By GREGORY ZELLER //
Throw another $700,000 onto the pile of generous – and smart, according to the ROI – investments made by Stony Brook University’s Office of the Vice President of Research.
The OVPR Seed Grant Program, designed to give SBU faculty a competitive edge in securing outside research grants and other external support, has backed 13 additional studies through its Spring 2023 funding round. That pushes the program’s seed investments in the current fiscal year to $1.7 million and close to $5.5 million total through 12 funding rounds.
The investments have paid off: The university estimates that OVPR Seed Grant Program-funded research projects have subsequently attracted roughly $36 million in add-on external funding – a “six-fold return on investment,” according to SBU.
That’s proof-positive that the OVPR Seed Grant Program is working as designed, according to SBU Vice President for Research Richard Reeder.
Richard Reeder: Spreading it around.
“The main mission of [the program] is to support the development of research activities,” Reeder noted this week.
The studies supported in the Spring 2023 tranche include an attempt by a combined marine sciences/geology team to reconstruct paleo-fisheries, research by a radiologist pursuing new-and-improved radiation treatments and a multidisciplinary effort focused on cognitive function after traumatic brain injuries.
The 13 new studies follow 19 research projects supported through the $1 million Summer 2022 funding round, including a student-focused sleep/depression study, experimental physics for improved offshore-wind farm design and a comprehensive initiative to turn local libraries into community-resilience hubs.
By rotating OVPR rewards through the university’s College of Arts and Sciences, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Renaissance School of Medicine, School of Health Professions and School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, the Seed Grant Program ensures Stony Brook’s brightest minds – across all disciplines – get a running start on their most ambitious research.
And there’s more to come, according to Reeder.
“The OVPR Seed Grant Program is one of our most important tools,” the vice president noted. “It allows our researchers to develop new ideas and strongly position themselves to successfully compete for external funding.
“Expanding this program is one of my main priorities as VPR.”
