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Pilot Funding
NUCATS

The Research Discovery Program will be running a variety of pilot funding initiatives for investigators across the Northwestern enterprisee. Please stay tuned for announcements of upcoming NUCATS translational research grant programs. Email the Research Discovery Program to make sure you are on the pilot grant announcement list.

  

The Community-Engaged Research Center (CERC) also has funding initiatives under its Community-Based Participatory Research Program and its Practice Based Research Program.
 
 
Other Institutional Resources
Below are links to other pilot funding resources at NU. While not necessarily translational in nature, these programs could fund the early stages of biomedical research. Some of these opportunities are restricted to members of a specific center or institute. Click on hyperlinks for more detailed information and application instructions. For information on other internal and external funding programs please visit the Office for Research Funding Resources Page.
ProgramDescriptionFunding AmountDeadlineEligibility
Dixon Translational Research Grants

The Northwestern Memorial Foundation is seeking applications for Dixon Translational Research Grants. Applications are currently being accepted for Innovation Awards and Young Investigator Awards.

Innovation Awards - Research projects are not limited to any clinical or research domain.

Young Investigator Awards Research projects are especially encouraged to focus in the following core areas: cardiovascular care, musculoskeletal, neurosciences, and oncology. Ideal prospective proposals should focus on at least one of the following research domains: health services and outcomes research, prevention and early diagnosis, minimally invasive techniques, functional imaging, genetics, stem cell transplantation, and signal transduction.

Innovation Awards - $50,000 for one year of funding.

Young Investigator Awards - $25,000 for one year of funding.

Applications for both programs are due by 5:00 PM on August 20, 2008.

Innovation Awards - All medical faculty or NMH staff; PhDs can apply with a medical faculty co-PI affiliated with NMH.

Young Investigator Awards - Medical faculty within first 3 years of training completion; fellows and residents with a medical faculty co-PI affiliated with NMH; or staff with medical faculty co-PI affiliated with NMH.

Chicago Biomedical Consortium Grant Programs:

Three grant programs target systems biology research collaborations with a focus on the technologies of proteomics, informatics, or imaging:

Catalyst - Target collaborations working on high risk/reward work that might not be funded elsewhere.
 
Spark - Intended to advance multi-institutional collaborations of exceptional creativity. Proposals must have the potential to produce a major impact in the area of biomedical research and new high-end technologies
  
Lever - Applicants must be preparing a large-scale, multi-institutional proposal for submission to an external funding agency which can be strengthened by a commitment for exceptional institutional support.

Catalyst - Up to $200,000 for 1-2 years.
 
Spark - Typically $300,000 for one year; max of $400,000 over two years.
  
Lever - Max of $1 million per year for three years.

Catalyst - Fall and spring deadlines; next submission deadline is Sept. 5, 2008.
 
 
Spark - One page pre-proposals can be submitted at any time.
 

Lever - Ongoing review

Catalyst - Tenure or tenure eligible faculty at NU, U of C, or UIC. PIs from at least two institutions in each application.
 
Spark - Tenure or tenure eligible faculty at NU, U of C, or UIC. PIs from at least two institutions in each application. PIs must not already be funded for similar work.
 
Lever -
Tenure or tenure eligible faculty at NU, U of C, or UIC. PIs from at least two institutions in each application; funding contingent on external funding.

C2S Biomarker Seed Grant ProgramCells to Society (C2S): The Center on Social Disparities and Health at the Institute for Policy Research recently announced a new Biomarker Seed Grant Program, supported by a Developmental Infrastructure for Population Research award from the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD).  The purpose of the grant program is to promote the use of biomarker and other innovative methods in community- and population-based research projects.

Up to $2,000 for rapid
response projects;

Up to $5,000 for pilot projects.

Rapid response: rolling 2 page applications.

Pilot projects: Latest deadline
was Oct. 15th, 2007.

All C2S faculty and research faculty are eligible.
Center for Technology and Social BehaviorExploratory interdisciplinary research in the area of technology and social behavior.Undefined "small grants."Rolling applications.CTSB faculty members who involve undergraduates in the research project.
CAMRI Pilot StudiesThe Center for Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (CAMRI) was created by the Department of Radiology to promote imaging research at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. The primary research focus at CAMRI is cardiovascular and neuroimaging. CAMRI utilizes a 4,500 square foot space in the basement of the Olson building that houses state-of-the-art 3-Tesla and 1.5 Tesla Siemens Medical Solutions MR scanners. There is also a Siemens C-ARM angiographic system and an MR simulator system that can be used to train or acclimate subjects to the magnet environment. Free pilot time on the magnets is available.N/APilot time is allocated by the CAMRI steering committee on a monthly basis according to strength of proposed study and amount of pilot time available.Projects must have IRB approval; PIs must complete training program.
ADCC Annual Pilot Project GrantsThe Alzheimer's Disease Core Center (ADCC) of the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center (CNADC) is supported by funding from the National Institute of Aging (NIA). The Center funds an annual Alzheimer's Disease Pilot Grant program as part of its activities.Up to $28,800 of support for one year; 2 awards per year.

Currently closed. Last deadline was March 14th, 2008.

All faculty, research faculty and postdocs at NU are eligible.
Cancer Center Institutional Research GrantThe Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center solicits cancer-related research proposals. Proposals are funded by an American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant awarded to the Cancer Center in October, 2005.Up to $20,000 for one year of funding.

Last deadline
was Nov. 12th, 2007.

Junior faculty and research faculty who are within 6 years of their first independent faculty appointment, and who do not presently have a national research grant  (K award recipients are eligible); Must be Cancer Center Member.
Materials Research Science & Engineering Center (MRSEC)The MRSEC is an interdisciplinary group of scientists and engineers at Northwestern whose collaborative research pursues a broad range of materials research areas including conducting oxides, polymers, photonics, molecular electronics, nanoscience and biomaterials.

The Center invites proposals for Seed project funding in materials-related research.
Seed funding typically provides full support for one graduate student for two years starting in the fall.

Closed, last deadline was February 4, 2008.

Junior faculty members are strongly encouraged to apply.
IBNAM-Baxter Research Incubator ProgramThe Institute for BioNanotechnology in Medicine (IBNAM) promotes research dedicated to accelerating medical discovery and to breeding scientific collaboration in clinical medicine, engineering, physical sciences, and life sciences. Aiming to seed interdisciplinary and innovative research, the IBNAM-Baxter Research Incubator Program advances the Institute’s mission by supporting early discovery projects in bionanomedicine at Northwestern University.Up to $50,000 in total costs; 4 awards.

Closed, last deadline was May 15th, 2008.

Any NU faculty member is eligible but must have at least one collaborator; Particularly interested in proposals utilizing IBNAM space in Lurie Research Center.
Institute for Women's Health Research Pioneer AwardsProposals must be directly relevant to women's health research; applications from those who wish to initiate a new women’s health research program are encouraged. These awards are not designed to provide ongoing support for a long-term project, they are intended to assist in obtaining pilot data required for larger grant applications in women's health.Up to $25,000Closed, award process is yearly; up to 4 per year. Last deadline was May 16, 2008.Applicants must hold a faculty-level appointment at Northwestern University or be postdoctoral fellows in laboratories of tenure-line faculty members.