Medical School Limited Submissions

Foundations invite the U-M to participate in limited submission competitions. The Medical School Office of Research (OoR) manages the biomedical limited submission opportunities and solicits proposals from eligible faculty. Details about the review process can be found below.

SEARCH:

• Competition Space
• UMOR Limited Submissions Homepage
• U-M Library’s Research Funding & Grants Guide
• PIVOT Database
• U-M Foundation Relations - Funding Opportunities

SIGN-UP:

• Research News - Funding Announcements
• Research Blueprint newsletter

Open UMMS Limited Submission competitions are also promoted to bio-medical researchers via:

• Emails sent to Chairs, department heads, research administrators and relevant committees requesting they share information about the internal competition with faculty in their department. (Recipients: Basic Science and Clinical Department Chairs and administrators, Clinical Department Chiefs and administrators, Associate Chairs for Research, and Department Chairs from: Chemistry, Bio-Chem, MCDB, School of Public Health, School of Dentistry, other.)
• The program administrator will email individual faculty who have expressed interest in an opportunity.

1. Navigate to Competition Space
2. Log in using your unique name and level 1 password
3. Click the “Profile” link in the upper right corner
4. Click the “User Alerts” button in the upper right corner
5. Select up to 10 keywords related to your research interests
6. Click “Save Changes”

If you find a funding opportunity of interest and believe it is limited, but do not see an announcement or an open competition in Competition Space, please contact us at msgrants@umich.edu.

*This is critical as extra submissions can result in the sponsor rejecting ALL proposals from the University of Michigan.

Below are limited submission competitions which the U-M has previously been invited to participate in. Please note:

• The months we anticipate receiving invitations to participate.
• Competitions allowing multiple nominees are noted in brackets.

After identifying a funding opportunity of interest:

1. Navigate to Competition Space
2. Log in using your unique name and level 1 password
3. Title search and select your competition of interest
4. Confirm that you meet the internal competition eligibility requirements
5. Select "Apply" on the right side of the page to fill out the application form and upload required files.  All details are automatically saved as you enter them.
6. When you are ready to submit, click "Submit Application" at the bottom of the page. You will receive a confirmation email once your application has been submitted.
7. When working in Competition Space please do not use @med.umich.edu accounts.
8. Please contact the program administrator if you have questions or encounter difficulties submitting a proposal.

All nomination/application packets are checked to confirm that the applicant/nominee meets the Foundation’s eligibility requirements for the competition and that the application packet is complete (letters of support are attached etc.)

Applicants are advised of any outstanding material and are allowed a short time to provide the missing documents. 

The confidentiality of all material is strictly maintained.

1. Rogel Cancer Center internal committee:

• All applications are reviewed and scored by a committee comprised of Rogel Cancer Center Senior Leadership.
• This process is managed by the Rogel Cancer Center program administrator – see below for contact information.

2. Biomedical Research Council (BMRC) 

• BMRC members are senior faculty from all areas of biomedical research conducted at the University of Michigan (please see link for additional information/current membership).
• Committee members serve as subject matter experts and as their Department’s primary appointment representative. 
  Council members are committed to considering, and fairly evaluating, all proposals.
• The BMRC encourages eligible faculty members to submit their applications to UMMS limited submissions funding opportunities.
• The process is managed by the UMMS Limited Submissions program administrator (contact information is listed below).

Review Process:

• BMRC committee members review applications via Competition Space
• ALL application review-assignments are approved by the BMRC Chair (with 3-5 assigned reviewers per application).
• ALL applications are viewed by the full committee.
• Reviewers receive all instructions and supporting information, these include: Foundation website, pdfs of RFP, FAQ’s, history of prior
• Foundation award winners, history of U-M institutional nominees for award, Foundation’s science focus, Foundation review committee members, etc.
• Applications are reviewed and scored using NIH-style scoring 1-9 (where “1” is best).
• Anonymized reviews and scores are provided to the BMRC Chair.
• Applications/nominations scoring 1-3 are discussed by the full committee.
• An application scoring 4-6 is discussed if a reviewer finds it deserving of consideration.
• Applications scoring 7-9 are not considered for the competition.
• The anonymized reviews and scores are provided to all committee members. All members are asked to consider the best scored applications (with scores between 1-3).
• These highest-scored applications are reassigned to three BMRC committee members/Presenters. Each Presenter is asked to represent and defend the application to the full BMRC committee at the review committee meeting.

Review Committee meeting – Institutional Nominee Selection:

The BMRC review committee discusses each of the best-scored applications. Meetings are run like NIH-study sections:

1. The assigned Presenters (3) discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each application.
2. Committee members add commentary and raise questions, and the full committee discusses each application.
3. The three Presenters each assign a score to the application. Their scores provide a score range, within which the full committee will vote. (e.g.: Votes of 1/4/2 allow a best possible| score of “1” and a worst possible score of “4”)
4. After each of these applications has been presented and discussed, the committee submits their anonymous votes to the administrator who reviews the results.
5. The program administrator submits the anonymous results to the BMRC Chair, who confirms the selected institutional nominee/s.

For the Pew Biomedical Scholars and Searle Scholars programs the BMRC review committee is assisted by 3-4 U-M prior winners of the award,  who bring their expertise and insights to the process. 

As able, we include prior winners of other Foundation awards to those review processes.

3. Ad Hoc Committees:

These review committees are comprised of senior UMMS faculty with expertise relevant to the individual competition:

1. Committee members review applications via Competition Space.
2. Applications are assigned (with input from the BMRC Chair) to 3-5 reviewers per application.
3. ALL applications are viewed by the full committee.
4. Reviewers receive all instructions and supporting information, including: Foundation website, pdfs of RFP, FAQ’s, history of prior Foundation award winners, history of U-M institutional award nominees, Foundation’s science focus, Foundation review committee members, etc.
5. The committee reviews and scores the applications using NIH-style scoring 1-9 (where “1” is best).
6. Reviews and scores are submitted via Competition Space, and the program administrator evaluates the results in consultation with the BMRC.
7. The application/s receiving the best score/s are selected as institutional nominee/s.

When scores do not provide a clear result, the BMRC will review applications in contention to determine the institutional nominee/s.

The full process is managed by the UMMS Limited Submissions program administrator – see below for contact information.

• The selected institutional nominee/s receives email notification via Competition Space from the program administrator - all relevant contact information and “next steps” are provided.
• ALL applicants/nominees receive notification via Competition Space advising the institutional nominee.
• ALL applicants/nominees receive their confidential and anonymized committee reviews. (Please contact program administrator if you do not receive your reviews within a few days of this notification.)
• Research News publishes the names of those selected as institutional nominees to limited submission competitions.

Paula Van Velden, UMMS – Limited Submission program administrator, paulavan@umich.edu

Michelle Daoud, Rogel Cancer Center – Limited Submission program administrator, lowdenm@umich.edu

Joe Piffaretti, Senior Director, UMMS - Corporate and Foundation Relations, piffaret@umich.edu

The Medical School Office of Research (OoR) responds to sponsor invitations/announcements by reviewing all relevant information and launching an internal competition via UMMS Competition Space.

Timelines for internal UMMS competitions are determined by the Foundation’s application deadlines.

• UMMS provides the maximum possible time for the internal application process.
• The review committee is given 2-3 weeks to complete the review process.
• Sufficient time is allowed for the selected institutional nominee/s to complete their proposal/s by Sponsor deadline.

The internal competition contains all relevant information associated with the funding grant:

• Applicable Dates: Internal competition deadline / LOI due date / Foundation application deadline
• Links to Foundation grant website and relevant pdfs
• Competition Guidelines, Requests for Proposals (RFP’s) and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
• Program focus - An overview of the limited submission competition
• Eligibility / Restrictions
• Internal application material requirements
• How to Apply through UMMS Competition Space
• The program administrator’s contact information.