Call for 2009A Medical Bio EX Proposals
This call has been closed.
To meet increasing expectations for research outcomes in the field of medical bio, which will contribute to conquering plaguing diseases and to promoting healthier lives, the medical bio trial use program has been implemented at the SPring-8 beamlines mainly for imaging. Furthermore, a number of research results have been obtained relating to determining the causes of diseases and developing new drugs at the beamlines for diffraction and scattering. Given these circumstances, the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) invites 2009A medical bio EX proposals to expand the research target areas to include a wider variety of medical bio projects using the beamlines for small-angle scattering and crystal structure analysis. Since medical bio EX proposals are intended for particular areas of research and particular purposes, only non-proprietary proposals can be accepted. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply. Please prepare your proposal application using the following guidelines and instructions.
0. Multiple Applications for 2009A Beamtime
You can apply for general proposal beamtime as your second choice at one time when submitting a medical bio EX proposal (See Important Notes about Proposal Submission).
1. Eligible Areas of Research
Medical bio research aiming to discover the causes of major diseases and to develop their diagnostic and treatment methods.
2. Research Period
A certain amount of beamtime is allocated for 2009A medical bio EX proposals from April through July 2009.
3. Beamlines and the Number of Shifts Available to Users (8 hours/shift)
Beamline No. | Beamline Name | Available Shifts |
BL02B2 | Powder Diffraction | approx. 12 shifts |
BL20B2 | Medical and Imaging I | approx. 15 shifts |
BL20XU | Medical and Imaging II | approx. 9 shifts |
BL28B2 | White Beam X-ray Diffraction | approx. 9 shifts |
BL37XU | Trace Element Analysis | approx. 3 shifts |
BL38B1 | Structural Biology III | approx. 12 shifts |
BL40B2 | Structural Biology II | approx. 18 shifts |
BL40XU | High Flux | approx. 12 shifts |
BL41XU | Structural Biology I | approx. 18 shifts |
BL45XU | RIKEN Structural Biology I (SAXS) | approx. 12 shifts |
Several Bunch Mode Operation in 2009A
A-mode: 203 bunches
B-mode: 4-bunch train x 84
C-mode: 11-bunch train x 29
D-mode*: 1/7-filling + 5 bunches
E-mode*: 2/29-filling + 26 bunches
* The filling modes of D and E-modes will be operated in Research Term A (e.g. 2009A, 2010A). In Research Term B (e.g. 2009B, 2010B), D and E-modes will be 1/14-filling + 12 bunches and, 4/58-filling + 53 bunches, respectively. For details, click here.
If you have a preference for a particular operating mode, choose from the pull-down menu on the Basic Information page of the online application form, and explain the difference in efficiency between your first- and second-choice modes in the box provided for "Others."
4. Proposal Submission
Applicants/project leaders are required to submit proposals online through the web-based proposal submission system. First, log in to the system with your user card ID number and password. If you have not obtained your user card ID number, please complete user registration first. Please note that only the project leader can submit proposals: if a project team member needs to submit a proposal in place of the project leader, he or she must log in to the project leader's account. In this case, the project leader is responsible for managing his or her account information. Before starting the application process, project leaders must make sure that all project team members have completed user registration.
User Information Website (UI site) > Login > Proposal Submission > New > Non-Proprietary Research > Medical Bio EX Proposal
Click here to download a working copy (MS Word) of the online application form.
For step-by-step instructions on how to submit proposals, please see this page.
Important Notes about Proposal Submission:
a. Only non-proprietary research is accepted.
b. You cannot submit an industrial application proposal or nanotechnology support proposal using the same application details.
c. You can apply for general proposal beamtime as your second choice at one time when submitting a medical bio EX proposal, but please make sure to so specify in the box provided for "Title of Experiment" on the Basic Information page of online application form (e.g. 2nd choice: general proposal).
d. If you wish to apply for both medical bio EX and medical bio trial use proposal beamtime, please submit a medical bio trial use proposal, NOT a medical bio EX proposal. For details please refer to the "Call for 2009A Medical Bio Trial Use Proposals." Please note that as for medical bio trial use proposals, the priority is given to new users and new types of research.
e. On the online application form, please specify the significance of the proposal in the field of medical bio, namely, the contribution to determining the causes of major diseases and developing the diagnostic and treatment methods.
f. In consideration of an effective allocation of beamtime and an expected increase of proposals, BL41XU accepts beamtime requests in units of 1.5 shifts from 2008A (e.g. 1.5 shifts, 4.5 shifts, etc.) as well as requests in units of one shift. If you choose BL38B1 as your second choice beamline, please note that beamtime is allocated in units of three shifts at BL38B1.
Deadline:
Thursday, December 11, 2008, 10:00 am (Japan standard time)
To avoid last minute technical problems and possible network congestion caused by heavy traffic, you are strongly encouraged to complete and submit your application well in advance of the deadline. If you have trouble completing/submitting your application online, please contact the SPring-8 Users Office (see 10. Contact) before the deadline.
Upon successful submission, you will receive a confirmation email with a copy of Agreement (Rules for Users) in PDF format attached to it. If you do not receive the confirmation email, please log in to the system and check if your proposal has been submitted successfully.
5. Proposal Review Process
Review Criteria:
Submitted proposals are evaluated by a group of reviewers consisting of distinguished medical experts. In addition to the review criteria used to evaluate general proposals (scientific and technological relevance, necessity of SPring-8 as a research tool, technical feasibility and safety of experiment), special emphasis will be placed on the significance in the field of medical bio, namely, the contribution to determining the causes of major diseases and developing the diagnostic and treatment methods.
Notification of Review Results:
Applicants will be notified of the review results in writing early February 2009.
6. Publication of Research Results
After the experiment is completed, project leaders are required to submit the following two reports:
- SPring-8 Experiment Report
Please submit a "SPring-8 Experiment Report" online within 60 days after the experiment. Two weeks after the deadline for all Experiment Report submissions (60 days + two weeks after the end of each half-year research term), experiment reports with database search functions are made available to the public on the UI site. For more details, please click here.
- Medical Bio EX Proposal Report
Please submit a "Medical Bio EX Proposal Report" by the submission deadline written in the official document sent after the proposal is approved. Please send your report as an electronic file preferably in MS Word format by email or post.
Please also be sure to disseminate your research results through publication in peer-reviewed journals, oral conference presentations, etc. and register the results with the SPring-8 Publications Database as soon as they are published.
7. User Fees
Users are required to pay the fees to cover the costs of beamline maintenance/operation and consumables actually used (user fees). User fees are composed of a fixed fee charged for wear and tear on the facility and a variable fee charged for liquid He, He gas, and the stockroom reagents, parts, and stationeries.
Fixed Fee: 10,300 yen/shift (15,450 yen/1.5 shifts) incl. tax
Variable Fee: calculated based on the amount actually used
Important: Supported by the Government's treasury, users affiliated with organizations outside Japan were exempt from paying the user fees until 2008B; at this point, however, it is uncertain if we will be able to obtain the necessary funding for 2009A.
Click here for more details.
8. Deadline for Proposals 2009B (next half-year research term)
Deadline for 2009B proposals (second half of fiscal 2009) is scheduled for early June 2009. For 2009B, available shifts are expected to increase compared to 2009A.
9. Consultation
If you have questions about the feasibility of your experiment, research methods, research planning, etc., please send your questions directly to med-support@spring8.or.jp.
10. Contact
SPring-8 Users Office/JASRI
1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5198 Japan
email: sp8jasri@spring8.or.jp