only be one PI per proposal. The PI must be a human or zoonotic infectious disease scientist from an institute in an eligible EMR country. · Each research team must represent an institute from the eligible EMR countries: Algeria, · Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Pakistan, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, UAE, and Yemen. · Teams may include participants from other institutes as secondary collaborators. · Each team may submit only one proposal for this competition How to Apply · Applicants are highly recommended to review our Frequently Asked Questions and Grant Writing Tips before writing their application at bit.ly/proposal-advice. These resources include examples on how to avoid common mistakes in proposal preparation. · All proposals must be submitted in English electronically through CRDF Global’s Electronic Proposal Submission (EPS) site https://proposals.crdfglobal.org/2014EMRGrant by December 31st 2014/. · At the conclusion of the electronic submission process, the PI and Institutional Representative will receive a confirmation message from CRDF Global. What Should the Application Include? All information necessary for the review of a complete proposal file must include: Cover Page: The cover sheet should include basic information about the proposal, the project PI, and respective Institutional Representative for the Team. The Institutional Representative may be the Institute Director or the person who will be responsible for negotiating contractual and financial terms of the award. This information must also be entered during the electronic proposal submission process Project Abstract: In one concise paragraph, summarize all relevant aspects of the project, with special attention to its goals and objectives, methods and anticipated results. Project Narrative: Seven pages maximum, including any graphs, diagrams, or photos. Note that the  following should be described in the Project Narrative: * The approach, objectives, milestones, and measurements of success that will be used; clearly defined project timeline, noting all project tasks and goals to be accomplished during each quarter should also be included; * How the individuals of the research teams will carry out the project, and what relevant prior work has been carried out by the members of each team; * The anticipated results of the project and how they address the evaluation criteria * How the project compares to current research conducted in the topic area; equipment purchases and/ or planned trainings, improvements for the benefit of the EMR institution(s), with special attention to justifying their need and related to the proposed research; facilities, equipment and other resources available at the participating institutes directly applicable to the project. This should address the adequacy of the institutional resources available to complete the proposed project as well as the current level of safety and security measures. * Self-assessment of institutional biorisk management practices and procedures. This will consist of a 1-page analysis of current biosafety and biosecurity procedures, and how this grant will impact those activities. References Cited: Reference Information :  Each reference must include the names of all authors (in the same sequence in which they appear in the publication), the article and journal title, book title, volume number, page numbers, and year of publication. If the document is available electronically, the website address also should be identified. PI and Team Member Curricula Vitae (CV): The proposal must contain CVs for the PI and each team member. It should include the individual’s name, title, educational background, current and previous institutional affiliations with dates, area of expertise, and his or her scientific publications of relevance to the project. The PI and team member CVs should be compiled into one document and submitted separately from the proposal document. Project Budget: A complete budget must be submitted using the provided template. The proposal should include one budget for the entire award period. Budget Narrative: A narrative explaining all budget items in detail must be included in the proposal following the Budget. Applicants should specifically: 1) Itemize all equipment, supplies and services with per unit costs; 2)Justify in detail, requested equipment items with a value over $1,000; 3) Describe all travel costs, including which team members are traveling and the purpose for travel; 4) Calculate and list per diem rates, lodging costs, estimated airfare and other travel expense. Evaluation Criteria * Reviewers will use the following primary criteria to evaluate proposals for this program. * Research Plan: How well the individual elements of the project plan fit with the overall project goals. * Technical Merit: The technical soundness of the proposed work, the project’s management plan, and adequacy of the resources available, both technical and financial. * Research Impact: The probability that the project will result in new knowledge or have impact on the field of zoonotic infectious disease. * Personnel Capacity: The expertise of the investigators and other participants, including how each partner will contribute to the success of the project, as well as the balance of the collaboration and distribution of partnership benefits. * Benefit to Education and Infrastructure: Participation and training of young scientists, university researchers, and female scientists, the sharing of equipment and resources among all institutions involved, and the project’s long-term positive impact on social, economic, or environmental issues in the countries involved. More Useful Notes Proposals Involving Human and/or Animal Subject Research: Proposals involving human subjects must ensure that subjects are protected from research risks in conformance with U.S. federal policy known as the Common Rule (Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, 45 CFR 690). Proposals involving animal subjects must demonstrate they are adhering to the “International Guiding Principles for Biomedical Research Involving Animals” (http://cioms.ch/publications/guidelines/1985_texts _of_guidelines.htm). If a proposal involving human and/or animal subjects is selected for award, the research team will be responsible for seeking any required institutional and governmental approvals. Conflict of Interest: CRDF Global requires that all PIs and research teams adhere to the highest ethical standards on all matters related to CRDF Global awards. CRDF Global’s conflict of interest guidelines can be reviewed at: http://www.crdfglobal.org/grants-and-grantees/terms-conditions/lists/grant-terms-conditions/125.0-conflictof-interest-%28august-2005%29 Confidentiality: CRDF Global assures confidentiality of all proposals’ material and will require all pane-lists and reviewers to respect the confidentially of proposals. Proposal authors should be aware that successful proposals will be treated as public information. Therefore, at the author’s direction, if there is specific information in the proposal that is business confidential and not intended for public dissemination, it should be clearly labelled as such. Notification of Selection Winners will be notified by e-mail no later than Monday, February 16, 2015