2019 UFCD Moonshot Program Competition

The UF College of Dentistry, Office of Research Internal Screening Process

  • Click here for the Official Program Guidelines.
  • Click here for an Excel budget template.

Proposals should be submitted to Christi Mason in our office no later than Monday October 14thcmason@dental.ufl.edu with a cc to Ronda Breton rbreton@dental.ufl.edu.
Should you have questions or need further assistance, please contact Christi in our office.

Key Dates

5:00 PM Monday, October 14, 2019 Initial full proposal due to UFCD Office of Research Follow the formatting guidelines (attached) for full proposal submission found here: https://ufresearch.infoready4.com/#competitionDetail/1795366 Please use the attached budget spreadsheet to assist in preparation of the budget and budget justification. Submit to cmason@dental.ufl.edu; cc: rbreton@dental.ufl.edu.
5:00 PM Monday, October 21, 2019 Notice from UFCD Research committee to selected applicants All submitted proposals will undergo an internal review by the UFCD Research Committee. Selected applicants will be notified by Monday, October 21, 2019.
5:00 PM Tuesday, October 29, 2019 Final revised full proposals due to UFCD Office of Research If applicable, return revised proposals to: cmason@dental.ufl.edu;  cc: rbreton@dental.ufl.edu.
9:00 AM Wednesday, October 30, 2019 Proposals submitted to UF Office of Research
April 1, 2020 Anticipated start date

Description

The challenges and opportunities currently facing our planet are multi-faceted and extremely complex. Finding solutions to the world’s most significant challenges has required scientists, educators, practitioners and others to work in a collaborative team environment, and to think outside existing paradigms to find innovative and creative approaches to overcome barriers. The innovative solutions leverage the techniques, approaches, and perspectives in multiple disciplines. In consequence, collaborative approaches result in advances and the ability to overcome existing barriers. Crossing such barriers require innovations and advances that are typically not possible for faculty member working in isolation.

The UF Office of Research, in partnership with the Office of the Provost, has launched a new competition to identify and fund select Moonshot projects designed to help solve critical problems affecting people, places, or the planet. The moonshot proposals will describe ambitious, exploratory and ground-breaking projects and will likely have transformative ideas that represent an opportunity for a significant shift in fundamental knowledge with a great potential for a long term impact on national needs or a grand challenge. It is expected that moonshot proposals targeting significant grand challenges will require the assembly of expertise involving participation of multiple colleges or units. The goal of the Moonshot program is to propel UF to the forefront of research in that area. A moonshot proposal may either address a significant problem; articulate a novel, radical solution to a significant problem, or describe the use of cutting-edge technology in uncharted areas.

Budget

The Office of Research anticipates supporting up to 3 meritorious projects in this round of proposals. Resources for each project will not exceed $250,000 per year for 3 years – for a total investment of $750,000 per project.

Number of Proposals

The number of proposals submitted by each college is based upon each college’s extramural award performance in FY19. The maximum number of proposals allocated for submission each college are listed in the table below.

Number of Proposals Allocated Colleges
1 per college Florida Museum of Natural History; Health & Human Performance; Design, Construction & Planning, Business; Fine Arts, Journalism & Communications, Law, Nursing, Education; Dentistry; Pharmacy; Veterinary Medicine; Public Health and Health Professions; Medicine-Jacksonville
2 per college Liberal Arts and Sciences; HW College of Engineering; IFAS; Medicine-Gainesville

SUBMISSION DETAILS

Proposals must be submitted to the Office of Research by October 14th, 2019. PIs should attach an email (pdf) from Associate Dean for Research of their College, indicating that their proposal has been selected by the college.

Proposals must ALSO be submitted through the UFIRST system. Please ensure that ALL faculty contributing time to the project, as well as their chairs and deans sign off on the proposals in UFIRST.