Deadline: 7 April 2020
Puerto Rico Science Technology and Research Trust has announced the COVID-19 RAPID Grant with an aim to support projects that will improve our understanding and available control measures for COVID-19.
The mission of the Puerto Rico Science Technology and Research Trust (the Trust) is to invest, facilitate and build capacity to continually advance Puerto Rico’s economy and its citizens’ well-being through innovation-driven enterprises, science and technology, and its industrial base.
Recently, the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency Worldwide in response to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The Trust’s RAPID funding mechanism is used for proposals having a severe urgency with regard to the availability of, or access to data, facilities or specialized equipment, including quick-response research on natural or anthropogenic disasters and similar unanticipated events.
Priority will be given to research that will lead to immediate action and response to promote prevention, risk reduction, positive health outcomes, and the development of the infrastructure required to minimize the transmission and impact of the virus.
Eligible Activities
To be eligible for funding, projects must be presented in one of the following strategic activities:
- Pathogenesis of the disease
- Patterns COVID-19 replication and excretion
- Host factors (cardiovascular, diabetes, pulmonary, genetics, etc.) predisposing people groups to more severe disease
- Pathophysiology and immunopathology of the disease and its complications
- Innate, cellular and humoral immune response
- Epidemiology
- Infectious disease and transmission dynamics
- Methods to comprehend the determinants of the spread of infectious diseases and the impact of control strategies
- Local population risk factors, comorbidities and susceptibility factors
- Molecular epidemiology
- Development of models regarding public health mitigation measures that could be effective for control or long-term protection
- Novel assays and logistics for contact tracing and early and prompt detection of the disease
- Clinical Research
- Define and understand the natural history of the disease
- Optimizing clinical management
- Population cohort studies including selected vulnerable groups
- Supportive and specific treatment impact in moderate and severe cases, including clinical recovery and outcomes
- Pharmacology
- Detection of novel targets for treating the disease
- Repurposing of drugs for treating the disease
- Mental health and social sciences
- Assessing the social and economic impact of the disease
- Concerns related to clinical appraisal of medical countermeasures
- Operational response at the governmental or health systems levels
- Impacts of social distancing, curfew, etc., on mental health in general or in specific groups like elderly
- Effective health communications and behavioral modification campaigns
- Cyberinfrastructure and solutions
- Data, artificial intelligence and/or software infrastructure development activities that address COVID-19 challenges
- Research & Development
- Innovative personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Valves
- Sample swabs
- Ventilators
- Reagents and assays for virus detection
- Point-of-care or rapid, sensitive, and specific diagnostic test or devices
- Technologies to kill viruses
Funding Information
Requests may be for up to $100K and of one-year duration.
Eligibility Criteria
- The COVID-19 RAPID grant is open to researchers in public and private universities, colleges, and affiliated non-profit research institutions located in Puerto Rico. Startups and established companies based in Puerto Rico are also invited to apply.
- This RFP should focus on helping Puerto Rico respond to and advance knowledge on the COVID-19 epidemic.
For more information, visit https://prsciencetrust.org/research-grants-program/