CTSI Director’s Update February 2016: URMC and UB Create a New Collaborative Genomics Pilot Funding Program

The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and the SUNY University at Buffalo (UB) released a request for applications last week seeking submissions to a new Collaborative Genomics pilot award program. The goal of this program is to fund projects that will lead to accelerated collaboration between UB and URMC in the area of large-scale, collaborative genomics. In particular, the program is seeking projects that will build on established strengths at both institutions and leverage the collaboration to apply for future NY state opportunities for regional collaborative centers.

This is not the first time that the CTSI has collaborated with the University at Buffalo. UB has been a member of the CTSI’s UNYTE translational research network since its inception in 2006. Also, Tim Murphy, MD, the PI of the Buffalo CTSA, is chair of the CTSI’s External Advisory Committee. When the Buffalo Clinical and Translational Research Center was established in 2015 with a new NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA), Buffalo and Rochester began conversations about how URMC and UB could build new collaborations in translational science and leverage resources and expertise at each institution. The first step in this direction is the new Collaborative Genomics pilot funding program.

The program is designed to fund projects that will make rapid progress over a 12-month period. Projects must use human tissue, primary cells, or primary human microbiome samples. Proposals with a high chance for funding will address one or more of the following areas:

• Collaborative biobanking that includes pilot genomic data generation and analysis

• Analysis of established and unique patient cohorts with existing and extensive clinical data, phenotype data, and existing locally banked biospecimens

• Predictive genomic analysis, especially projects that have existing outcome measures and actual or potential tissue samples for analysis

• Projects that will utilize high performance computational analysis of the resulting genomic data

If you are interested in learning more about the Collaborative Genomics program, please click here to read the complete RFA. Abstracts and initial application cover sheet and cover letter should be submitted by 5 PM, February 29, 2016 in PDF form via e-mail to Tricia_DiQuattro@urmc.rochester.edu.

Michael Hazard | 2/18/2016

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