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The Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) invites 2009A medical bio trial use proposals as part of the medical bio program, which is designed to enhance the contribution of SR to medical bio research and the use of SR by new users. Since medical bio trial use 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 medical bio EX proposal beamtime as your second choice and general proposal beamtime as your third choice at one time when submitting a medical bio trial use proposal (See Important Notes about Proposal Submission).

1. Eligible Areas of Research
In the field of medical bio research which seeks to determine the causes of major diseases and to develop their diagnostic and treatment methods, users are required to conduct one of the following research:
a) High spatial resolution analysis of living organisms (animals), tissues and cells
   (Specifically, research using the X-ray CT, contrast imaging or fluorescence mapping as an experimental method)
b) Biological effects of high-intensity microbeam irradiation
c) Research relating to one of the above

2. Research Period
A certain amount of beamtime is allocated for 2008B medical bio trial use proposals from April through July 2009.

3. Beamlines and the Number of Shifts Available to Users (8 hours/shift)

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 Trial Use 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 medical bio EX proposal as your second choice and general proposal as your third choice at one time when submitting a medical bio trial use 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: medical bio EX proposal, 3rd choice: general proposal).
d. On the online application form, please describe your research purpose and experimental method in detail so that the significance of your research can be understood by the reviewers who are not specialists in your area. Also please make sure that your research can be completed during the half-year research term. Comprehensive research projects will be screened out.
e. If you are not sure what beamline is best suited for your research, please choose the beamline BL20B2 on the application form.
f. On the Basic Information page of the application form, please choose "Life Science" for the review field. Also make sure to choose one that suits your research from the Subgroup pull-down menu; otherwise, the proposal cannot be submitted.
g. If you are unfamiliar with the web-based proposal submission system and if you need help, please contact the SPring-8 Users Office (see 10. Contact).

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), significance in the field of medical bio, namely, the contribution to determining the causes of major diseases and developing the diagnostic and treatment methods is also considered. Furthermore, special emphasis will be placed on new users and new proposals to encourage more diversified use of SR: a medical bio trial use proposal with the same application details submitted by the same project leader can be considered for review up to twice.

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 Trial Use Proposal Report
Please submit a " Medical Bio Trial Use 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 (8 hours) incl. tax
   Variable Fee: calculated based on the amount actually used

Important: Supported by the Government's treasury, part of the user fees and the cost of preparing samples were covered 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