2011 Nutrition Center Seed Grant Program:
Manuscript Writing Groups
Proposals Due: December 12, 2010, 5:00 PM
Award Notification: Awards will be announced late December, 2010
Project Start Date: January 15, 2011
Project End Date: December 31, 2011
Funding Source: The Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities
Purpose:
To provide junior faculty the opportunity to establish research teams to create a collaborative publication track
record needed to develop proposals to federal agencies related to nutrition and health disparities. We
encourage applications to use existing South Carolina data and involve collaborations among junior faculty and
researchers with a track record of funding.
Priority for funding will be given to proposals that focus on nutrition and environmental contexts and health
disparities, and those that demonstrate direct relevance to the Center for Research in Nutrition and Health
Disparities. Topics of interest may include (but are not limited to) where people eat, where they obtain their
food, how policy and private practice shape what is available in the nutrition marketplace, and potential
solutions for nutrition-related health issues.
Program Goals:
 Facilitate the development of collaborative research teams
 Encourage collaboration between departments, colleges, centers, and institutes at USC
 Encourage research teams to form writing groups to increase publications related to nutrition and health
disparities
Eligibility Requirements:
 The principal investigator must be a junior faculty member (tenure or non-tenure track) that started working
at USC during the 2008 calendar year, or later
 One member of the research team (but not the PI) is a senior faculty member. Individuals in a post-doctoral
position are not eligible for the award
Terms and Conditions of Support:
Proposal requirements:
 Submit proposals using the Manuscript Writing Proposal Submission Form
 Manuscript topic must be relevant to nutrition and health disparities
 Utilization of South Carolina data is strongly encouraged, and data must already be collected
 Manuscript proposal must include a team of investigators (at least two)
 Proposal length: 2-3 pages (Arial,11 size font)
Award requirements:
 Appropriate IRB approval must be obtained prior to release of funds
 Written progress report due at six months. Favorable review required for receiving second half of payment
 In lieu of a final report, the manuscript is due at the conclusion of the funding period
Manuscript requirements:
 Manuscript submitted to journal by January 31, 2012
 The Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities must be included in the submitted and
published manuscript’s acknowledgement section
Budget:
 One or more projects at up to $5,500 for one year will be funded from January 15, 2011 through
December 31, 2011
Allowable Expenditures:
Funds may be used for staff time to assist in manuscript preparation, which includes hiring a graduate
assistant.
Funds may not be used for travel, graduate assistant tuition supplements, data collection, or to bridge a
funding gap between grants. The proposed budget should not include items that would ordinarily be covered
by departmental support for active researchers.
Research Support Capacities:
The Nutrition Center provides strong research support capacities which are available to investigators as part of
this seed grant program, which includes consultation on interpretation of diet assessment methods and data
and environmental/neighborhood-level measurement methods utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
As part of the Seed Grant application, please describe the research support services that you may use, and
include these in the budget.
Criteria for Funding:
 Responsiveness to program goals
 Innovation
 Significance
 Approach
Notification:
Awards will be announced mid December, 2010. Names of the reviewers will not be released to applicants.
Those awarded will have a set amount of time to attend to any issues addressed by reviewers, as well as to
prepare any necessary revised budgets and work scopes.
Brief Questionnaire:
Recipients will be required to complete a brief questionnaire to provide feedback to the Nutrition Center.
Contacts:
If you have any questions concerning the applications or guidelines, proposal or review process, please
contact one of the following:
 Scientific questions: Angela Liese, liese@sc.edu
 Budget or administrative questions: Sarah Epting, srgause@mailbox.sc.edu
Please email completed Manuscript Writing Proposal Submission Form to Holly Pope, hpope@mailbox.sc.edu