Funding Opportunity: EMSTAR Program in India [Up to INR 5 Crores over 5 years]

Deadline: 21-Nov-22

The Pratiksha Trust, founded by Dr. Kris Gopalakrishnan and Mrs. Sudha Gopalakrishnan, launches EMSTAR (Extra-Mural Support for Transformational Aging Brain Research), an exemplary program to fund innovative research on brain aging.

EMSTAR aims to promote cutting-edge research to advance the understanding of normal and pathological aging of the brain. The program will support basic research on brain aging as well as cohort studies and projects with translational value for early diagnosis, prevention, postponement, evidence-based interventions, and effective management of neurodegenerative disorders of the elderly population.

Focus Areas

• High-risk, high-reward projects with tangible impact and that necessitate multi-disciplinary approaches and innovations will be particularly encouraged. The program is also expected to serve as an opportunity for experts in other disciplines such as immunology, epidemiology, data science, AIML, and engineering to adapt their skill sets and participate in visionary collaborations to delve into research on brain aging and neurodegeneration.
• To be eligible to compete for funding, the proposal must be in one or more of the following focus areas of research:
  • Understanding dementia from molecular, cellular, and systems standpoints
  • Longitudinal cohort studies in rural and urban India to study the aging brain
  • Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science approaches to decipher normal and pathological brain aging
  • The role of hitherto less explored systems, such as the gut microbiome, in neurodegeneration, with a focus on dementia
  • Immunity-nervous system crosstalk in the context of neurodegeneration, particularly dementia.

Award Details

• Up to INR 5 Crores over 5 years (per grant), with an average outlay of INR 1 Crore per year; the number of grants awarded per year will depend purely on scientific merit and competition within the cohort of applications received.
• The Centre for Brain Research (CBR) will play a facilitatory role to coordinate this program with the help of an external screening committee for the initial screening of preliminary applications and an external selection committee for the final selection of awards.

Eligibility Criteria

• Investigators
  • Motivated and outstanding researchers, who have expertise and a keen interest in cutting-edge research and innovation on brain aging and meet the criteria listed below, are eligible to apply.
  • Each grant must have a Principal Investigator (PI) and at least one Co-Investigator (Co-I).
  • The Principal Investigator (PI):
    • must hold a PhD/MD/MBBS-MS/MPH/equivalent degree
    • must have demonstrated experience in leading a research group
    • must hold a record of achievements commensurate with their career stage
    • must have a salaried academic or research position (or the guarantee of a salaried position) at an eligible host institution in India for the entire duration of the grant.
  • Each Co-Investigator (Co-I):
    • must hold a PhD/MD/MBBS-MS/MPH/equivalent degree
    • must have demonstrated experience in leading research projects
    • must hold a record of achievements commensurate with their career stage
    • may be based in India or abroad
  • The Principal and Co-Investigators would be expected to have salaried positions at their host institutions.
  • There are no age, gender, or nationality-based restrictions for any of the investigators. An individual may not participate (as PI or Co-I) in more than one application in a given round of competition.
• Institutions
  • The proposal may involve a single institution or multiple institutions. The Principal Investigator and Co-Investigators must be based at not-for-profit institutions (academic research institutes, universities, public health research institutes, medical research institutions including primary, secondary, and tertiary health centres, etc.) that are financially eligible and equipped to administer extramural grants. The primary host institution (i.e., of the PI) must be in India. In case any Co-I is based at an overseas institution, regulatory approvals that may be needed for the collaboration and material transfer (if applicable) must be highlighted.
  • At the full application stage, the heads/competent authorities of the host institutions must guarantee that the investigators will be provided with all support (including but not limited to access to space and resources, administrative help, and logistic support) required to carry out the proposed research if awarded. Such endorsement certificates must be furnished by all participating institutions.
  • Any number of applications from an institution may be submitted provided they are from different investigators.
• The budgetary cap for each grant is INR 5 Crores for its entire duration (5 years); proposals for projects of shorter duration will be deemed ineligible. The grant will be disbursed in annual installments with each tranche normally not exceeding INR 1 Crore.

For more information, visit https://www.cbr.iisc.ac.in/research/emstar/