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Collaborations to Catalyse Translation (CCT) is open to University of Oxford and MORU network researchers and provides internal funding for short, collaborative translational projects between Oxford- and MORU-based research teams.

Collaborations to Catalyse Translation (CCT) is a pilot call to help drive forward translational research in the global health arena by facilitating closer interactions between the University’s Oxford-based departments and the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU), enabling researchers in both locations to capitalise on the breadth and depth of expertise and resources available within Oxford and the MORU network.   

CCT is a joint initiative between the Medical Sciences Translational Research Office (TRO) and the MORU Institutional Translational Partnership (iTP) office. It comprises two sources of devolved funding from Wellcome, each managed by the TRO and the iTP office respectively.

The CCT Committee, comprising members of the University and external members, will allocate funding to successful projects.

The Call for proposals and a copy of the Case for support form (also available through IRAMS) can be found here:

Remit

CCT funds short collaborative projects between Oxford-based and MORU-based research teams that tackle specific challenges in the progression from post-discovery research outcomes towards clinical implementation. This call does not support exploratory basic science.

A successful project will involve work being carried out at each location (Oxford and MORU). Projects can be led from either location.

Please note: if you haven’t yet identified a corresponding partner team at Oxford or MORU (as appropriate) with whom to collaborate, your organisation’s MORU-Oxford CCT Support team (details in “How to apply” tab above) can work with you to identify potential synergies and to explore potential partnerships to take your proposal forward

The call is not themed; the TRO and iTP office welcome all ideas where a collaboration between Oxford- and MORU-based teams will tackle hurdles in the development of any modality of therapy, diagnostic or other intervention. Projects proposals should clearly identify the barriers to progression, and how bringing together the specific expertise and resources at each location will overcome such barriers to progress the project to the next stage of its translational journey. The project plan should be milestone-based with clearly articulated and quantifiable markers.

A highly desirable outcome is that project becomes a strong candidate to receive follow-on translational funding, such as from internal Oxford- or MORU-based proof-of-concept funds, external schemes such as the MRC Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme (DPFS) or equivalent schemes from other funders, or from industry.

Costing and duration

Funding available from CCT will be up to £25k per project. Awards made from CCT will be for direct costs only.

A successful project will involve work being carried out (and funded) at each location, with component parts receiving local* funding.

Projects are expected to be up to 6 months in duration. However, if your project is substantially longer than this, please discuss with the MORU-Oxford CCT Support Team in advance of submission and provide appropriate justification. Please ensure that your project is scheduled accordingly and that the timeline is appropriate to the objectives and milestones set out

All projects must have a start date that allows project completion in advance of 30th June 2021.

The funding will not support: entire translational projects; bridging funding or PhD studentships; continuation of normal research grants; and costs relating to protection of intellectual property. Please also note that PI and Co-applicant salaries are not an eligible cost.

Awards will be managed from the TRO and iTP office on behalf of the University. Applications, scores and reviewer comments may be shared with other internal University panels to ensure maximum value for money.

SOURCES OF FUNDING

*CCT comprises two streams of devolved funding from Wellcome, each administered by the TRO and the iTP office, respectively. A successful project will receive its budget for Oxford-based activities from the TRO, and for MORU-based activities from the iTP office.

It is envisaged that the available funds will finance in the region of 2-3 projects.

PIs must be University employees (either Oxford- or MORU-based) holding a contract of employment which extends beyond the lifetime of the proposed award and can be hosted by any department of the University. MORU Network researchers who are not University employees, or researchers holding honorary or visiting positions, are not eligible to apply but can be named Co-Is or collaborators. 

Applicants should clarify their eligibility with their departments, and departmental approvers are required to check eligibility of their applicants before advancing any applications. 

The MORU-Oxford CCT Panel welcomes applications from Early Career Researchers and applicants seeking to establish independent research careers.

Lead applicants are strongly encouraged to contact their local translational support team before the application deadline.

The purpose of these discussions will be to i) finalize the concept for the proposal and ascertain eligibility for the scheme; ii) assist teams in finding collaborating groups in Oxford/MORU network as appropriate;  iii) to identify opportunities for project support (both financial and non-financial) to accelerate translation; and iv) assist with application development.

Due to the joint nature of this call, the application form should be submitted to BOTH Oxford and MORU support offices as follows:

MORU Network:

Submit to itpa@tropmedres.ac cc. a copy of the completed application form to their unit head or, where the applicant is a student, their advisor.

Oxford:

Submit an online application through the Internal Research Award Management System (IRAMS). IRAMS Guidance in the form of quick reference guide documents for applicants, departmental approvers and administrators can be found on Research Support pages.

 

Please note that applications must be reviewed and approved in IRAMS by a Departmental Approver before they will be reviewed by the Committee; the advertised application deadline is the deadline for final submission to thecCommittee. Departments may set an earlier internal deadline to allow for departmental review, so please check with your local admin team and submit your application to your Departmental Approver in advance of the advertised deadline.

The online application form in IRAMS requests information about the principal applicant and any co-applicants or editors, a lay summary, a financial breakdown of your proposal (X5 report must be appended) and a case for support uploaded to the IRAMS application system. You must incorporate all requested components of the case for support into one document and upload this in the template provided on IRAMS as a PDF.

A case for support (four pages max.) and CVs (one page max. each PI & CoI) for all applicants named in the application must be appended to the CCT application form.

The case for support must include:

  • A 250-word abstract of the proposal, including any health issue(s) to be tackled;
  • Project objectives and proposed outcomes, including information about proposed development milestones and potential next steps following completion of the project to include, for example, sources of follow-on funding, plans for commercialisation, key stakeholders for implementation of outcomes;
  • A description of how the project will help move the research down the translational pathway (including, if possible, the TRL before and after the project – see Appendix 2 in call text;
  • A description of the mutual benefit each team will get from this project;
  • A project timeline, aligning with milestones to demonstrate that these are realistic both in terms of the objectives set and the time necessary to achieve them; 
  • A justification for support for the MORU- and Oxford-based teams, explaining how the proposal is aligned with the remit and objectives of the CCT Fund;
  • A discussion around market competition – will the proposed research offer significant advantages over current methodologies and/or approaches from other research teams?
  • IP status: Does the project require use of background IP and do you/will you have the necessary agreements in place if such background IP is controlled by a third party? Will the project generate any arising IP? How will this be managed between collaborators?;
  • Details of any industrial engagement in your project and plans to advance this. 

The deadline for submission of applications through both MORU- and Oxford- (IRAMS) routes is 12pm (BST) on Friday 14 August 2020

Contact details for local translational support teams:

MORU (iTP Office)

Translational Partnership Manager: Maneerat Ekkapongpisit

Contact details: itpa@tropmedres.ac or +66(0) 824486470)

Address: Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU), Mathematical and Economic Modelling Department (MAEMOD), 11/F Chamlong Harinasuta Building, 420/6 Rajvithi Rd, Bangkok 10400, Thailand

Oxford (Translational Research Office)

Translational Research Manager: Caroline Jenkins

Contact details: translationalresearchoffice@medsci.ox.ac.uk or +44 (0)1865 289367 / 07902 704508

Website: www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/tro

Please note that the membership of the MORU-Oxford CCT Panel Committee is currently being formed and the information below is subject to change

Chair

Professor Nick Day (MORU, Centre Tropical Medicine)

Members

Mr David Burton (MORU, Centre for Tropical Medicine & Global Health)

Dr Nessa Carey (Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence, Oxford)

Professor Arjen Dondorp (MORU, Centre for Tropical Medicine & Global Health)

Dr Manee Ekkapongpisit (iTP office, MORU, Centre for Tropical Medicine & Global Health)

Dr David Miller (Wellcome)

Professor Helen McShane (The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine)

Dr Sarah Wagstaffe (Translational Research Office, Medical Sciences Division)

Dr Mike Whelan (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations – CEPI)

Professor Yoel Lubell (MORU, Centre for Tropical Medicine & Global Health)

 

Officers

Dr Caroline Jenkins (Translational Research Office, Medical Sciences Division)

Dr Deepak Kumar (Translational Research Office, Medical Sciences Division)

Dr Anne-Sophie Schillinger (Translational Research Office, Medical Sciences Division)

TBC (Oxford University Innovation, Oxford)

 

Secretariat

Dr Caroline Jenkins (Translational Research Office, Medical Sciences Division)