MDRC Diabetes Interdisciplinary Studies (DISP) Program

The Diabetes Interdisciplinary Studies Program (DISP) is sponsored by the Michigan Diabetes Research Center (MDRC). Its purpose is to promote new interdisciplinary collaboration between TWO or more members of the University of Michigan faculty from DISTINCT disciplines to focus their combined research strengths on cutting-edge areas in diabetes research. The intent is to foster synergistic collaboration between faculty members to advance scientific inquiry.

Grant proposals may be in the areas of basic biomedical or clinical research and should address key questions in the pathogenesis, diagnosis, prevention, or control of diabetes, its complications, or related endocrine or metabolic disorders (for example: obesity, metabolic syndrome, counter-regulatory proteins). The goal of the DISP is to enable investigators to generate a sufficient body of preliminary information for a successful application for major research funding from NIH or other national granting agency.

A minimum of two Co-Principal Investigators is required for DISP applications. Individuals who have full-time instructional, research or clinical track faculty positions at the University of Michigan are eligible to apply as Co-Principal Investigators. The intent of this grant is to foster new interdisciplinary collaborations on campus. However, applications for new research initiatives from productive scientists with previous collaborations are not excluded from consideration. Each Co-Principal Investigator must provide critical intellectual as well as technical input into projects funded by a DISP grant. Individuals who are awarded a MDRC P/F grant are not eligible to receive a MDRC DISP grant in the same year.

DISP proposals should be for two years of support, with total requested funding up to $100,000 direct costs. That is, the combined budgets proposed for all Co-Principal Investigators must not exceed a total of $100,000 for the two year period.

Each proposal will receive extramural peer review by recognized experts in the area of the proposal from the United States and abroad. Revised proposals from previous cycles are considered new applications and will be reviewed as such. The MDRC Grants Program Advisory Council of expert investigators reviews the DISP applications together with their respective peer evaluations and ranks the applications based on scientific merit and relevancy to diabetes research before final funding decisions are made. 

DISP grant awardees are queried annually by MDRC administrative staff and are required to provide information on the publications and funding that stem from the DISP grant as this information must be reported to NIH. DISP grant awardees are also expected to present their research at the Annual MDRC Diabetes Symposium generally held in the spring. If awarded, junior faculty will need to identify a mentor and investigators outside the diabetes field will need to identify a diabetes advisor.

The current application cycle has ended.

Questions: Please contact Sarah Cain, (734)763-2561, cains@umich.edu