The purpose of these awards is to provide transitional research support to Whitaker investigators who will use the funding to secure a major grant from a source other than The Whitaker Foundation. Transitional Funding bridges the time between the end of the Research Grant and the beginning of the new support for up to one year. The last day for receiving funding requests is Dec. 31, 2004.

These awards are for investigators who are still establishing their independence. Investigators with substantial outside support are ineligible; for example, applicants with a major NIH RO1 grant do not qualify.

The following guidelines must be met:

• There must have been excellent progress and substantial accomplishments under the original Whitaker grant. This should be evident by publications or pending publications in peer-reviewed journals.
  
  
• The application must include evidence that the investigator is establishing a career in biomedical engineering or a closely related field and that Transitional Funding will facilitate this endeavor. The evidence may be provided, for example, by the nature of the applicant's appointment, by appropriate collaborations, by the type of students supervised, or by participation in biomedical engineering professional societies.
  
  
• The applicant must explain how Transitional Funding is expected to lead to major funding from a source other than The Whitaker Foundation.
  
  
• The application for Transitional Funding must include a copy of a recently submitted major grant application to a funding organization other than The Whitaker Foundation. The principal investigator must be the same. The Transitional Funding application should strengthen and support the major grant application.
  
  
• If a recently submitted major application was unsuccessful, the applicant should also include the critique and show how Transitional Funding would address the reviewers' concerns and improve the chances of success with a revised application. Alternatively, the applicant may indicate how Transitional Funding would lead to a new application.
  

Applications for Transitional Funding must be received by the foundation no later than six months following the original ending date of the original three-year Whitaker Foundation Research Grant (or 42 months after the start date). Any extensions of time made under the original grant do not extend the application deadline for these awards.

The Foundation Governing Commiteee considers applications for Transitional Funding four times a year. Upcoming meeting dates in 2004 are: April 16, June 17 and October 7. The first meeting in 2005 will be January 6. Applications should be submitted 90 days before one of these meetings to allow sufficient time for review.

The key requirements outlined in the above guidelines should be addressed in separately titled sections of the application following the format below. Submit the original and two copies in a font size no smaller than 12-point Times Roman. (There are no forms other than the cover and budget.)

Include the following:

1. A Cover Page with appropriate institutional signatures.

2. A summary Progress Report of the currently funded Whitaker grant. List all publications (published and submitted) that resulted from this work (four pages).

3. A Career Report demonstrating how the Whitaker investigator is establishing a career in biomedical engineering or a field closely linked to biomedical engineering (one page).

4. A Research Plan summarizing the proposed work. In addition, the Research Plan should describe how Transitional Funding will help secure major funding from another source (four pages).

5. A Budget not exceeding $80,000 and a Budget Justification. The Budget Form and guidelines are the same as those used for the Research Grants Program. Travel is limited to $1,250 and equipment requests should be modest.

6. A current Curriculum Vitae of the Whitaker investigator (two pages) and a list of all past, current and planned support.

7. A copy of a grant application submitted to a major funding agency.