HERSHEY, Pa. — Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) invites applications for its Bridges to Translation pilot project funding, to help build connections across the translational spectrum of the health and biomedical sciences.
CTSI will provide up to $240,000 to support interdisciplinary, multi-investigator projects. Awards will be capped at a $50,000 budget. Projects must be able to be completed within 12 months of receiving full regulatory and institutional approvals and funds.
The long-range goal of the CTSI is to develop, implement and make available to the community new methods to promote health and to predict, prevent and effectively treat human disease. The translation of biomedical and health discoveries to application is a long and complex process with high costs and substantial failure rates.
The CTSI seeks to fund pilot projects aimed at building linkages and overcoming roadblocks at any stage in the translational process. Special consideration will be given to projects that focus on development or applications addressing Social and Environmental Determinants of Health, specifically as these relate to rural and other vulnerable populations who experience health disparities.
The internal submission deadline is 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28. *Letter of intent is not required for consideration.
Learn more about the RFA here.
Throughout the past eight years, the CTSI has provided more than $2,185,000 in Bridges to Translation pilot funding.
David Conroy, professor of kinesiology and human development and family studies, is a past recipient of Bridges to Translation funding. The pilot funding helped advance his research, that later received a five-year, $2.97 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Eligibility
The principal investigator (PI) must hold a Penn State faculty appointment. This includes faculty members at all Penn State campuses. Proposals from multi-disciplinary, cross-campus teams, led by junior investigators (instructor or assistant professor) with senior investigators on the team will be most competitive.
Past recipients have included representation from the colleges of Agricultural Sciences, Engineering, Health and Human Development, Medicine, and the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing.
Topics investigated with Bridges to Translation funding have included (but not limited to): diseases of despair, law regulating inter-hospital transfers, person-centered care for LGBTQ older adults, drug discovery, stress in teens and drug use, malaria, mindfulness, addiction and rural cancer survivorship.