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Pilot Programs & Awards

The Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (YCCI) is pleased to announce the 2019 round of pilot grants. YCCI’s pilot program is a funding venue for conducting small-scale research projects to generate data that potentially could lead to further research and funding opportunities. Pilot awards are in the following categories:

Just-in-time Partnered Early Career Pilots Utilizing Core Technologies

The Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (YCCI) is pleased to announce a new pilot grant mechanism to support junior and early career faculty use of core resources. Recognizing that K and other early career awards provide limited funding to get young researchers off to a good start, YCCI is introducing a new pilot program aimed at increasing first R01s awarded to early-stage investigators by expanding core resource funding. YCCI’s pilot program is a funding venue for conducting small-scale research projects to generate data that potentially could lead to further research and funding opportunities.

The funding is designed to accelerate research by providing rapid, targeted core resource funding to address small but critical gaps in clinical and translational research work with high potential, especially by junior faculty. Examples include, but are not limited to, projects involving critical steps in the device and drug development pathway and projects that address a critical need in translational science that are too small or too preliminary to be suitable for conventional funding. Due to funding constraints, preference will be given to those meritorious projects that can be completed in a nine to twelve-month.

Scope

The Just-In-Time Early Career Core Usage Funding Program is designed to provide quick access to funding for junior faculty to use any institutional core for research advancing medical knowledge that can improve human health. A statement of support from the Director of the Core that will provide the requested service(s) is an essential part of the application and must corroborate the service(s) to be provided and the interaction the investigator has had with the Core in determining the relevant services. This support can only be used to pay for designated core resources. The goal is to provide funds that will support the development and submission of extramural proposals by expanding the likelihood of success.

Eligibility requirements

This award is intended to support junior and early career faculty for use of core resource. Only junior faculty who are at an early stage of their careers are eligible to apply. The applicant must have been a faculty member for no more than 10 years by the anticipated start date of the award. This 10-year period is cumulative and includes all appointments as associate/assistant professor, associate research scientist, lecturer, or instructor at any institution (any part time appointments and leaves of absence should be described and will be considered in calculating the total time at a faculty rank).

Since this is a mechanism to partially support only the core resource portion of a research project, applicants must already have funding for the primary project to apply for this pilot. Funding can include an independent K career award, internal pilot, or equivalent support. Faculty with a departmental start-up package with substantial protected time are also eligible to apply; the start-up support must be documented by the applicant’s department.

Award amount

Applicants may request up to $20,000 research support for up to 1 year. These awards are a partnership between YCCI and the applicant’s home department and require a one to one match. For example, applicants requesting $20,000, YCCI will award $10,000 and the department match with a $10,000 cost share commitment. As the departmental match is a requirement for application, all applicants must include a statement of commitment from the home department or center director. The matching funding must come from institutional or other sources, as federal awards cannot be used. The awards are not renewable or transferable. The number of awards to be made will depend upon the number of proposals received and the caliber of projects submitted. These funds are designed to provide the pilot data needed for the preliminary results section of a proposal for extramural funding or to complete an initial, internally funded study.

Application Deadlines (Targeted Funding Start Date)

October 15, 2019 (November 30, 2019)
December 15, 2019 (January 30, 2019)
May 1, 2020 (June 15, 2020)

RFA

For more information:

Pilot Awardees