PROLAB – support to promote collaboration

PROLAB Programme

Program of financial support to promote collaboration among Latin American and Caribbean Neuroscience research groups

About the programme

This program seeks to foster scientific collaboration and development of human resources among Latin American and Caribbean Neuroscience research groups. PROLAB uses the Neuroscience scientific network of the region, and provides economic support to joint research projects. Its main goal is to diminish the asymmetries in the development of the Neurosciences in the continent, thus allowing established research groups to set up collaboration with emerging groups and also opening a space for horizontal collaboration among established groups within the region.

This program was designed to intensify the regional scientific exchange among research laboratories, research groups, university departments and other academic institutions of higher education and scientific research (called here “research groups”) from the LARC-IBRO countries, thus creating conditions for scientific production and formation of human resources of growing quality in the Neurosciences of the region.

The scientific collaborations will be supported through grants for research missions (exchange trips by doctoral and post doctoral students from the participating institutions) planned to work on scientific questions specifically proposed in the submitted project.

About the collaborative projects

• Projects should aim at scientific investigations and training of human resources in research.
• They should be structured around a scientific research project in neuroscience focused on relevant scientific topics in the forefront of this area of human knowledge.
• Applications should have a joint coordination by the leaders of the research groups involved. The participant groups will choose one of the research leaders to be the responsible liaison with LARC (Project Coordinator).
• The projects should be planned for a two year period, with possibility of extension of financial support for another two years.
• The application should present the project around which the collaboration will be organized and the chronogram of activities for the first two years of collaboration.
• At the end of each year, the project’s liaison to LARC must present a joint report of the collaborative activities that took place among the research groups during that period and an update of the chronogram for the next year.
• Approval by LARC IBRO is necessary for continuation of the support.

About the Reserach Groups

• Collaboration proposals may involve an established group and one or more developing or emerging groups (Type 1 application) or between two established groups (Type 2 application).
• Each research group should be constituted by faculty-researchers connected to a higher education and/or research institution, and should have the following characteristics:
  • The research groups belong to different Latin American and/or Caribbean countries.
  • Each established or emerging participating research group has a coordinator with recognized competence in the area of the project.
  • Established groups consist of at least five faculty-researchers, postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate students, connected to a graduate program and are led by an investigator of recognized competence in science and formation of human resources.
  • Non-established or emerging groups consist of at least two faculty-researchers and graduate students and are led by a faculty-researcher of recognized scientific competence.
  • The members of the research groups can participate in only one PROLAB project.
  • The LARC-IBRO committee members are not elegible for PROLAB support for the duration of their terms.

Financial support

• Financial support from PROLAB is exclusively aimed at supporting research missions (three to six months) by doctoral and post doctoral students members of the research groups, for activities within the approved project.
• Maximum amount of award is 3000 euros/year/project.

Coordinator

Dr. Dora Fix Ventura,
Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, BRASIL
Email: dventura@usp.br

• Before filling out the on-line application please consult Instructions:
• On-line applications:
  http://larc.ibro.info/Pub/Pub_Collections_List.asp
  
• Note that applicants must log into the above site to fill out the application. If you do not have or do not remember your password, send a request to
  password.larc@ibro.info
  
• If you do not have an account, please check the requirements here and send an e-mail request to
  membership.larc@ibro.info
• Deadline for applications: December 4, 2009
  The results of the competition will be announced around Devember 20, 2009.
  Note that IBRO cannot provide the answers to individual inquiries about the results before they are announced to all applicants.

• In case of difficulties with the on-line application or letters of reference please contact us by e-mail with the subject identifying the applicant and the application:
  help@ibro.info
• Please DO NOT send your request to any other e-mail address – it will delay the response.
  Please allow two business days for for processing