Life Sciences Awards (85.104)

Program

85.104 Life Sciences Awards

Federal Agency

Agency: Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation

Authorization

Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Coins and Fellowship Foundation, Title IV, Section 400-429, Public Law 102-281, 106 Stat. 139-145, 20 U.S.C 5701-5708.

Program Number

85.104

Last Known Status

Active

Objectives

To encourage and promote "cutting edge" innovation in the field of life sciences.

Types of Assistance

Direct Payments with Unrestricted Use

Uses and Use Restrictions

No restrictions.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicant Eligibility

Nominees must be involved in the field of life sciences research or life sciences education as follows: an adult scientist or researcher; a current secondary school AP Biology or AP Chemistry educator; one current secondary school student in both AP Biology or AP Chemistry respectively.

Beneficiary Eligibility

In public/private partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Foundation will present four Life Sciences Awards to U.S. citizens permitted by their employer or any other relevant authority to accept a monetary award bestowed by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation, a Federal government agency. Four monetary awards will be presented as follows: one $25,000 award to an adult scientist or researcher; one $10,000 award to a current secondary school AP Biology or AP Chemistry educator; and a $5,000 award to a current secondary school student in biology and chemistry respectively who are judged to exemplify excellence in life sciences.

Credentials/Documentation

No Credentials or documentation are required. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-87.

Application and Award Process

Preapplication Coordination

Preapplication coordination is not applicable. Environmental impact information is not required for this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure

This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-102. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-110. Only Nominations that meet the eligibility requirements are accepted. Nominations will be accepted from all 50 States, territories and possessions. All Nominations are received online at www.ccolumbusfoundationawards.org. The deadline is January 12, 2009.

Award Procedure

All Nominations are read by the Board of Trustees of the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation to select the Semifinalists. Nominators are notified of the Nominee�s selection as a Semifinalist and asked to provide background material to support the Nomination. A national Evaluation Committee reviews and comments on the Semifinalist�s background material. The Foundation Board and the U.S. Chamber ultimately select the winners. The Awards will be presented in Washington, DC on April 30, 2009.

Deadlines

Jan 12, 2009

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time

Not Applicable.

Appeals

Not Applicable.

Renewals

Not Applicable.

Assistance Considerations

Formula and Matching Requirements

Statutory formulas are not applicable to this program.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this program.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this program.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance

Not applicable. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: lump sum.

Post Assistance Requirements

Reports

Audits

Not Applicable.

Records

Not applicable.

Program Accomplishments

Fiscal Year 2008: In 2008, the first annual Life Sciences Awards, sponsored by the public-private partnership of the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation, a Federal government agency, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce were presented. Christine E. Schmidt, Ph.D., Laurence E. McMakin Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, at The University of Texas at Austin was awarded the $25,000 Chairmen�s Distinguished Life Sciences Award. Dr. Schmidt was honored for her research in neural cell and tissue engineering, a subfield within bioengineering. Dr. Schmidt has invented a chemical process to modify human nerve tissue so it may be utilized for patients with nerve damage. In particular, she works on engineering advanced biomaterials and therapeutic devices to stimulate damaged peripheral and spinal neurons to regenerate and promote healing of damaged nerve tissue due to traumatic injuries, cancer and other diseases. Paul Cammer, Ph.D., Director, Neurobiology Research Laboratory, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) in Alexandria, VA, was awarded the $10,000 Life Sciences Educator Award. Dr. Cammer was honored for his innovative and challenging teaching methods. In 2007, TJ, a science magnet school, was ranked as the number one high school in the Nation by U.S. News and World Report. Stori Jensen, a senior at Brighton High School, Salt Lake City, UT, was awarded the $5,000 Life Sciences Biology Student Award. Stori was honored for her after-school research conducted under the supervision of Dr. Andres V. Maricq in the neurobiology laboratory at the University of Utah. During her research, Stori isolated and identified pharmacological agents found in the venom of cone snails which modulate the function of the brain. Her research has led to a major discovery in brain function and the treatment of neurological disorders, which has been patented � with Stori as an equal partner in the patent. Peter Kamel, junior at Centennial High School in Ellicott City, MD, was awarded the $5,000 Life Sciences Chemistry Student Award. Peter was honored for his after-school research at the Johns Hopkins Hospital on a patent-pending artificial tissue material that changes color in response to an internal temperature influence. The change is a result of a cascade of chemical reactions that take place when the tissue is heated. Peter�s research findings are important, as doctors will be able to accurately profile tissue damage when treating cancer through a procedure known as heat ablation. Fiscal Year 2009: In 2009, the second annual Life Sciences Awards, sponsored by the public-private partnership of the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce were presented. Bryon Petersen, Ph.D., at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL, was awarded the $25,000 Chairmen�s Distinguished Life Sciences Award. Dr. Petersen is recognized worldwide as a foremost authority in hepatic stem cells and their role in liver pathobiology. He is currently conducting research in stem cell biology and how it relates to the patho-physiology of the liver. This research shows that bone marrow derived cells could become functioning hepatocytes, and several clinical trials have been attempted based upon his discovery. Additionally, Dr. Petersen is investigating the usefulness of gene/stem cell therapy in the treatment of certain inherited metabolic diseases of the liver�Crigler-Najjar Syndrome (C-NS) and Glycogen Storage Disease (GSD). Children with C-NS are unable to eliminate bilirubin from their bodies and, therefore, must undergo daily 12-hour exposure to special blue lights, just to survive. Without daily treatments, a child would suffer brain damage, muscle and nerve damage and death due to bilirubin toxicity. Children with GSD suffer in a different way, having to eat/drink a corn-starch meal every four hours to maintain their blood glucose levels. If they don�t, they become hypoglycemic and will fall into a coma and die. His studies combine two high-profile fields�stem cells and gene therapy�that will hopefully cure these children of their disease, not just treat them. Beenu Gupta, Biology teacher at The Charter School of Wilmington, Wilmington, DE, was awarded the $10,000 Life Sciences Educator Award. Beenu�s classroom is dubbed the �Disneyland of Biology.� Students have been known to sing and dance as they dive into Molecular Biology. Mrs. Gupta said: �I have always been passionate about learning and teaching, so I decided to become a high school teacher, where I could provide a solid foundation for college-bound students. My goal has always been to make learning fun, and a life-long experience.� The Charter School of Wilmington is a college preparatory high school with a focus on mathematics and science and was ranked 41st in U.S. News and World Reports� America's Best High Schools 2008. Henry Zheng, a senior at Centennial High School in Ellicott City, MD, was awarded the $5,000 Life Sciences Biology Student Award. Henry has been conducting research at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory since his sophomore year of high school. Under the supervision of Dr. Jeffery Lesho, Biomedical Engineering Group, Henry has worked on his computational neuroscience project that improves the performance of an arm prosthesis. He has received many awards and recognition for this research including the international 2008 FUSION conference in K�ln, Germany and in 2009 from coast to coast�Seattle, Washington to Washington, D.C. Justin Grzyb, a senior at Westchester Country Day School, High Point, NC, was awarded the $5,000 Life Sciences Chemistry Student Award. Since his freshman year in high school, Justin has spent his summers at The Johns Hopkins University. Working for two years under the supervision of Professor Tim Weihs, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Justin researched and learned about technology surrounding NanoFoil, a reactive thin film composed of alternating, nano-scaled layers of Nickel and Aluminum. He then successfully completed his own project�to find a way to create uniform, curved particles of NanoFoil, and then measure the reaction velocity of these particles inside a vacuum. His work was acknowledged in two different research papers, and he is the co-inventor on a provisional patent for creating microscopic particles of NanoFoil. Fiscal Year 2010: Number of Awards will increase from four to nine Awards.

Financial Information

Account Identification

76-0100-0-7-502.

Obligations

(Direct Payments with Unrestricted Use) FY 08 $45,000; FY 09 est $45,000; FY 10 est $110,000 - In 2008 and 2009, Awards were presented as follows: one $25,000 Award per year to a scientist/researcher; one $10,000 Award per year for a high school AP Biology or AP Chemistry teacher; one $5,000 Award per year for an AP Biology student and one $5,000 Award per year for an AP Chemistry student. In 2010, two $25,000 Awards will be presented to scientists/researchers; three $10,000 Awards will be presented to high school science educators; one $15,000 Award will be presented to a university student; and three $5,000 Awards will be presented to high schools AP students.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance

$5,000-$25,000.

Regulations, Guidelines and Literature

Not Applicable.

Related Programs

Not Applicable.

Information Contacts

Regional or Local Office

None.

Headquarters Office

Judith Shellenberger 110 Genesee Street, Suite 390, Auburn, New York 13021 Email: JUDITHMSCOLUMBUS@CS.COM Phone: (315) 258-0090 Fax: (315) 258-0093

Web Site Address

http://www.ccolumbusfoundationawards.org or http://www.columbusfdn.org

Examples of Funded Projects

Not Applicable.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals

Not Applicable.