University of Minnesota faculty and students are invited to take advantage of a unique and potentially powerful opportunity to quickly recruit research participants in new or ongoing research studies by submitting a short screening application starting December 3, 2013.

A dedicated research facility (the Driven to Discover building) is being launched on the fairgrounds at the 2014 and 2015 Minnesota State Fair that promises investigators across the University greater contact with potential research participants. Support for the building is provided by the School of Public Health, Medical School, and the College of Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resource Sciences, with matching funds from the Office for the Vice President for Research.

Additional information on the Driven to Discover Building is found at:

http://sph.umn.edu/planning-for-driven-to-discover-building-a-new-research-facility-at-mn-state-fair/

All University of Minnesota faculty and Research Associates at any campus are eligible to apply.  In addition, currently enrolled University of Minnesota students interested in conducting student-led research projects at the Fair are strongly encouraged to apply.  Eligible students will need to provide the name and signature of their academic advisor.

Download the RFA for additional information and the details of the application process.

http://z.umn.edu/rfadriventodiscover

(The RFA link might not be compatible with some versions of Internet Explorer.)

Multiple University departments have dedicated funding to projects that will take place at the 2014 Minnesota State Fair through this announcement.  Each unit will release their own Request for Applications (RFA) detailing application criteria, submission requirements and deadlines, and review process.

• The Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) will award 2-6 grants worth a combined $30,000 through their Community Collaborative Grants Program.  The Office of Community Engagement for Health awards grants to stimulate new research in the area of community and population health.  The CTSI RFP can be downloaded here: http://z.umn.edu/ctsirfp.

• The Masonic Cancer Center (MCC) has allocated $15,000 to projects through their Internal Grants Program.  The goal of this program is to foster the development of and provide support for novel research ideas that focus on a problem in cancer.  The MCC RFP can be downloaded here: http://z.umn.edu/mccrfp.

• The Department of Pediatrics has allocated $5,000 to projects that aim to assess or improve the health of children.  At least one Co-Investigator must be a faculty member of Pediatrics for projects to be eligible for this funding opportunity.  The Pediatrics RFP can be downloaded here: http://z.umn.edu/pedsrfp.

Recipients of these grants will automatically be granted space in the Driven to Discover Building.  

Interested researchers can contact the Driven to Discover Project Coordinator, Amanda Kabage, at d2dbuilding@umn.edu for information about these funding opportunities.

Please contact the Project Coordinator, Amanda Kabage, at d2dbuilding@umn.edu regarding any questions you may have as to the application process or resources available through this project.


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