The overall goals of the Enrichment Programs at the Mount Sinai Skin Biology and Diseases Resource-based Center (SBDRC) are to ensure that our activities benefit investigators broadly across the region, lower cost barriers to high-end technologies, expand and diversify the community of skin researchers, and promote a creative and holistic approach to research in skin biology and diseases. These goals are accomplished through the SBDRC/BFSCI/Dermatology Department Pilot Grant Program, the User Scholarship Program, and the Skin Scholars Program.
SBDRC/BFSCI/Dermatology Department Pilot Grant Program
The SBDRC/BFSCI/Dermatology Department Pilot Grant Program is a joint program run by SBDRC in conjunction with the Black Family Stem Cell Institute (BFSCI), and the Dermatology Department at Mount Sinai. A pilot grant program is announced annually. Pilot grants are available for established investigators newly entering skin research, junior faculty lacking RO1 grants, postdoctoral fellows transitioning to independence, and research-oriented dermatology residents.
User Scholarship Program
A significant portion of the Sinai SBDRC Administrative Core enrichment budget is devoted to supporting the Sinai SBDRC User Scholarship Program. The goal of this program is to reduce the cost of high-end technologies and services available from the SBDRC Resource Cores for projects in skin biology and diseases.
User Scholarships may fund an entire small project or a single experiment. Each User Scholarship can provide up to $5,000. Applications are accepted from internal and external SBDRC faculty members.
To apply for a User Scholarship, an applicant must provide:
- a one-page (maximum) description of the project and the SBDRC resources that will be used
- a quote from a SBDRC Resource Core for requested services.
Applications are judged on:
- scientific merit
- appropriateness for SBDRC Core services
- demonstrated cost barrier
There is no deadline, and applications are accepted and reviewed monthly by the Executive Committee. Applicants will be notified immediately upon acceptance so that experiments can begin as soon as regulatory approvals are in place. Examples of services that can be supported by a User Scholarship include but are not limited to high-throughput sequencing, single cell transcriptomics or spatial transcriptomics, derivation of patient-derived iPSC cell line, and bioinformatic data analysis.
For more information about the Sinai SBDRC User Scholarship program or to apply, please contact Marcelle Niles at SBDRC@mssm.edu.
Mount Sinai Skin Scholars Program
The Mount Sinai Skin Scholars Program provides underserved minority East Harlem high school students with didactic teaching and hands-on laboratory experience in skin biology and disease research through a summer preparatory program and laboratory internships. This program is run in partnership with Mount Sinai’s Center for Excellence in Youth Education (CEYE).