COVID-19 Stimulus Updates and Research Funding Opportunities

Special Note on New COVID-19 Research

Finding Collaborators and Personalized Funding Alerts

If you have a project in mind and are in search of funding opportunities or collaborators from other units at MSU or beyond, you can use the MSU Scholars’ Faculty Insights tool (requires MSU Net ID). Enter a term (such as “Coronavirus”) in the search box under Research Topic, and you’ll see a list of scholars at MSU who do work on the topic entered. Or, search nationally by clicking on the “Include National Data” checkbox. Click the “Funding” tab at the top for a list of open funding opportunities related to the search topic. 

In addition, you should be sure that your own MSU Scholars profile is accurate, and include key words such as COVID-19, Novel Coronavirus, Coronavirus, etc. You can also leverage your MSU scholars account to receive funding alerts based on your research profile and key words, which is why keeping your profile up-to-date is helpful. Learn more in this short tutorial video.

Tracking New Proposals

To help the University track COVID-19 proposals and awards, the Office of Sponsored Programs, Business Connect and Contract and Grant Administration would like researchers to add a newly created Keyword to in-progress and future COVID-19 proposals in KC. This includes supplemental funding requests for COVID-19 research. 

The Keyword description is COVID-19/SAR-CoV-2 and the Keyword Code is Health163.  You can search by the Description or the Keyword Code in order to find the Keyword and add it to your proposal. For instructions on how to add a Keyword, please see the short video on Adding Keywords to a Proposal.

Thank you.

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Elsevier Opens Hub for Coronavirus Researchers

May 12, 2020

To empower researchers with the latest published data and insights, and enable cross-sector collaboration, Elsevier has launched the Coronavirus Research Hub, providing free access to a selection of Elsevier content, solutions and services through October 28, 2020.

Register to utilize the many resources.

Gates Foundation

May 4, 2020

Earlier today at the Coronavirus Global Response Summit, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a commitment of $125 million towards the international collective effort to develop and equitably distribute COVID-19 diagnostics, therapies, and vaccines. This includes $50 million of new funding to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and $75 million of previously announced funding for therapeutics and diagnostics. View the full press release for more information. Also see April 10, 2020, announcement from the Gates Foundation below for additional opportunities.

NSF Update from Biological Sciences Division

April 22, 2020

This presentation by Alan Tessier, Deputy Assistant Director in the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO), provides an overview of COVID-19 challenges and areas of opportunity for research. View presentation slides.

See previous updates from NSF (below) including Dear Colleague letter and facts sheets.

Department of Energy - Office of Science

April 22

DOE encourages consideration of scientific questions that underpin COVID-19 response and that the research community may answer using DOE user facilities, computational resources, and enabling infrastructure. Please send research questions that the scientific community may address with DOE resources by email to SC.DCL@science.doe.gov. More information can be found in the Dear Colleague Letter on DOE’s Coronavirus Resources Hub.

Gates Foundation

April 10

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed funding to the global response to COVID-19. To learn more about the foundation's broader work and how the COVID-19 pandemic is being addressed across the foundation, please visit the foundation's website and also sign-up for The Optimist newsletter.

Grant Opportunities from Gates Foundation Partners

• European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP): Seven calls for proposals with different deadlines, including one call for COVID-19 research in sub-Saharan Africa (deadline April 17, 2020)
• Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group: Call for proposals for innovation around preparedness and response to COVID-19 (deadline June 1, 2020)

Grant applications are still being accepted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the Grand Challenges and Grand Challenges Explorations initiatives. The Grand Challenges family of initiatives fosters innovation to solve key global health and development problems. The application deadline is April 22, 2020.

Dept. of Defense Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program

April 9

The US Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC) and the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) are pleased to announce four additional dedicated Program Announcements (PAs) for the FY20 Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) that are focused on COVID-19 and SARS-COV-2. Funding will be directed to two of PRMRP’s Congressionally directed topic areas: "emerging viral diseases” and "respiratory health". View the additional COVID-19 PAs.

Fast Grants (Applications are paused)

April 9

Due to receipt of a very large number of qualified submissions, Fast Grant applications are currently closed. They may reopen them in the future.

Fast Grants are an effort to speed up science funding mechanisms during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scientists at academic institutions currently working on a COVID-19 related projects and in need of funding, are invited to apply. Fast Grants are $10k to $500k and decisions are made in under 48 hours. Visit the Fast Grant site to learn more and fill out a 30 minute application.

U.S. Army XTech COVID-19 Ventilator Challenge

April 7

The Army has launched a new prize competition, the xTech COVID-19 Ventilator Challenge to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The Army is seeking out low-cost, readily manufacturable emergency ventilator to quickly augment ventilator capacity in the exigent COIVID-19 pandemic. 

The ventilator challenge is open to all US-based entities and is currently accepting applications. Submissions that are approved by the judging panel will receive an invitation to conduct a virtual pitch to a panel beginning on April 13, 2020. 

To learn more about xTech COVID-19 Ventilator Challenge, the eligibility requirements and contest details, please visit our website at www.xtechsearch.army.mil.

Global and Corporate Funding

April 5

The non-profit group, 80,000 Hours, has curated a list of funding opportunities available through international agencies and companies.

Visit their website to view the list.

NASA Update

April 3

Please see the Science Mission Directorate's newly released FAQs/Guidance on NASA’s Covid-19 policies. This covers paying researchers, renewal and application timelines, indirect cost rates and more. The FAQs are the first document of the guidance page.

Please note that NASA is following OMB Memo M-20-17 through June 18, 2020, and will reassess near then whether continuation is necessary.

Research Professional and Pivot Offering Free Service

NEW March 31

The Ex Libris Research Professional and Pivot^® funding services are providing free access to a list of select funding opportunities related to combating the novel coronavirus and COVID-19. By raising awareness of these resources, which are offered from a wide range of global funders, they hope to help researchers expand their scholarly efforts to understand and contend with this global pandemic.

Updates will be made to the list below on a weekly basis. Please be aware that these are global opportunities and MSU researchers may not be eligible in some cases.

View the current list of curated opportunities.

NIH Update

As of March 26

NIH recently updated the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Information for NIH Applicants and Recipients website with additional FAQs, new funding opportunities (and some revisions to previous opportunities), and a video message from the deputy director. The video addresses some of the most common questions. 

Additionally, NIH published a notice announcing that grant applications submitted late for due dates between March 9, 2020, and May 1, 2020, will be accepted through May 1, 2020. This notice applies to all relevant funding opportunity announcements, including those that indicate no late applications will be accepted. A cover letter providing a justification is not required. NIH will be extending the expiration date of most FOAs expiring between now and May 1. Be sure to read the notice carefully for details.

NSF General Opportunities

April 22

NSF’s OLPA has produced two new fact sheets, (COVID-19 Computing) (NSF-Funded Research and COVID-19). The first awards from CARES Act were made by NSF last week. See also OLPA’s fact sheet website. NSF has aslo created some backgrounds for Zoom calls. A page listing awards for COVID-19 related research thus far are outlined on this NSF award page.

March 5

On March 5, 2020, the National Science Foundation issued a Dear Colleague letter expressing NSF's interest in accepting proposals to conduct non-medical, non-clinical-care research that can be used immediately to better understand how to model and understand the spread of COVID-19; to inform and educate about the science of virus transmission and prevention; and to encourage the development of processes and actions to address this global challenge.

In that DCL, NSF invited researchers to respond to this challenge through existing funding opportunities. In addition, NSF invited researchers to use the Rapid Response Research (RAPID) proposal type, which allows NSF to receive and review proposals having a severe urgency with regard to availability of, or access to, data, facilities or specialized equipment, as well as quick-response research on natural or anthropogenic disasters and similar unanticipated events.

View the full letter. Deadlines vary based on the funding opportunity. A page listing awards for COVID-19 related research thus far are outlined on this NSF award page.