OCASCR: Shared Equipment Grant

The OCASCR Shared Equipment Grant provides essential funding for equipment to enhance adult stem cell and regenerative medicine research in Oklahoma. This program, backed by the Oklahoma Center for Adult Stem Cell Research, promotes collaboration among universities and private institutions, ensuring cutting-edge resources are available to researchers. Grants range from $27,000 to $450,000, with an average of $150,000 awarded. Eligible applicants include Oklahoma Principal Investigators with relevant qualifications and institutional support.

Oklahoma Center for Adult Stem Cell Research (OCASCR) Grants Program
In 2010, the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) established OCASCR to promote research in the emerging field of adult stem cell biology in Oklahoma. Since then, adult stem cell research has flourished in our state, and Oklahoma universities, research foundations, and biotechnology companies are now fortunate to employee many world-recognized investigators who conduct research in this area. In 2019, OCASCR expanded its focus to include research in regenerative medicine—a field that is closely related to adult stem cell biology and that strives to restore the normal functions of cells, tissues, and organs that have been damaged by disease. OCASCR joins TSET in acknowledging that smoking- and obesity-related diseases are particularly deadly in Oklahoma and is therefore keen on promoting regenerative medicine research that is relevant to these diseases. The overall goal of OCASCR is to help adult stem cell and regenerative medicine research thrive in Oklahoma and to serve as a trusted resource for public information on these topics.
Requests for shared equipment should include a manufacturer’s quote and information about users. The instrumentation should be part of a core facility and available to investigators in other institutions. The budget should only include the cost of the equipment. It is assumed that personnel or supply costs will be absorbed by the institution or charged to users.
Funding
The average equipment grant awarded over the last 3 years has been about $150,000. The smallest equipment grant awarded was $27,000, and the largest was $450,000.
Requests for small equipment (<$10,000) can be included in a Research Grant budget, provided the equipment is critical for the proposed research. OCASCR also awards Shared Equipment Grants, which facilitate purchase of equipment that becomes available to all Oklahoma scientists via the virtual OCASCR Core Facility—regardless of whether the equipment is housed in an individual lab or in an institutional core facility. Large equipment purchased through this Shared Equipment Grant mechanism (>$50,000) is often complemented with matching funds.

Eligibility

Any Oklahoma Principal Investigator working with adult stem cells and/or regenerative medicine is eligible to apply. Applications from universities, research institutions, and private industry are welcome. To be eligible to receive an OCASCR grant, the principal investigator must meet the following criteria:Hold a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) or equivalent degree (i.e. D.O.).Be a professional or faculty member (Professor, Associate Professor or Assistant Professor) at an appropriate educational, medical or research institution. Be qualified to conduct and mentor a program of original research within their own independent laboratory.Assume both administrative and financial responsibility for the grant.
Have access to institutional resources necessary to conduct the proposed research projectGrants are accepted for equipment.OCASCR grants are awarded for 1 year.

Ineligibility

Research track investigators (i.e. Research Assistant Professor or Research Assistant Member) and trainees (i.e. predoctoral or postdoctoral fellows) are not eligible.