M2M Membership Benefits
Research Funding Opportunities for M2M Faculty
IALS Midigrants
The IALS midigrant is designed to be a flexible seed fund mechanism up to $10,000 to enable new translational research and explore new collaborations within IALS. All active faculty members of IALS may apply for funds. To apply, please visit: https://www.umass.edu/ials/funding-benefits
Manning/IALS Innovation Awards
The Manning/IALS Innovation Awards provide seed funding up to $100,000 per award. These awards are designed to help advance UMass Amherst translational and applied R&D through the development of startup companies or the out-licensing of UMass IP.
Significant funding for this program comes from a gift to CNS from the Manning Family Foundation, and from the IALS Seed fund program. Additional contributions come from the College of Natural Sciences, the Berthiaume Center, the Isenberg School of Management, and the Office of Development and Alumni Relations.
To apply, please visit: https://www.umass.edu/ials/funding-benefits
Theme Member Benefits
Theme Activity Funds
Each Research Theme Leader is given a budget of $1,000 per year to support activities that further the strategic goals of Research Themes such as hosting visits by potential industrial partners, co-hosting seminar speakers, travel of Research Theme members to sites of clinical or industrial collaborators (or vice versa), or facilitating internal meetings of Research Themes or across Research Themes. If you are planning on hosting an event for your theme, contact your Theme Leader directly on how you may access these funds.
Theme Research Funds
Each Research Theme Leader is given a discretionary budget of $10,000 per year to support collaborative research that furthers the strategic goals of the Research Themes. Funds may be used towards seed funding, training opportunities, and/or other mechanisms to support collaborative theme research.
Starting in AY 2021-2022, contributions toward small equipment purchases of $10,000-$50,000 total cost are allowable expenses through M2M Research Themes. Multiple themes may contribute funds towards a small equipment purchase. The Core Facilities must be consulted prior to purchasing equipment in order to assess potential overlap. Purchasing small equipment to be housed in the Cores is encouraged.
To access theme funds, please contact your Theme Leader. More information on the M2M Research Themes can be found here: https://www.umass.edu/m2m/research-themes
Core Facilities Benefits
Core Credit Voucher Program
Core Credit Vouchers are available to all IALS grant recipients and usable at any UMass Amherst Centralized Core Facility. These credits are accrued and assigned twice a year, and are calculated from the IDC/RTF contributions to the Center/IALS from IALS-tagged grants. You do not have to request these vouchers, they will be assigned. As grant dollars are spent, Core Facility credits are accrued! For more information on how to use these funds, please contact ialsfunding@umass.edu.
Additional Core Resources
M2M has invested $50,000 in the Core Facilities per year towards supporting M2M faculty research through:
- Core Facilities Pilot Funding. Flexible funds are available for new projects, and pilot experiments using the Cores.
- M2M Core User Training Funds. M2M will subsidize the training rate at all 31 Core Facilities for Core users (faculty, students, and postdocs) that are members of an M2M faculty research lab.
- Core Equipment Maintenance and New Acquisitions. To ensure M2M research can remain on the cutting edge.
Funds are managed centrally by the UMass Core Facilities. To access these funds, please reach out to Andrew Vinard at avinard@umass.edu.
M2M Support for Student Training
Undergraduate Research Opportunities
To help support the IALS mission to contribute to biomedical workforce development in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, M2M is investing in applied STEM research opportunities for UMass undergraduates through sponsorship of ten undergraduate student research positions (10-week programs) in each of the following programs:
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COE Materials-Focused REU Program (website link forthcoming)
Other Student Support
NIH PREP Program Summer Stipends. In 2021, M2M has committed funding to provide summer salary support for students participating in the UMass NIH PREP Program.
