NMRC Open Fund - Young Individual Research Grant (OF-YIRG)

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Young Individual Research Grant (YIRG) is a sub-category of IRG and a step for the new investigator to a first independent national level grant. The YIRG is provided to support the conduct of research proposals in basic and translational clinical research that are relevant to human health and wellness as well as research that looks at the causes, consequences, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of human diseases. Investigators with substantial research experience will not be accepted under this subcategory.

Areas of Research

The following seven disease areas have been identified as national priorities for research :

1. Cancers and neoplasms
2. Cardiovascular
3. Eye
4. Infection
5. Mental health
6. Metabolic and endocrine
7. Neurological

Funding Details

The award includes up to $325K (inclusive of 30% indirect cost) for up to 3 years.

For more information about the funding details, please take a look at the website here (internet accessible link).

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants applying as Principal Investigator are required to fulfil the following criteria at the point of application:

1. Holds a primary appointment in a local publicly funded institution and salaried by institution from time of award.

2. PIs should have PhD or MD/MBBS/BDS qualifications. (Exceptions would be made on a case-by-case basis).

3. Has a laboratory or clinical research program that carries out research in Singapore

4. Holds a minimum of 9 months employment (per calendar year) with local Singapore institution(s). Upon award, the PI must agree to fulfil at least 6 months of residency in Singapore for each calendar year over the duration of the grant award.

5. For proposals involving patients, the PI should be SMC registered; or should be able to demonstrate ability to access patients through SMC registered Co-Is or collaborators.

Additional Eligibility Criteria

1. Applicants who are applying for the Young IRGs are strongly encouraged to work with a mentor for guidance in their research. for guidance in their research. This mentoring will provide support for a period of supervised research leading eventually to the investigators conducting larger scale research projects independently.

2. Applicants must have completed their PhD or MBBS/MD/BDS within the past 7 years and past 10 years respectively (whichever date is later).

• Exception would be considered on a case-by-case basis to grant a one-year extension to the 7-year post-PhD and 10-year post-MBBS cap eligibility criterion for applicants who declared that their productivity have been affected by COVID-19.

• PIs are strongly encouraged to submit DOR-endorsed request with justifications through the HI ORE preferably 3 weeks before grant call closing deadline for NMRC's assessment on eligibility.

3. Applicants must not have received external competitive funding exceeding $500,000 (direct costs only) within the last 5 years to conduct their own research project as the PI.

4. Awardees of the following grants will not be eligible for YIRG:

 - A*STAR Investigatorship

- NRF Fellowship

- MOE Tier 2 and 3 grants

- MOH/NMRC IRG-equivalent grants*

Note: *NIC Ageing Grants (with the exception of Health and Longevity Catalyst Awards) are considered IRG-equivalent grants.

5. Applicants must indicate how the proposed area of work would be distinct from their current supervisor's existing research.  The applicant's current supervisor should not be a Co-I on the proposal. 

6. Upon the award of the OF-YIRG, the host institution will be required to provide written confirmation from either the applicant's Head of Institution or supervisor to describe the steps the institution will take to demonstrate its commitment to his/her career development. This must include provision of appropriate space to carry out the work proposed, but may also include investment in the equipment necessary to establish the laboratory, access to shared institutional resource, provision of mentorship and career development support etc.

Submission

All applications must be submitted and endorsed by the Host Institution's Director of Research (DOR) online via IGMS (internet accessible link).

Note: SingHealth PIs are to please refer to your respective Institutional Research Administrators for guidance on internal deadlines and submission procedures set by your institutions.

Contact Person

Dr Cheryl Chen

Email: cheryl.chen@mohh.com.sg

Additional Information

• Please download the 'Application Guide and Template' documents from NMRC's website here (internet accessible link).

• For more information on OF-YIRG, please visit NMRC's website here (internet accessible link).