Small Business, Big Dreams: Women in Business Challenge

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) encourages applications for investigator-initiated mid-phase clinical trials of natural products(i.e., botanicals, dietary supplements, and probiotics), which have a strong scientific premise to justify further clinical testing. For this NOFO, natural products include promising nutritional regimens that standardize the amount of a specific naturally occurring nutritional compound (e.g., omega-3 fatty acids, anthocyanidins, or polyphenols) and have compelling preliminary evidence. All applications submitted under this NOFO must be supported by sufficient preliminary data demonstrating bioavailability (if applicable) and documentation that the natural product produces a reproducible and measurable impact on target engagement (i.e., measure of the mechanism of action). Only in cases when it is not possible/practical to measure target engagement in the patient population of interest or when there is a fundamental understanding of the products mechanism of action will this preliminary data requirement be waived. Applications submitted to this NOFO should propose a mid-phase clinical trial to do the following: determine the optimal dose or formulation of a given natural product for use in a future multi-site efficacy trial; or determine which patient phenotypes will be responders versus non-responders to the natural product to inform inclusion/exclusion criteria of a future efficacy trial. Clinical trials submitted under this NOFO are expected to be hypothesis based, milestone-driven, and directly related to the research priorities and mission of NCCIH. This NOFO will not support single-site or multi-site efficacy or effectiveness trials, nor will it support trials to test natural products for the treatment or prevention of cancer. Applicants are encouraged to contact the appropriate NCCIH Scientific/Research contact for the area of science for which they are planning to develop an application prior to submitting to this NO

The SBIG program provides a meaningful return on investment from the Commonwealth to encourage individuals or special purpose entities (created for the purpose of investing in small businesses) to make cash investments in Virginia’s small businesses for working capital, growth, and expansion. SBIG grants are awarded to eligible Investors that have invested in eligible small businesses. They are not grants awarded to the small business that received the investment.

The City of Appleton offers multiple grant programs for businesses: The Business Recruitment Grant offers $1,000 boost grants to businesses that need a little extra capital to move downtown or open a new business there. The Façade Improvement Grant offers grants to businesses that need assistance in enhancing their exterior aesthetics. Businesses can receive between $2,500 and $5,000 to use on minor improvements (such as painting and lighting) or facade renovations (like window upgrades).

The Biosensing program is part of the Engineering Biology and Health cluster, which also includes 1) the Biophotonics program; 2) the Cellular and Biochemical Engineering program; 3) the Disability and Rehabilitation Engineering program; and 4) the Engineering of Biomedical Systems program. The Biosensing program supports fundamental engineering research in the monitoring, identification and/or quantification of biological analytes and phenomena using innovations that exist at the intersection of engineering, life sciences, and information technology. Projects submitted to the program must advance both engineering and life sciences. The Biosensing program encourages proposals that, in addition to advancing biosensing technology, address critical sensor needs in biomedical research, public health, food safety, agriculture, forensics, environmental protection, and homeland security. Proposals are especially encouraged in areas of critical need: sensing technologies that can enable monitoring and surveillance of the environment and/or individuals for novel infectious agents; platform technologies that can readily be modified as soon as new agents are detected, sequenced, and/or otherwise characterized to enable rapid deployment of sensors in clinics and the environment; and adaptive and/or multiplex sensing technologies that can help the nation prevent the spread of the next global pandemic. Major areas of interest for the program include: -Novel signal transduction principles and mechanisms that enable sensitive and specific biosensors, suitable for measurements in multiple areas; -Design of novel biorecognition elements and appropriately designed transducing systems to enable adaptable and/or reconfigurable operating parameters in response to environmental changes or application needs at levels of device, system, or data analysis; -Development of adaptive and/or evolvable biosensing systems for detection of novel target analytes or analytes under novel conditions; -Novel synthetic biology approaches for the development of cell-free and cell-based biosensors; and -Combining biosensors with artificial intelligence (AI) methods to improve sensor specificity and response time.

VCEDA’s Coalfield Workforce Development and Training Fund is a source of loan and/or grant funds to assist with workforce development and training in the VCEDA Region. Eligible applicants for the Coalfield Workforce Development and Training Fund include for-profit enterprises or entities, governmental or corporate instrumentalities in the coalfield region of Virginia, not-for-profit enterprises or entities, nonprofit industrial development corporations, economic development authorities, or industrial development authorities. Funds may be approved as loans and/or grants. Funds may be approved and used for workforce development and training and associated costs, including costs and expenses of curriculum development, training equipment, training facilities construction, instructional materials, stipends, scholarships, tuition, internships, training or retraining instructional costs, retraining costs, recruiting expenses, job advertisements, pre-employment classes, assessments, classroom instructional expenses, process skill instruction, and/or instructor travel expenses, and costs associated with the foregoing. The program is funded from revenues that were previously generated by the Coalfield Employment Enhancement Tax Credit.