The Blood, Heart, Lung and Immunology Research Center at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals has a grant specialist that will meet with each member quarterly to discuss potential grant opportunities. Additionally, the center will have a Scientific Editing Service (planned for summer 2024) and grant writing assistance program for all members.
Scientific Editing Service
The Scientific Editing Service (SES) works to strengthen and clarify extramural grant applications and manuscripts. The center will employ two experienced scientific editors supported jointly by University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University.
The SES can help:
- Correct grammatical and typographical errors
- Improve sentence structure, paragraph organization, and flow
- Strengthen the scientific significance and impact
- Enhance scientific specificity
- Identify inconsistencies
- Improve formatting and headings
- Reduce word count
- Refine the language
We expect that this service editing will take two weeks or less in most cases. Although editing improves grant applications/manuscripts, it does not guarantee funding/publication. However, the vision of this endeavor will allow the products that are submitted from the center to be the best written for success.
Prioritization by the SES
All requests will be triaged for editing with grant proposals always having priority over manuscripts. Priority is given to applicants who:
- Are early career track investigators moving toward independent investigator careers
- Are faculty within the center.
The SES will also identify and develop various tools, templates, and resources to help investigators writing extramural grants. The goal for this group is that with each successful grant, a small percentage of grants will help pay in year two for salary. To attain that goal the SES will strive to engage all center faculty, trainees, and future recruits early (ideally 6-8 weeks before the deadline); assist in making sure that the grant application instructions are read carefully; work with the investigatory to consult the resources provided in “Strategies to obtain NIH funding;" develop and incorporate any feedback with twice annual mock study sections for the center; and assist in grant or manuscript revisions.
Annual Pilot Award Program
2024 Annual Pilot Information
The Blood, Heart, Lung, and Immunology Research Center at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals of Cleveland has a call for applications for pilot funding of $30,000-50,000 that meet the center’s mission.
Projects are intended to:
- Explore possible innovative new leads or new directions for established investigators;
- Stimulate investigators from other areas to lend their expertise in research in clinical and translational science; and
- Provide initial support to establish proof of concept for junior investigators.
Projects must be feasible within the proposed time frame, have high methodological and scientific quality, and answer important scientific questions.
The program seeks Letters of Intent for one-year annual pilot projects ($30-50,000) with a deadline for submission of October 22, 2024.
Applicants will submit only a four-page grant application that clearly enunciates the proposed activities and how this will address key aspects of the center’s mission.
A minimum of two, and up to six grants, will be awarded with budgets of up to $50,000 each in direct costs. All research activities must be completed by November 30, 2025.
The ideal proposal will address discovery work in blood, heart, lung, or immunology that may be competitive for a future federal grant submission. Basic or translational approaches are encouraged. Collaboration with another member of the Center is greatly encouraged. Examples which will be more favorably reviewed are:
- Team building across biological methodology and clinical health science
- Articulate the innovation for the applicant and/or the co-investigator(s)
- Identify key causal or molecular pathways to be studied in a future submission
Eligibility and Review Criteria
- The principal investigator must be a full-time faculty member (or the equivalent) from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), University Hospitals, or Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center and a member of the center no less than two weeks from submission (member by October 8, 2024). Trainee or laboratory personnel member applications will be evaluated separately for seed funding but should include a single laboratory PI.
- All applications will be prioritized if member collaborations at time of pilot funding for future grant submission are identified.
More than one proposal per center member serving as a co-investigator may be submitted; however, conflicts must be addressed in the best interests of the center’s mission and programmatic goals. Careful attention to the center’s themed areas are important.
Budget Considerations
University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University will serve as the fiscal entity through which pilot funds will be distributed and administered. The amount of the pilot award can be lower, dependent on the scope and type of the project, and proposals can identify opportunities for new supplement funds from additional institutional, departmental, or private funds.
A maximum of $15,000 in salary support for each investigator can be requested. Budget for supplies and investigative purposes must be well justified. No funds will be provided for administrative assistance, office equipment and supplies, computers, tuition, travel, purchasing and binding of periodicals and books, dues and membership fees in scientific societies, honoraria and travel expenses for visiting lecturers, recruiting and relocation expenses for faculty or staff, office and laboratory furniture, rental of office or laboratory space, per diem charges for hospital beds, non-medical or personnel services to patients, construction or building maintenance, or major alterations.
Number of Principal Investigators
One center investigator will be the responsible PI and may only receive one award in the budget year. Additional collaborating investigators will be named. Co-PIs can be listed but cannot be the fiscal contact. If awarded an annual pilot, you are ineligible to receive another annual pilot for at least two years.
New Investigators
Please identify a new investigator. For the purpose of this RFA, a new investigator is defined as a faculty member who is not tenured and who has not been a faculty member at CWRU or any other institutions for more than six years in aggregate. The review panel can assign extra weight to a proposal from a new investigator to enhance opportunity for funding.
Trans-Disciplinary and Trans-Institutional Team Science
Including co-investigators with diverse skills from different divisions, departments, or theme areas.
Change of Institutions/Transfers
Recipients may not transfer these awards to another institution or to another individual. Reallocations in the approved budget require prior written approval before expenditure. Awardees are required to give 90 days’ notice of any change in institution, and funds will be prorated when an applicant leaves the institution.
Submission Process
Investigators will submit their application directly to Kenneth E. Remy, MD, MHSc, MSCI, FCCM as one PDF to Kenneth.remy@uhhospitals.org and Abigail.zona@uhhospitals.org
Investigators submitting a proposal must meet the goals of the Annual Pilot Grant Program.
The grant proposal must address the following:
- Title and specific project site(s) as header
- Names/affiliations of PI, co-PIs, co-investigators and collaborators and a statement of how the award funds would be utilized and distributed
- A brief, focused project summary.
Question/hypothesis of the study: This section should be about one page and should describe the overall science addressed by the hypothesis/premise/scientific question. The one-year pilot can be within a larger development plan but should stand alone as a milestone to the larger effort.
Innovation/translation/impact: This section should be about half of a page and describe how your project fills a critical need for success in future grant submissions, and a discussion of anticipated results.
General approach: This section should explain how the intended aims will be evaluated including models uses (animal vs. human) and pitfalls.
Feasibility: This section should be about half of a page and describe the feasible elements of your one-year study. Potential roadblocks or concerns should be in this section. An approved or nearly approved IRB will be favorably received.
Project milestones: This should describe the project plan in about half of a page. For the scope of this project we suggest no more than three temporal or decision-making milestones that can be achieved with the budget allowed (up to $50,000) and in the time frame selected (up to one year). Please include an estimate of how long each milestone will take, and why it is critical, to the proposal and any long-term plans.
Statement as to why this is innovative and important work for the success of the investigator and to the mission of the center.
Budget for all included research needs for the proposal
The total number of pages is 4, Arial 11 font, 0.5 margins.
Submit the grant proposal by the deadline of 11:59 pm on October 22, 2024. A decision will be communicated on or about November 1, 2024 informing applicants about success. The center’s leadership must review successful applications with IRB or IACUC approval prior to a start date of December 1, 2024.
Contact Information
Pilot Coordinator: Abigail Zona (Abigail.zona@uhhospitals.org)
Contact us about the Annual Pilot Award Program.
Helpful documents: