About 

CS-IRG New Investigator Grant (CS-IRG-NIG) is a sub category of the CS-IRG to cater for new clinical investigators. The CS-IRG-NIG is a step for the new investigator towards winning a first independent national level grant. Applicants with substantial research experience will not be accepted under this category.

To be eligible for the CS-IRG-NIG, the following requirements apply:

(i) Applicants must not have held any national  grants (e.g., NMRC, A*STAR, NRF, MOE AcRF Tier II, etc) or international grants (e.g., MRC, NIH,NHMRC, etc) as a PI/Co-PI* prior to the award of the NIG. 
*Co-PIs refer to PIs whose projects are jointly led by other PIs (e.g. projects under NMRC’s Bedside & Bench grant). They are not the same as, and should not be confused with Co-Investigators (Co-Is).

(ii) Applicants must not have received funding to conduct their own research project which cumulatively exceeds $300,000. This can be funding from any sources.

Applicants who are applying as new investigators category (CS-IRG-NIG) have to work with a mentor for guidance in their research. This mentoring will provide support for a period of supervised research leading eventually to the clinical investigators conducting larger scale research projects independently.Please note that the NIG is intended to fund a new investigator’s independent project, and not to provide additional funding for the mentor's project (or clinical trial). 

Eligibility:

Each CS-IRG-NIG application must be led by a Clinical Principal Investigator (PI) who has to fulfill the eligibility criteria listed below. Only one PI is allowed per application. The number of applications by an individual (as PI) is capped at 1 grant application per grant type in a grant call.  

PI must be clinically qualified (i.e. with MD/MBBS/BDS) and preferably with post-graduate clinical training and experience.  Exceptions are given to Allied Health Professionals who fall within the list of professions in Table 1 below. The PI must possess a minimum academic qualification of a PhD or the equivalent training.

For proposals involving patients, the clinical PI or co-I should be SMC registered; or should be able to demonstrate ability to access patients through SMC registered collaborators. For some IRG proposals it is recognized that some studies may be pre-clinical and not require the PI to be SMC registered.

Additional eligibility criteria include:

(a)  Hold a primary appointment in a local public hospital/public health institutions/national specialty centre/public universities/Academic Medical Centres and salaried by the institution.

(b)  Have a laboratory or clinical research program that carries out research in Singapore.

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

Funding Quantum:

The CS-IRG-NIG will provide a funding quantum of up to S$200,000 per project for 2 years with additional 20% indirect costs provided to the host institution of the PI.

Grant Call Frequency:

There will be two grant calls per year (May and November). 

Research Themes:

The CS-IRG-NIG is open to application on all research themes. However, there will be strategic consideration for applications which focus on the following priority areas:

• Cardiovascular diseases
• Neurological and sense disorders
• Infectious diseases
• Diabetes mellitus and other metabolic/ endocrine disorders
• Cancers

Submission:

It is mandatory for all applications to be submitted and endorsed by the Host Institution's Director of Research (DOR) online via IGMS by 16 December 2020, 5pm. We will not entertain any late submissions or submissions from individual applicants without endorsement from the Host Institution.

Please download the CS-IRG-NIG Guide and Application Form for more information.