Research and Education Pilot Awards

2025-2026 Pilot Award

The Department of Medicine fosters innovation and faculty development by providing funding for research, quality and educational initiatives annually.

The goal of this program is to stimulate research and education within the Department of Medicine. The Department of Medicine will sponsor 3-5 pilot projects annually with funding targeted to meet the scope of the proposal ($20,000 to 40,000 per project). The program will support all forms of research (basic, clinical, and translational) as well as innovative educational scholarship proposals. Health equity and outcomes research and scholarship are encouraged. The intent is to fund sustainable programs of scholarship that will lead to scholarly dissemination, extramural funding, and/or peer reviewed publications.

While all applications will be considered, significant weight will be given to applications with:

1. Junior investigators who are the principal investigator
2. Strong senior faculty mentorship
3. A plan for dissemination of findings beyond URMC

To be eligible, the principal investigator (PI) must have a primary appointment in the Department of Medicine. Multiple PI (MPI) applications will be considered as long as one of the principal PI has a primary appointment in the Department of Medicine. In this situation, the other PI can be from any University Department, with the other Department expected to co-fund the application if awarded. This should be discussed with the appropriate chair prior to initial submission. Consultation with the DOM Biostatistics Shared Resource is encouraged. Consultation with the DOM Biostatistics Shared Resource is encouraged.

When developing your proposal, please ensure that you will be able to complete the project within the 12 months of the funding cycle. Approvals including IRB must be in place prior to the award start

The intention is for these pilot project grants is to lead to peer reviewed publications, grant applications, or other scholarly works. Recipients will be asked to form mentoring committees to monitor progress, and they will present their findings at the end of the funding year as part of the Department of Medicine Grand Rounds.

Applications and Submission

Stage 1 Letter of Intent due by 5pm on Monday, November 4, 2024 should consist of the following as a single PDF.

Limited to 1 page in font no smaller than 11 point (Ariel or Times New Roman) and margins of 1 inch which includes:

1. Project title and names of the PI and co-investigators
2. Mentor's name (If applicable; for junior investigators this is considered in the score)
3. Specific aims of the project
4. A brief description of the plan

An NIH formatted biosketch (limited to 5 pages) of the PI and mentor(s), emphasizing research, clinical, or educational accomplishments pertaining to the specific project proposal.

Submissions that do not conform to these instructions will not be reviewed.

Applications will be scored by a team of senior faculty; meritorious applications will be invited for a 4-page submission.

Submit applications to: Leah_yambor@urmc.rochester.edu

Questions?

Submit questions to Stephen_Hammes@urmc.rochester.edu