Liver Abscesses in Beef Cattle: Call for Letters of Intent

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About Liver Abscesses in Beef Cattle: Call for Letters of Intent

The International Consortium for Antimicrobial Stewardship in Agriculture (ICASA), one of the largest public-private partnerships focused on antibiotic stewardship in animal agriculture, is soliciting calls for research concepts to prevent liver abscesses in beef cattle.

Liver abscesses typically affect up to 32 percent of beef cattle, sometimes more, and occur in most U.S. feedlots. The condition is caused by bacteria crossing from an animal’s gastrointestinal tract into the bloodstream, where they accumulate in the liver.

While affected animals show no signs of liver abscess externally, the syndrome can reduce feed efficiency, cause condemnation of potentially edible products and result in increased trimming of meat at the processor, all which further impacts value. Although antibiotics are commonly used to prevent and control liver abscesses, the disease is still highly prevalent and costs producers approximately $30 million annually.

Animal scientists and veterinarians do not fully understand how liver abscesses form and why prevalence rates vary under different scenarios. Part of this challenge is that the syndrome is difficult to reproduce under controlled conditions. Accurate research models would help improve our understanding of the causes of liver abscesses and enable the investigation of new treatment strategies.

ICASA is soliciting research concepts on understanding the etiology and pathogenesis, and developing new models, for liver abscesses in beef cattle. Applicants should describe how their research enhances responsible antibiotic use, reduces the potential for resistance and/or provides actionable information that can be used by stakeholders.

Application Guidelines

Am I eligible to apply?

The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research welcomes applications from institutions of Higher Education, non-profit and for-profit organizations, government-affiliated researchers and domestic and international organizations.

Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) is invited to work with his/her organization to develop an application for support.

Do I need to provide matching funds?

Yes, matching funds are required for this opportunity.

How do I apply?

Applications must be submitted through FFAR’s online application receipt system. If you are a new user, register for an account by clicking the green “Register” button at the top right corner of the home page. You will receive a confirmation email to activate your account before you can sign-in to your account. Once you log in, click on the corresponding program to start your application.

Only applications submitted through this portal will be considered eligible for evaluation. FFAR will not accept applications submitted by any other medium. There is a one-hour grace period for all deadlines. Applications that are not submitted by the deadline or within the grace period will not be accepted. To be fair to all our applicants, FFAR cannot grant an extension to applicants who missed the deadlines posted in the Key Dates section.

What should I include in my application?

Applications must be submitted through FFAR’s online application receipt system.

Application Components

  • Project Title
  • Project Duration
  • Geographic location (city, state, congressional district) where the applicant organization is located.
  • Geographic location (city, state, congressional district) where the proposed research will be conducted.
  • Describe stakeholder groups to be served by the proposed project (500 words)
  • Have you identified barriers that might inhibit the uptake and adoption of your research outcome(s)?
  • Have you identified barriers that might hinder the optimal or intended use of your research outcome(s)?
  • Will your research outcome(s) be scale neutral?
  • Key Personnel
  • Project Executive Summary (500 words)
  • Public Abstract (250 words)
  • Project Description (3,000 words)
  • Project Goals and Objectives
  • Anticipated Outcomes or Outputs (500 words)
  • Data and Information Management Plan (500 words)
  • Intellectual Property Management Plan (500 words)
  • Organization Assurances
    • Research involving human subjects
    • Research involving vertebrate animals
    • Research involving Recombinant DNA
    • Research involving National Security implications
    • Research involving hazardous materials
    • Research involving human fetal tissue
    • Research involving NEPA review
  • Proposed budget (please note FFAR limits indirect costs to 10% of total award)
    • Total FFAR funding request
    • Total matching funds (at least 50% cash match, required)
    • Total proposed budget (FFAR funds + matching funds)
  • Budget justification (up to 1000 words)
  • Current and Pending Support Form: complete for everyone listed as PI or Key personnel on the project

Attachments

  • Required Attachments
    • Budget Form
    • Matching Funds Verification: Please attach a completed Match Verification Letter from each funder providing support on this project.
    • PI and Key Personnel Biosketch: three-page limit per individual listed as PI or key personnel in the project
    • Project timeline (by year)
    • References cited
  • Optional attachments to support project description: This section should not be used to circumvent the page/word limit for the Research Program Plan Section.
    • Letters of Support: Applicants can provide letters of institutional, collaborator, or stakeholder support for the proposed project, especially from matching funders. Please combine all letters of support into a single PDF document before uploading as an attachment.
    • Graphics, Figures, Equations, and Tables: The textbox for the Research Program Plan does not support equations, tables, graphics, and figures. Applicants may upload a PDF document with graphics, figures, tables, or a list of equations to support the research program plan. Five-page limit.