About

Welcome to the Chicago Biomedical Consortium

The mission of the Chicago Biomedical Consortium is to stimulate collaboration among scientists at Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois at Chicago that will transform research at the frontiers of biomedicine.

Mission

Stimulate research and education that bridge institutional boundaries,
Enable collaborative and interdisciplinary research that is beyond the range of a single institution,
Recruit and retain a strong cadre of biomedical leaders and researchers in Chicago,
Promote the development of the biomedical industry in Chicago,
Execute a plan capable of improving the health of citizens of Chicago and beyond.

History

Over the past three decades the scale of biomedical research has changed dramatically as biologists have followed the pattern established in the early 20th century by physical scientists. During this period biomedical science has been dominated by reductionism, where living things have been further and further broken down into the smallest of their component parts - in other words, biologists have disassembled the systems they are studying. Now with the availability of genomic information and the development of powerful proteomic and imaging technologies, there is the exciting possibility of integrating knowledge at the molecular and cellular levels to understand how cells, tissues and organisms actually function. In other words, biologists now seek to study systems that are intact and working. To accomplish this integration, the structure of biomedical research must also evolve: from single, researchers and discrete collaborations between individual scientists, to multi-laboratory groups organized into even larger networks that bring biologists together with physicists, chemists, and computer scientists. By engaging broadly trained teams of scientists, some of the biggest questions in biology and medicine can be addressed at a speed and scale that promise wide impact on health and society. The importance and, indeed, necessity of collaboration are fully understood and appreciated by scientists and by university administrators today, but the nature and structure of those collaborations vary widely.

CBC Funding Opportunities

The Chicago Biomedical Consortium (CBC), launched with impetus and support from The Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust, aims to stimulate collaborative research and training in the field of Systems Biology among scientists at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University and the UIC.

The CBC has the mission of transforming the conduct of biomedical research and education in the Chicago area in order to promote and enable scientific research of the highest order. It is grounded in the belief that the combined intellectual power of the researchers, educators, and staff of the member institutions must be harnessed to fulfill a vision for Chicago to become a national and international leader in the biomedical sciences. The CBC program will be implemented in two five-year phases. During the first phase (2006-2010) the CBC will establish an infrastructure to support collaborative research and education through state-of-the-art technology, communication networks, and administration; provide Catalyst awards ("RFA: Catalyst") to stimulate and facilitate research and education collaborations; administer Spark Awards to advance multi-institutional collaborations of exceptional creativity ("RFA: Spark"); use Lever awards ("RFA: Lever") to increase the competitive edge of large-scale CBC applications to national agencies and foundations; support the expansion of scientific leadership in proteomics and informatics at the CBC universities; and by the cumulative impact of its programs, promote the development of Chicago’s biomedical industry. The CBC’s intent is to leverage its resources many times over.

Catalyst Awards are one-time incentive awards, with no expectation of continuation or renewal, made to teams with principals and other strong representation from at least two of the CBC institutions. Overall funding for Catalyst Awards in 2008 is expected to be approximately $1,000,000. To learn more about the CBC Catalyst awards, please click here.

Spark Awards are the most recent addition to CBC funding opportunities. Spark Awards are one-time awards without no-cost extension or renewal, which are intended to advance multi-institutional collaborations of exceptional creativity. Spark awards are made to teams with Principal Investigators from at least two of the three CBC universities. A typical Spark Award is expected to be approximately $300,000 for one year with maximum permitted of $400,000 for use over 2 years. To learn more about the CBC Spark awards, please click here.

Lever Awards are matching funds available to teams with principals and other strong representation from at least two of the CBC institutions. As example, a collaborative application from CBC institutions requesting federal funding of around $10 million or more would be supported (or leveraged) by a statement of commitment from the CBC to provide up to $3 million additional funding (up to $1 million per year for three years) toward the collaboration. Payment of the CBC Lever award would be conditional on approval of the grant by the federal agency. Note that the time period of such large-scale programs is typically five years, but the CBC dollars would be targeted to the early years of the project, to help start the initiative. To learn more about the CBC Lever awards, please click here.

Scientific Boards