19 replies to this topic

[kmoody]

I wanted to start a new thread regarding the possibility of the Immortality Institute providing funding MFURI. I apologize I have not made a stronger appearance during these deliberations, but the AMEX proposal write-up and the three students I am overseeing have taken up some considerable time.

The Official Request:
MFURI is asking the Immortality Institute to match the Methuselah Foundation's pledge of $2,000 in scholarship funds to support students who are working on MFURI projects (two $500 scholarships per semester).

Concern 1 - ImmInst does not want to support to students not directly working on SENS research

Proposed Solution: Scholarship applications go through a MF established review panel. Applications that survive the initial screening and are from students directly involved with SENS research will be sent to the Imminst administration for review. ImmInst approved projects will be posted in the "Members Only" section of this website and ImmInst members will be able to vote to determine which two students will receive the scholarships. This way, ImmInst funding will be sent exactly where desired, and members will have the opportunity to choose where their funding will go.

Concern 2 - The ImmInst is concerned about making a long term committment

Proposed Solution: The committment is $2,000 over the period of one year, with an optional yearly renewal. As such, the ImmInst can simply choose to discontinue funding MFURI is not advantageous enough (although I am very confident in the program).

Concern 3 - Should the ImmInst fund student scholarships or provide grant funding?

Proposed Solution: I believe the present need is for scholarship funding. If we have competative scholarships we can bring top students into the program and retain their interest. There have been concerns about the ImmInst not being able to provide enough grant funding for full science projects, and other concerns about being so heavily invested financially in MFURI. The simple answer is to fund $2,000 in scholarships for a single year and see how the program develops. If it yields quality student work, then further and continued investment is reasonable.

Concern 4 - Lack of MFURI Structure

Response: The MF board of directors is currently organizing a review panel for MF scholarships and grants. The organizational procedures of how this will be achieved have been outlined in detail, but have not been published to the existing MFURI website because it will soon be replaced by a new site.

[kmoody]

I will do my best to check up on this post regularly and am here to answer any questions or concerns about our request for ImmInst's involvement with MFURI.

[Mind]

I like the solution of having members vote on which students will receive the scholarship money (and perhaps a leadership vote as well, maybe a weighted vote). This would relieve the responsibility of Imminst convening its own review board which was a concern because of time/volunteer constraints.

This appears to be a reasonable solution to move this forward in a timely fashion (especially now that the Fall semester has begun). Other leaders please comment ASAP!

[Mind]

Other leaders please comment ASAP!

Hmmm, no comments?

I will try to get Mr. Moody in for this week's board meeting and we can set up something that can be voted on and approved.

[AgeVivo]

personal position:
-1st objective: getting money for anti-aging research
-then yes, rather for mfuri and/or SENS

[Richard Leis]

I am finding the forum paradigm a horrible way of trying to keep up with the latest issues that need attention...

Anyway, thank you, Kelsey, for addressing these concerns. The proposed solutions address any reluctance I had before.

[JMorgan]

I support anything that integrates the Immortality Institute with projects or research done by the Methuselah Foundation.

Now that the American Express members project has failed (!) we should look into supporting this ourselves, even in some limited capacity.

[Mind]

During the last Board meeting, this was discussed again and the only detail that needs to be ironed out is how the scholarship money is spent. Some interested parties want to make sure the money is spent on students pursuing "hard-science" type research and not supporting MFURI infrastructure or social aspects of longevity research. It doesn't have to be SENS related research, just have more of a biotech angle. So we are close.

[caliban]

Other leaders please comment ASAP!

I have commented on this aspect in the voice meeting.

MFURI is asking the Immortality Institute to match the Methuselah Foundation's pledge of $2,000 in scholarship funds to support students who are working on MFURI projects (two $500 scholarships per semester).

If this money is matched as requested, will this mean that now four scholarships per semester are offered?

Concern 1 - ImmInst does not want to support to students not directly working on SENS research

I am not aware that such a concern has been expressed. Concerns were expressed about offereing a structural subsidy to MFURI rather than to individual students and about sponsoring research in social science rather than in biomedical strands.

Concern 2 - The ImmInst is concerned about making a long term committment

I am not aware that such a concern has been expressed. Obviously, the Institute will need to evaluate the success of this investment at periodic intervals.

Concern 3 - Should the ImmInst fund student scholarships or provide grant funding?

As stated repeatedly, Imminst would seek to sponsor practical research rather than MFURI overheads. Apart from that, the money can be spend by the researcher as preferred-- to cover living expenses, to attend scientific conferences, or to buy consumables.

Concern 4 - Lack of MFURI Structure

This concern persists on my part. I am however optimistic that the Methuselah Foundation will be able to assemble a very capable review panel.


In summary: I suggest a new vote be brought before the board which specifies that
a— the donation will be spend in full on scholarship stipends for students
b— the students will participate in a scientific research project on life extension, preferably in an applied natural science field
c— suitable candidates will be selected by a properly appointed review panel
d— at the end of each semester that the stipend is disbursed, a short report on the research will be shared with ImmInst and the Foundation

I am happy to draw up a formal contract, but I don’t think that such a formal document is essential if we receive a proposal along the lines outlined above. The board would then vote again on the initiative.
Irrespective of this proposal, every member of ImmInst can initiate a spending proposal by either asking for treasure chest money, petioning the board or by calling a referendum.

[Shannon Vyff]

Thank you for drawing up a contract, it will be nice to specify guidelines, that are still only general guidelines.

[kmoody]

Caliban, thank you for presenting your concerns and position so appropriately. If you will provide me your e-mail address (just e-mail me at kelsey.moody@mfoundation.org) I can send you some of the logistical information of how MFURI is structured and put to rest your concerns about organization within the program and our review panels.

Regarding the funding, I can write a proposal. Would you like me to include my initial suggestions of letting ImmInst members vote on the project, or how would you like things arranged logistically? If you feel as though there is potential for confusion, it may be beneficial for you to write us an offer with your terms and conditions clearly listed, so that we can make absolutely certain to accomidate the wishes of ImmInst in this matter. I would like to place as much of the designing power in your hands so as to avoid any complications or miscommunications in this regard. Please advise whether you would prefer me to write it, or if you would like to.

[kmoody]

Caliban,

I received your e-mail but my reply to you was rejected so I will post it here. I have spoken with the MF board. The following is my correspondence with Aubrey which I am to convey to you.

"The logistics [for scholarship applicants]will be as for the grant applications that our postgrad
researchers, especially John S, send the board periodically. As CSO I
will oversee the process and make the final decision. I will do so
after consulting those in the MF team who are best placed to evaluate
the project (this will typically include Michael and Ben and will
often include one or more of our researchers). On occasions where I
feel the expertise available in-house is not enough to perform an
adequate evaluation, I will solicit external review, again from
(generally juniur) SENS-related researchers.

I would be keen to include outside help from more senior people, but
the size of these awards is an issue there - such people are crazy
busy and they must prioritise work that will make the most impact,
which generally means big grant applications.

I have considered the possibility of appointing a review board of
fixed composition, but I think that the only people with a
sufficiently general and in-depth understanding of SENS are Michael,
Ben and myself. If ImmInst feel that it would be beneficial to have us
three officially advertised as the review board, I'd be sympathetic to
considering that. Let me know."

Basically students would submit a completed form (can be viewed in the MFURI library) with 1-3 letters of recommendation to scholarships@mfuri.org. This information would be filtered and qualified applicants would be sent to the scholarship review board. Recipients will be decided as stated above. This will be the process for all MFURI students, not just the science students.

As you would like your funding exclusively given to science researchers, we can do one of the following:
1.) Guarentee that your $2,000 contribution will be awarded to only science students
2.) Award our scholarships seperately (but using the same application process) and forward all applications from science students to you to decide on (with this model some students may receive multiple scholarships, one from us and one from you)
3.) Treat the ImmInst scholarship as completely seperate from the MF one, including different applications. I would forward you all applications. We can specific under requirements that students must be working in the science program of MFURI.

Please let me know if this is specific enough, or if you need further information. Again, the actual application is in the MFURI library but may be slightly modified as we continue to improve the program. Sorry for the delay on this, I needed to coordinate with the MF board.

[Mind]

#1 or #2 are fine with me.

#2 would be interesting as we could put it to a vote of members, getting more people involved in the process and letting members know their donations are being put to good work. It would bring some more publicity for MFURI as well.

[Richard Leis]

#1 is sufficient, #2 is over and above (and might be a nice option for advertising projects and getting more ImmInst members involved in the process), and #3 is not necessary.

[kmoody]

I leave it up to you guys however you would like to handle things logistically. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns as you progress to a decision. Thank you.

[brokenportal]

What do you guys think about a monthly or maybe quarterly or something, regular donation of $500 or so dollars to MFURI? Its something Imminst could put its name on to ad to its resume. "The Quarterly $500 MFURI, Imminst sponsored scholarship goes to..." you know, that kind of thing.

[Lazarus Long]

As directors we could apply our discretionary funds to this proposal as well but the basic concerns remain. However doing so is not an automatically renewing commitment from year to year.

This approach only requires a proposal of funding be made to the entire board for review and individual responses do not require a majority vote though they could be vetoed by the Chair or a vote of the members.

Caliban has addressed many of my own concerns and I think there needs to be a minimum GPA requirement and a core GPA requirement as well, these are not the same. I definitely think that there should be a sign off from a senior member of the schools related science department as well, especially to ensure actual research will follow the grant *incentive*.

There should not have to be a promise of research associated with the proposal but if one is made I would like to see it validated. Also we should ensure that winners are submitted for peer reviewed publication consideration in say the PLoS Biology Journal or some equivalent.

[Mind]

We have provided $2,000 dollars worth of scholarship money to MFURI that will be awarded this Spring (need to check their website to make sure). When those are awarded, $500 a piece, we can promote it. Heck, if the students needed a little guidance or help with their projects, their could appeal to Imminst members.

[brokenportal]

So then maybe, an application could be added to the MFURI site with things that Imminst specifically wants out of a candidate? Maybe, and they could be given out on an amount by request from the student perhaps. I dont know, does that make sense? Maybe you guys have already got a bunch of future stuff in the works too.

[Illuminatusdarksoul]

As department head of MFURI Science Program- I would like to suggest that ImmInst may want to do more than fund MFURI-but have its members actively take part.

For instance- would ImmInst members and guests who are undergrads or graduates wish to partake in computer or literature based projects for MFURI and perhaps even suggest projects (that could be peer reviewed by ImmInst and MF). Thus if ImmInst had an active role in which projects were available at MFURI perhaps they may wish to extend or increase funding due to this?

Any AGI, bioethics, social sciences, bioinformatics or systems biology projects that may interest ImmInst members more could be suggested. I thought this may be a way of more adequately using ImmInst human resources and focusing them than a generalised protein folding project.