FUNDING
Funding
For general inquiries about funding, please contact:
- Elizabeth Fortune, MBA, CRA
- 1 (804) 827-1936
- efortune@vcu.edu
The Wright Center supports meritorious clinical and translational health sciences research. The goal of the funding mechanisms is to allow researchers to collect data that will support external funding for work that ultimately improves patient and community health outcomes.
In addition to the funding mechanisms listed below, the Wright Center provides resources and training opportunities for faculty members who are applying for research funding. The Wright Center also helps faculty members with identifying additional internal and external funding mechanisms that can help support their research.
Supported by the A.D. Williams Trust Fund, endowment funds designated for specific health sciences research and the Office of the Vice President for Health Sciences, the Wright Center Endowment Fund supports research that applies discoveries generated in the laboratory and preclinical studies to the development of clinical trials. It also funds proposals that seek to understand the biological basis for clinical manifestations. The funds may be used for community-engaged pilot research by faculty with well-established community-academic partnerships.
Supported by pilot funds from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), the Translational Science Pilot Grants support innovative projects focused on understanding a scientific or operational principle in the translational research process. Translational science does not focus on one disease state, but rather develops generalizable principles that accelerate translational research.
In partnership with VCU Health, the Wright Center offers investigators the opportunity to apply for a voucher to offset the costs related to innovative digital health methods for participant engagement and recruitment in hard-to-reach patient populations, including in rural areas and groups that have been underrepresented in clinical research. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and vouchers are made for the equivalent of up to $25,000 in services.
The Career Development Awards provide protected time and funding for research supplies to help junior faculty establish strong foundations for careers as clinical and translational researchers. Awards are available for junior faculty as well as faculty who are members of underrepresented minority groups and faculty who are re-entering active research careers.