McGill.CA / D2R / Funding Opportunities

Research in Motion

The Research in Motion (RIM) program aims to foster interdisciplinary research and to support new approaches to research along the D2R Initiative’s discovery-to-implementation chain. The program supports projects that involve collaboration between researchers with expertise across at least two D2R Foundational Axes and welcomes applications from teams of researchers from varied disciplines which may not have a history of collaboration as well as investigators who might not have previously considered working together. For example, teams may be composed of investigators with expertise in AI and other data sciences, and RNA therapeutics, or clinical/trial research and social sciences, or RNA biology and Indigenous health, etc. The RIM program will encourage researchers to form novel interdisciplinary groupings, and support projects that have both translational impact and the potential for economic activity. Successful applications may provide opportunities for leveraging or act as a gateway to additional funding from various sources, including government agencies and industrial partners.

This program supports projects that demonstrate:

  • D2R Alignment and Novel Disciplinary Groupings: Teams should comprise researchers from multiple disciplines relevant to the D2R Initiative’s mandate, spanning at least two of the D2R Foundational Axes. We strongly encourage collaboration among researchers and disciplines that historically have not collaborated.
  • Innovation Beyond Traditional Boundaries: Projects should address scientific gaps or provide proof-of-concept for initiatives exploring new directions in ongoing research. Proposals should pursue unique or unconventional interdisciplinary research avenues potentially too exploratory for traditional funding agencies.
  • Novelty and Non-Duplication: Proposals should focus on developing new ideas and approaches, rather than duplicating or merely expanding upon existing funded work.
  • Impact and Potential for Further Funding: Projects should demonstrate potential for both translational and economic impact, especially in the development of genome-guided RNA-based therapeutics. Projects should also be well-positioned to attract additional support, including funding from governmental agencies, industrial, and other partners.
Key Dates
  • Competition Launch: February, 2024.
  • Registration: March 12, 2024 at 5:00 PM Eastern time.
  • Full Application period: March 13 at 9:00 AM to April 11, 2024 at 5:00 PM Eastern time.
  • Anticipated results announcement: July 2024.
Application process

This competition comprises two stages:

  • Registration: Mandatory to submit a full application.
  • Full Application: The full application submission form will open after the registration closes.
Eligibility

Principal Investigator (PI) Eligibility

  • McGill University faculty members.
  • Eligible to hold Tri-Agency research funding.

Co-Investigator (Co-I) Eligibility

  • McGill University faculty members.
  • Researchers from D2R’s partner institutions (McMaster University, University of British Columbia, University of Ottawa, and Université de Sherbrooke). These researchers must be included in the list of researchers which was provided by the partners and approved by D2R.
  • Eligible to hold Tri-Agency research funding.

Collaborators

  • Individuals from McGill, other academic institutions, industry, government, or community organizations, who contribute meaningfully to the project. Collaborators are not eligible to receive funding from D2R.
Award value per project
  • Research Budget: Maximum of $200,000.
  • Training Budget (Supplemental from Training Awards Envelope): Maximum of $150,000. This budget is an optional supplement to the research budget and will be awarded based on the needs and merit of the proposed research project.
  • Maximum Total Award Value: Up to $350,000 over two years.
Application Package For the complete call for proposal, please click the button to sign in with your McGill Username and Password.
Research in Motion Application Package
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