Anyone who is employed as a regular rank faculty member (tenure or non-tenure track) on the start date of the award, September 1, 2026, is eligible to apply. Since there is a relatively long lead time between this RFP announcement and the start of funding, some potential applicants might become regular rank faculty during the interim. If that is expected to be the case for any of the team leads, briefly explain in the LOI and full proposal.
Dream Teams are expected to seek external funding for long-term continuation after the 3rd year of DIBS support ends. To clarify, we mean funding external to DIBS. External funders could include federal agencies, private foundations, industry, philanthropy, other units within Duke, or any other sources or combinations. Demonstrate in your LOI and full proposal that you've thought this through and have a tentative plan for sustaining your Dream Team into the future.
To be explicit about the range of topics allowed, it is open-ended. Proposals can focus on the brain sciences, clinical translation, computation/AI, engineering, humanities, arts, law, business, etc., or any combination. DIBS has no predetermined list of “wants”. We encourage all creative, exciting ideas related to the brain.
Spending is expected to include a mix of community-building events, training opportunities, and research programs. Example budget items could include in-person meetings/meals, retreats, travel expenses for an invited expert consultant, a seminar series, publication costs, undergraduate course development, research supplies for pilot data, and effort for personnel. Effort may be charged to the award up to a total of $10k per year combined across personnel.
Each Dream Team will be required to report on their activities annually, with funding in years 2 and 3 contingent on progress as defined by milestones in the proposal. Examples of milestones: community-building events, new interdisciplinary course proposals, publications, or medical or entrepreneurial deliverables.
In the LOI and full proposal, please specify who will be the team leads (equivalent to “Co-PIs”). At a minimum they must include at least three faculty having primary appointments in at least two schools within Duke. More team leads is fine. A single fund code will be issued to the Dream Team, and team leads are jointly responsible for the spending. One or more fund codes from the team leads will be required as a backstop in case of overspending.
No. DIBS Incubator and Germinator awards fund new research projects. In contrast, Dream Team awards fund collectives of experts to nurture the growth of a new, broad community centered on an exciting common interest. We expect that new research projects will emerge organically as an outcome of Dream Team activities, but we are not looking for specific research plans at the application stage.
Yes, but applications from existing DIBS Interest Groups will be evaluated the same as all the others. All faculty, whether in groups currently supported by DIBS or not, are encouraged to apply. DIBS wants to ensure that it identifies and prioritize the most vital, timely, forward-thinking ideas.