C. KENNETH AND DIANNE WRIGHT CENTER
FOR CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH

INSTRUCTIONS AND CHECKLIST FOR TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE PILOT  GRANT APPLICATIONS

Wright Regional Center for Clinical and Translational Science (Wright Regional CCTS)

 Instructions for Wright Regional CCTS Translational Science Pilot Grants

A. Submission System – REDCap

Wright Regional CCTS Translational Science Pilot Grant applications should be submitted electronically through REDCap no later than 5:00PM on the submission deadline date (January 15). In the event the submission deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, applications will be due by 5:00PM on the next business day.

B. Application Requirements

• The Wright Regional CCTS Translational Science Pilot Grants will fund translational science projects, which are those designed to understand a scientific or operational principle underlying a step of the translational process with the goal of developing generalizable principles to accelerate translational research. While the project may use a specific disease in the pilot research, the applicant should describe how the project can be applied to other disease states.
• Examples include, but are not limited to:
    1. Secondary analysis of existing data
    2. Development of new research methodology/techniques/tools/resources
    3. Development of educational or training modules
    4. Early-stage development of new therapy/technology that is generalizable
    5. Dissemination of tools, methods, processes and training paradigms
    6. Development of tools/technology/strategies to overcome barriers to research including barriers to study enrollment
• The applicant must complete/submit all parts of the application in REDCap. The applicant(s) and grant information and department chair endorsements will be entered directly into REDCap. All other parts of the application will be combined into a single .pdf document and the single file will be uploaded into REDCap. Please use the template found on the Wright Center Funding website for the application.

Sections of Application

• • Applicant(s) and grant information via REDCap
  • Endorsement of department chairs via REDCap
  • Funding history, documentation of current and previous funding
  • List of collaborators
  • Budget
    • Allowed costs are those for supplies, patient stipends, equipment not otherwise available, cost for use of shared resources, personnel costs as long as the expense is for the completion of a specific element of the research. Salary support for Investigators is NOT allowed
    • Costs not funded by this award mechanism are faculty or investigator salary, travel funds, publication costs, remodeling costs, and patient hospital costs/visit fees.
    • Expenses in excess of $500 must be itemized.
  • Response letter (if revision) – 1 page maximum, detailing the responses to the critiques and the revisions to the grant application. Also, significant changes in the revised application should be highlighted with bold or italicized typeface.
  • Lay abstract – 500 words maximum, summarizing the proposed research in language suitable for dissemination to the public. Emphasize the implications of the research as well as the benefits and expected outcomes.
  • Description of impact on the research process – 500 words maximum, specifically describing how the research will impact the translational research process. Include the specific translational research barrier to be addressed and describe the solution/process that will be tested in this pilot project. While the project may use a specific disease in the pilot research, the applicant should describe how the project can be applied to other diseases. In addition to the text in this section, the applicant MUST specifically address, throughout the research proposal, how this pilot project will address a barrier to the research process and how this work can be generalized to multiple disease states.
  • Specific aims – 1 page maximum
  • Research proposal – 6 pages, following format specifications below and including:
    • Defined and testable hypothesis appropriate for the type of research
    • Background, significance, and scientific or operational principle being addressed
    • Preliminary data
    • Solid and well-designed research methods including adequate statistical and sample size calculations (as relevant to the project)
      • If the proposed research experiments involve the use of animals, discuss the precautions that will be used to ensure their safe and humane treatment.
      • If the experiments involve the use of agents that may be hazardous to personnel or animals, discuss the procedures that will be used to minimize such hazards.
    • Expected outcomes
    • Clear description of future research direction
    • Limitations of proposed research
    • Dissemination strategy, to include how the project can be used to enhance clinical and translational research
    • Timeline
  • Bibliography – 2 pages maximum
  • Current, NIH-formatted biosketch (for PI and collaborating faculty) –5 page maximum, with publications limited to those pertinent to the project and those published within the past 5 years
  • Letter(s) from Chair (for non-tenured faculty, only) confirming employment and access to department resources throughout the funding period. This is in addition to the chair’s signature on the application.
  • Letters of scientific support (if applicable)
  • NIH Summary Statements for those applications submitted to collect data in response to NIH reviewers’ comments
  • Appendices, if any

Re-submission Requirements

• Unfunded applications may be re-submitted following the same guidelines as for the initial submission.
• All re-submitted applications MUST include a 1-page maximum response letter in which the Investigator responds to the critiques from the original review.

Format Specifications

• Font
  • Use Arial 11 font
• Page Margins
  • Use at least one-half inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right) for all pages.
• Application Paging
  • The application must be single spaced.
  • Consecutively number all pages in the application starting with the Funding History being page 1.
• Figures, Graphs, Charts, and Tables
  • A minimum of a 10-point font size should be used
  • Include all figures, graphs, charts, and tables in the text of the research proposal. Any material included in an appendix may not be considered in the review process.
• Documents and File Names
  • Documents should be saved in *.pdf format
  • All parts of the application should be contained in one file and named according to the following convention:
    • PI last name_Date.pdf (e.g., Smith_February2023.pdf)

Incomplete applications, applications not prepared following the guidelines, or those from ineligible faculty will not be reviewed.

C. Review Process

• All applications will be reviewed by internal (within Wright Regional CCTS) and/or external faculty researchers and community reviewers, and the applicants will receive reviewers’ comments regardless of whether their applications are funded.
• Applications will be reviewed based on the NIH criteria of significance, innovation, approach, investigators and environment. Applications judged to have a high potential for leading to external funding will receive priority with regard to funding.

D. Awardee Responsibilities

• IRB and IACUC approval (if needed) are required prior to release of funds.
• The PI will provide semi-annual progress reports, using the format supplied by the grantor, to the Scientific Review Coordinator, Dr. Pamela Dillon. Continuation of funding will be contingent on successful progress of the research and completion of the required reports.
• Within one month of the termination of the grant, the PI must submit electronically a final report (one to two pages) summarizing the results of the research and a financial report summarizing expenditures by category to Dr. Dillon.
• One year after the termination of the grant, the PI must submit electronically a list of publications and externally funded grants resulting from the Wright Center-funded work to Dr. Dillon.
• The PI will disseminate his/her grant findings by participating in the Wright Center’s Discovery Dialogues seminars
• Publications resulting from work supported by these funds must acknowledge the Wright Regional CCTS (UM1TR004360 from the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Advancing Translational Science).

Questions
Please direct all questions to Dr. Pamela Dillon (pmdillon@vcu.edu).

 

 

 

Wright Regional Center for Clinical and Translational Science (Wright Regional CCTS)

 Wright Regional CCTS Translational Science Pilot Grant Checklist

 

1. ___ Wright Regional CCTS Translational Science Pilot Grant applications should be submitted through REDCap no later than 5:00PM on the submission deadline date (January 15). In the event the submission deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, applications will be due by 5:00PM on the next business day.
   
   
2. ___ Grant has all required elements
   • Applicant(s) and grant information (directly in REDCap)
   • Endorsement of department chair(s) (directly in REDCap)      

              Following sections in a single .pdf document (uploaded into REDCap)

• • Previous and current funding (Page 1)
  • List of collaborators (Page 2)
  • Budget (Page 3)
  • Response letter, if revision (1 page maximum)
  • Lay abstract (Page 4, 500 words maximum).
  • Description of impact on research process (Page 5, 500 words maximum)
  • Specific Aims (1 page maximum)
  • Research proposal (6 pages maximum)
  • Bibliography (2 pages maximum)
  • NIH-formatted biosketches for PI and collaborators (5 pages maximum/biosketch)
  • Chair letter(s) (required for non-tenured faculty)
  • Letters of scientific support (if applicable)
  • NIH Summary Statements (if applicable)
  • Appendices (if applicable)

     3.___  Time elapsed between other internal funding meets eligibility criteria

• • New Investigator – No more than 1 other internal research grant in past 4 years
  • Senior Investigator – No internal research grants in past 4 years

4. ___ Full-time tenured or full-time non-tenured Wright Regional CCTS faculty
5. ___ Dollar limit not exceeded
   • $50,000 for translational science pilot awards
6. ___ Budget complies with Allowable Expenses:

• • Publication costs NOT requested
  • Remodeling costs NOT requested
  • Travel costs NOT requested
  • Patient hospital daily costs and hospital visit fees NOT requested
  • Personnel funds NOT included except per guidelines