Phase 3 Pilot Project Program

Nebraska Center for Integrated Studies of Biomolecular Communication (NCIBC)

 REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS: New Pilot Projects

Overview:

NCIBC (http://ncibc.unl.edu/) seeks to fund three to four new one-year Pilot Projects in the center’s focus areas as broadly defined below. Pilot Projects are short-term awards with a limited possibility of renewal.

Diseases result when internal stability and normal communications between tissues and cellular pathways are disrupted by genetic defects, environmental disturbances, or pathogens. NCIBC is funded by a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence grant (1P30GM165288) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) to build institutional capacity and infrastructure for basic biomedical research. NCIBC is designed to be a natural mixing chamber to integrate the research activities of chemists, biochemists, engineers, and bioinformaticians to address critical knowledge gaps in our understanding of how cells communicate and to mechanistically define metabolic and regulatory pathways relevant to disease development and progression. NCIBC’s long-term goal is to foster the development of collaborative research teams with broad disciplinary representation to interrogate complex disease pathways, especially by connecting researchers who are developing new molecular probes and analytical and informatics technologies with those unravelling molecular mechanisms of complex diseases.

 Eligibility:

  • The proposed research must fall into the areas of NCIBC focus as listed above with preference given to collaborative projects involving NCIBC members and to projects that will make use of the NCIBC Biomolecular Imaging, Omics, and Molecular Exploration Core (BIOME) Core, including the Molecular Analysis and Characterization Facility (MAC), Microscopy Core Research Facility (MCRF), the Nebraska Center for Mass Spectrometry (NCMS), and Cryo-EM Facility.
  • NCIBC Pilot Project PIs and co-PIs must become participating members of the center.
  • Independent investigators of all ranks are eligible. Individuals holding postdoctoral, trainee, or similar non-independent positions are not eligible to lead COBRE Pilot Projects.
  • Project Leaders are required to devote at least one person-month of effort to the Pilot Project but are not named as key personnel in the COBRE award.

Application Process:

(1) Face Page (Form Page 1); if multiple PD/PIs are proposed, add an additional form (Form Page 1-continued)

(2) Project Summary (Form Page 2); 

(3) Research Strategy Section, including Specific Aims (1 page) and Research Strategy (6 pages).

(4) NIH Biographical Sketch (use SciENcv format)

  • The following are not allowed for Pilot Projects
    • Use of Human Subjects
    • Use of Animal Subjects
    • Use of Human Embryonic Stem Cells
    • Foreign involvement such as foreign co-authors collaborating with foreign institutions, extended foreign travel, or exchanging research resources across international borders, regardless of the amount of federal funds involved.
  • The budget (for internal budget planning only; not required as part of the application package) may include any allowable expenses necessary to complete the proposed project totaling up to $40,000 (and in rare cases up to $50,000) in direct costs for one year. Renovation/alteration expenses and indirect (F&A) costs are not allowed.
  • Applications should be submitted as a single PDF document to jguo4@unl.edu by 5 p.m. on August 14, 2026. Include the text “NCIBC – Pilot Project” in the subject line of the email.
  • For the next and all future Pilot Project funding cycles, applications will be due by 5 p.m. on February 1.

 Application Review:

Proposals will be reviewed by the Pilot Project Review Committee using standard NIH review criteria. Top-ranked proposals are forwarded to the NCIBC Advisory Committee for approval and recommendation prior to submission to NIH for final approval. Award notifications will be sent in September or October for the current cycle and in April for all future finding cycles.

 Questions:

Contact NCIBC Director, Jiantao Guo: jguo4@unl.edu or Assistant Director, Kacey Nelkin Pedersen: knelkinpedersen2@unl.edu

 

 

 

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