| UC Toxics News: Fall 2005
As we enter another cycle of the annual call for research proposals, I want to provide an update on the evolving direction of the program and some changes to the funding categories. In 2003, the TSR&TP executive committee decided that existing lead campus components would end and that new lead campuses would have finite (i.e., 6-year) lifecycles. This decision was made to create new opportunities for research collaborations so that we could respond to emerging needs as well as provide researchers with an opportunity to develop new programs. We subsequently established a timetable for retiring one existing lead campus per year and initiated a call for proposals for establishing one new lead campus per year. We are midcourse in this process and recently established a new lead campus that is directed toward atmospheric aerosols and health. This joint effort between UC Davis and UC Merced will lead to the creation of a training and research program that is highly relevant to the needs of the state of California. We look forward to receiving proposals for the establishment of another new lead campus in 2006. The creation of opportunities for new lead campuses of course required that we end existing programs. This was a difficult decision as the existing programs were successful in many ways. In September, I attended the final annual retreat of the Coastal Toxicology lead campus that was held at the Bodega Marine Laboratory. This retreat is an excellent example of what can be accomplished by bringing together students and faculty to and challenging them to view a problem from multiple perspectives. It is clear that students who have gone through this program emerge with a greater appreciation for problem solving and teamwork. Russ Schmitt (UCSB) and his team are to be commended for developing an outstanding program that has resulted in a tangible camaraderie amongst faculty and students. Although the program will officially end later this year, it is clear that many relationships catalyzed by its existence will endure. I expect that many of these relationships will have positive impacts on student training and research far beyond the existence of the lead campus. This, in fact, is the metric of success that we expect from a lead campus activity and underlies our motivation to provide opportunities for new programs. Because most toxic substance issues are inherently multidisciplinary, a significant goal of the TSR&TP is to bring faculty and students together from different departments and campuses. A continuing challenge is to provide opportunities to address issues with toxic substances in innovative ways. This year one of our goals is to attract new principal investigators to the program. Accordingly, we have initiated a new category for funding, the New Investigator Grant, which is directed toward attracting researchers who have not been previously funded by the program. We also initiated a call for Collaborative Research Grants, which reflects our desire to encourage research between investigators who have not had prior collaborations. With these new funding categories we hope to stimulate researchers to think how their expertise can be brought to bear on issues with toxic substances. By providing a funding opportunity for preliminary or proof-of-principle research we hope to reward innovative ideas for which seed funding is usually difficult to obtain. In January, a subgroup from the executive committee will meet to evaluate current strategies and long-term goals for the program. Please feel free to provide me with your thoughts on directions for the program and I will bring them before the group (knezovich1@llnl.gov).
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