UNYTE Translational Research Network Pathway-to-Pilot Award
UNYTE Translational Research Network Pathway-to-Pilot Award
The UNYTE award category is intended to stimulate new inter-institutional collaborations in health research between University of Rochester faculty and faculty from other UNYTE member institutions. Proposed projects should lead to application for further UR CTSI pilot funding or to independent external funding.
Learn more about the UNYTE Translational Research Network.
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Eligibility
Faculty may participate as PI or MPI on only one submission per award category. Faculty may participate in multiple submissions per category as co-investigator. Faculty members with a primary appointment at the University of Rochester are eligible to serve as principal investigators. One of the members of the applying team must have a primary faculty appointment at the University of Rochester. This team member will be the contact PI for the project. Any faculty member who has a current grant with overlapping aims is not eligible to apply. UNYTE proposals must involve a new or expanded collaboration between a University of Rochester faculty member and one or multiple principal investigators (MPIs) from at least one of the participating UNYTE institutions.
Funding Amount
The grant will provide up to $16,500 for a research planning project to be conducted from July 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026. The supported planning activities are expected to help provide a solid foundation for a subsequent application for further UR CTSI pilot funding or to independent external funding.
Important Dates
The following dates apply to the most recent solicitation:
- Initial Letter of Intent (LOI) and Specific Aims Due - March 24, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.
- Notification of Full Proposal Solicitation - April 21, 2025
- Full Proposals Due - May 19, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.
- Notifications of Award - June 16, 2025
- Anticipated Start Date - July 1, 2025
- Award Period Ends - May 31, 2026
Contacts
If you have questions regarding this RFA, please contact one of the following:
General inquiries
Karen Grabowski, CTSI@urmc.rochester.edu
Scientific and Peer Review
Gary Noronha, M.D., Gary_Noronha@URMC.Rochester.edu
Financial inquiries
Mary Lyons Mary_Lyons@urmc.rochester.edu
Apply
Solicitation and Review Process
Phase 1: Applicants submit a two-page Letter of Intent (LOI) stating their specific aims and summarizing their proposals. The UR CTSI review committee specific to each submission category will evaluate, score, and discuss the LOIs.
Phase 2: A subset of applicants will be invited to submit full proposals. The UR CTSI Review Committee specific to each submission category will engage in a formal study section-style discussion and scoring meeting for proposals. Funding recommendations go to the UR CTSI Executive Team for a final review and decision on funding.
The Pilot Studies Funding Attestation must be submitted with the initial Letter of Intent and full proposal.
Note: All animal and human subject protocols must be approved by NCATS, the NIH institute funding the UR CTSI, prior to the start date. No funds for research project costs may be released until all required human subjects and animal welfare approvals have been received.
Please note that UR CTSI awards and funding are dependent upon the renewal of grants from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Application Selection
Proposals with the best potential for output (e.g. peer-reviewed publication, extramural grant submission) by the end of the funding period, as well as proposals that address community-identified health research priorities will receive the highest priority for funding.
Scholars and Projects
Current Project
Inter-generational Propagation of Preventive Intervention Effects: Feasibility and Potential Barriers
Beau W. Abar, PhD, MS, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Psychiatry, and Public Health Sciences at URMC
Caitlin C. Abar, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology at SUNY Brockport
Past Projects
The Effect of Environmental Biodiversity on Platelet Function
Craig Morrell D.V.M., Ph.D., Dean's Professor of Medicine and in the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute at URMC
Brian Rudd, M.P.H., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Immunology in the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine
A Multiplex SERS-Based Assay for SARS-CoV-2 and Other Respiratory Viruses
Andrew Cameron, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
James Turner, Ph.D., SUNY at Binghamton
Susan Lane, Ph.D., SUNY at Binghamton
Chuan-Jian Zhong, Ph.D., SUNY at Binghamton
TRPC6 as a Diagnostic Biomarker and Therapeutic Target in Scleroderma
Benjamin Korman, M.D., Assistant Professor of Allergy/Immunology and Rheumatology at URMC
Karin Wuertz-Kozak, Ph.D., M.B.A., Kate Gleason Endowed Full Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester Bioinformatics Cooperative
John Ashton, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biomedical Genetics and Co-Director of the Functional Genomics Center at URMC
Paula Vertino, Ph.D., Wilmot Distinguished Professor of Cancer Genomics and Professor of Biomedical Genetics at URMC
Jacquelyn Lillis, Bioinformatician in the Functional Genomics Center and Center for Pediatric Biomedical Research at URMC
André Hudson, Ph.D., Professor and Department Head in the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences at the Rochester Institute of Technology
Gary Skuse, Ph.D., Professor in the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences at the Rochester Institute of Technology
CRISPR-Cas13 Enabled Sensitive Optofluidic Platform for Zika RNA Sensing
Mitchell O’Connell, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at URMC
Ke Du, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology
Developing a Virtual Reality Approach to Study and Rehabilitate Vision After Stroke
Krystel Huxlin, Ph.D., and Gabriel Diaz, Ph.D.
Measuring Postpartum Contraceptive Uptake and Interconception Periods in the Electronic Medical Record
Brooke Levandowski, Ph.D., M.P.A., and Renee Mestad, M.D., MSCI
Transplacental Transfer of Vitamin D3 and 25(OH)D3 in Human Pregnancy
Eva Pressman, M.D., and Kimberly O’Brien, Ph.D.
Advanced Digital Stethoscope - Pilot Study of Acoustic Diagnostics for Left Ventricular Assist Devices
Karl Schwarz, M.D., David Borkholder, Ph.D., and Steven Day, Ph.D.
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