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DBT Calls for Proposal for “Indo-South Africa Collaborative Programme in Health Sciences with emphasis on HIV/AIDS & TB “

Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Tuberculosis (TB) are the leading causes of death in adults and children in both India and South Africa, and the impact of the converging dual epidemics is one of the major public health challenges of our time. Development of effective biomedical tools and solutions for diagnosis, prevention and treatment of AIDS and tuberculosis is required to address challenges in disease management and control. Interdisciplinary research in these areas will not only accelerate development of transformational technologies but also help to develop capabilities and solutions for these unconquered diseases.

The Department of Biotechnology in collaboration with Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India, and Department of Science & Technology, Government of South Africa, and South African Medical Research Council are planning to embark on a collaborative research program on HIV, TB and TB/HIV. The proposed collaborative programme would be under the framework of bilateral Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement between the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Governments of India and South Africa. Accordingly, joint proposals are

being invited in the following areas:

1. Development of preventive HIV vaccine by designing immunogens that can elicit potent and broadly
neutralizing antibodies.

2. Isolation and characterization of neutralizing MAbs effective against clade C HIV-1 viruses for use in
combination therapies, passive immunization, and/or for designing preventive vaccines

3. Creation of cohorts of TB patients with HIV-1 co-infection and formation of national
biorepositories (for breath condensates, blood, tissue etc.) to facilitate immunological studies on HIV and TB.

4. Identification of biomarkers and development of novel assays for diagnosis and management of tuberculosis and tuberculosis with HIV co-infection.

Eligibility:

South Africa: This call is open to researchers residing in South Africa and who are affiliated with a recognized higher educational or research institution such as a university, university of technology or science council. The South African applicant must be in possession of a PhD. Private sector companies are not eligible for this call

India: The lead Indian applicants should be scientists / faculty members working in regular capacity in universities, academic institutes or national research and development laboratories/ institutes. Private sector companies are not eligible for this call

An application must designate two Principal Investigators, one in South Africa and one in India, who will bear the main responsibility for the project, including its technical and administrative coordination as well as scientific and financial reporting.

Duration: The projects will be supported for a period of three years.

Costs covered:

Each selected project will be funded for a period of three years subject to the availability of funding. However, projects of both sides must pass the annual evaluation in each country for continuation of funding. To facilitate the objective of the Project, the manpower cost, consumables and minor accessories, research expenses, project related visits of Indian and South African researchers to the counterpart country may be supported.

This funding will cover the following expenses in connection with a project:

  • Support for research expenses: Expenditure by project teamin their country would be borne by the respective country, i.e. DBT in India would support expenditure on Indian side of the project whereas the DST, South Africa would meet the expenditure of South Africa side.
  • Participating Indian institutions are responsible for expenses regarding equipment.
  • Support for Exchange visit:The parent country organization will provide roundtrip economy- class airfare to the relevant entry city of the host country as well as medical insurance. The parent country organizationside will also provide accommodation and living expenses, i.e., transportation including pick-up service to and from the airport, food, etc.
  • Two flights per year with a maximum of one month stay at a time will be allowed. Support for this component from the India side will be from DST.
  • While the exact nature of expenditure is not fixed, the following may not be funded from this allocation: consultant fees, educational expenses, insurance and medical care, large equipment, project management fees, temporary staff fees, etc.
  • It must be clear how the funding applied for is linked to existing projects and where synergies will be optimized.

Note:

Researchers will only be allowed to apply for one activity/project. Researchers who are currently being funded under the South Africa/India programme are not eligible to apply.
Please do take note that:

  • Should you be successful you will be funded only for the activities in adherence to the
    guidelines; and
  • Scientific and financial reporting on the project is an OBLIGATORY condition of funding in
    subsequent years.

Application Procedure:

Indian and South African applicants shall write a common application to be submitted to both DBT India and MRC South Africa. The common application must be written in English

India: Indian applicants should submit completed application form and all relevant attachments in a
single document (MS-word or PDF) to these email addresses: [email protected] and [email protected].

3 Hard copies of the proposal can be sent at following address:

Mr. Sundeep Sarin
Director/Scientist F
Department of Biotechnology
7th Floor, Block 2
CGO Complex, Lodhi Road
New Delhi 110003

It should be ensured that an application with identical title has been submitted by his/her South African counterpart scientist to the MRC by the due date (IST). Only applications endorsed by the competent authority will be accepted.

The onus is on the applicants to find their own research partner. The proposal must be received in India and South Africa and will not be processed if it is not received by both countries. Both the MRC and DBT will not be held responsible for non-submission, administration or evaluation of the application in the partner country.

South Africa: South African applicants should submit proposals in the prescribed format (MS-word or PDF) to Dr R Gordon ([email protected]) and Dr Michelle Mulder ([email protected]) by 5:30 pm South Africa time on August 31, 2016.

Late proposals and scanned pdf’s will NOT be accepted.

To view the Call Text, click here

Contact Information:

For South Africa:
Dr Richard Gordon
Executive Director
South African Medical Research Council
Francie van Zyl Rd
Tel: +27 21 938 0458
Email: [email protected]

For India:
Mr. Sundeep Sarin
Director/Scientist F
Department of Biotechnology
7th Floor, Block 2
CGO Complex, Lodhi Road
New Delhi 110003
Tel: 91-11-24362931
E-mail: [email protected]
Dr. Sulakshana Jain
Scientist D
International Bilateral Cooperation Division
Department of Science and Technology
Technology Bhavan, New Mehrauli Road
New Delhi 110016
E-mail: [email protected]

Application Deadline: 5.30 pm31 August 2016

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