2024-2025 Stanford CTS Pilot Grants

Stanford CTS Pilot Program Overview

The Stanford Clinical & Translational Science (CTS) Pilot Program is an early-stage funding program for accelerating the translational of medical discoveries into better health through innovation training, mentorships, and pilot funding of promising projects.

Two major goals of the program are to stimulate innovative clinical and translational science (see principles definitions) and to encourage collaborative, transdisciplinary work. These pilots will have generalizable translational science outcomes and impact, in particular for research focused on minoritized populations, rural populations, and individuals living in under-resourced areas.

A further goal of this early-stage funding is to enable investigators to gather proof-of-concept data that enables follow-on funding, information dissemination, and most importantly, momentum that helps to move novel solutions from the idea stage to clinical or societal use. Transdisciplinary collaborations are highly encouraged.

Areas of Interest: a) The Science of Translation; b) Health Policy in Translational Research; and c) Research Equity, Accessibility, Diversity, and Inclusiveness (READI).

Awards will be selected by the following Stanford programs:

• SPARK Translational Research Program is a novel drug and diagnostics discovery program that teaches an innovative, cost-effective way to overcome the hurdles associated with translating academic discoveries into drugs or diagnostics that address real clinical needs.
• Stanford Mussallem Center for Biodesign educates trainees from diverse backgrounds in biomedical technology innovation and health policy through fellowships, courses, mentoring and funding opportunities. As part of the pilot program, Biodesign HealthTech evaluates proposals that align with the CTSA program's areas of interest, such as prototype device or diagnostic development, and investigations into policies or processes related to health technology innovation.

The primary expectation of these early-stage projects is to generate generalizable knowledge and improve the efficiency and/or speed of translation. These projects should focus on unmet needs, leading to disruptive innovation. 

Amount and Period of Funding:

The maximum funding amount is $50,000 for 6 months and must be completed in that timeframe. Funds must be applied to specific tasks that increase the probability of translational success and must comply with the Spectrum and NIH-NCATS funding guidelines. All unexpended funds will be forfeited if not spent within the 6-month award period. 
 

Important dates:

• CTS Pilot Request for Applications released: Monday, October 21, 2024 at 2 PM (Pacific Time)
• Application Deadline: Monday, November 18, 2024 by 8 AM (Pacific Time)
• Award Announcements: Mid-December 2024
• NCATS Prior Approval Process: 30-45 days after documentation submission
• Funding Period: January 1, 2025 through June 30, 2025 (extensions are not allowed)
   

Institutional representatives:

Not applicable. Because this is an internal Stanford funding opportunity, you do not have to submit your applications through your RPM in RMG or your CGO in OSR for their approval. 
 

Selection and Award Process

Proposals will be evaluated by a committee of independent faculty and external reviewers, and awards will be based on individual selection criteria and scoring systems. In general, reviewers will select applications for consideration as finalists who have made convincing arguments that the investigator(s) is (are) proposing a bold idea or approach that can have a major translational impact in translational research.

• Awardees will receive preliminary notification of selection; however, the final award can only be formalized once all requirements have been met. Project teams who do not meet requirements in a timely fashion may forfeit their award to runner-up teams. 
• Requirements including, but not limited to:
  • Final budgets received from departmental finance;
  • IRB approval, or determination that human subjects are not involved;
  • CITI training (Group 7) completed by project investigators and their research staff;
  • IACUC approval for animal studies
  • NCATS prior approval for projects involving human subjects or living vertebrate animals
     

Evaluation Criteria

The research must relate directly to applications in healthcare, and the objectives of the project should include an outcome that will benefit patients. Evaluation of proposals will be on the basis of innovation and scientific merit, potential healthcare impact, and feasibility, as well as Translational Science Principles of generalizability, efficiency, and/or speed. Priority will be given to projects that emphasize additional Translational Science principles.

Proposals should consider the following:

• Size and scope of unmet need and impacted population
• Potential impact, including efficacy, speed, or generalizability
• Health equity, including working with under-resourced communities and communities of color, broadly defined
• Incorporating input from community partners throughout the study design and implementation processes
• Status and drawbacks of current options
• Feasibility, scope, and budget. Can the project be successfully implemented within the proposed timeline and budget?
• Methodological rigor. Do the study design and methods of the project have the potential to produce robust and reproducible knowledge?
• Novelty of approach
• Team science
   

Application Instructions

Application Process

• Submit applications through Stanford Seed Funding.
• We strongly encourage applicants to share proposal ideas with the program contacts prior to submission:
  • Gretchen Ehrenkaufer, gehrenk@stanford.edu, SPARK Program Manager
  • Linda Lucian, llucian@stanford.edu, Biodesign Translational Program Manager
     

Applications should follow the guidelines below:

Format

• Page specifications
  • 8.5 x 11” page size
  • At least 0.5” margins on all sides
  • At least 10-point font size
• Save your documents as PDFs (or Excel for the budget, Word for the budget justification) and upload them to the Seed Funding application form.
   

Cover Sheet (1-page limit, upload as a single PDF)

• Title of proposal
• Two aims: Research aim and Translational aim addressing at least one Translational Science Principles below.
  • Produce Generalizable Solutions for Common and Persistent Challenges
  • Enhance the Efficiency and Speed of Translational Research
• PI name, title, department, and email
• Co-PI or Co-Investigator names, titles, departments, and emails (if applicable)
• Amount of funding requested
• IRB or APLAC Protocol number and submission status (if applicable)
  • Approvals for animals and human subjects should be addressed ahead of the grant-funding period, including the protocol number or the letter of exemption. Approvals are strictly required for funding dispersal and are generally not a valid rationale for no-cost extension requests.
  • Please note that the eProtocol application must reference the NIH UM1 Grant # UM1TR004930 and SPO # 329368 under the funding section. The project title must also match the title on the IRB or IACUC Approval Letter.
  • For more information on IRB or APLAC protocol submission, please visit http://humansubjects.stanford.edu or https://researchcompliance.stanford.edu/panels/aplac.
     

Proposal Narrative (4-page limit, upload as a single PDF)

Please address the following:

• Overall Research Question(s) and Specific Aims
• Background / Significance
• Preliminary Data (if relevant) and feasibility assessment: If the project is in the early stages of development, describe any strategy to assess feasibility, and address the management of any high-risk aspects of the proposed work.
• Approach / Methods (including key measurements, primary outcome measures and analytic plan)
• Nature of Originality / Innovation
• Potential Implications / Contribution of Work
• Research Timeline, with key progress benchmarks, such as expected milestones (per quarter) and research plan for achieving them
• Translational plan for follow on project work and funding post pilot award
• Relevant references may be included and are not part of the page limit
   

Budget (not part of 4-page limit; upload as an Excel file)

• Use provided budget template here. 
• For projects involving human subjects or live vertebrate animals, separate budget into distinct sections:
  • non-IRB/non-IACUC related costs
  • IRB related costs
  • IACUC related costs
    • Animal purchases are considered technical supplies and Stanford Veterinary Services Center (SVSC) animal care indirect costs (IDC) will apply to animal care. Please identify the animal (i.e. mice, rabbits, monkeys) and cost of purchases, separate the cost of live animals from the cost of animal care, and include the SVSC animal care IDC in the budget (see special rates here).
• Allowable expenditures include: investigator’s salary, research personnel salaries, travel (if project-related), and project supplies. 
  • Salaries are capped at the 2023 NIH salary cap of $212,100.
  • Include the cost per unit and # of units, or hourly rate and # of hours for consultants/service agreements, if applicable.
• Unallowable expenditures include: capital equipment costing more than $5,000, intellectual property services, and food.
   

Budget Justification (not part of 4-page limit; upload as a Word file)

• Use provided justification template here.
• Your budget justification should provide an explanation of factors used to determine costs on each budget line item in your proposal.
• Reminder: For projects involving human subjects or live vertebrate animals, separate budget into distinct sections:
  • non-IRB/non-IACUC related costs
  • IRB related costs
  • IACUC related costs
    • Animal purchases are considered technical supplies and Stanford Veterinary Services Center (SVSC) animal care indirect costs (IDC) will apply to animal care. Please identify the animal (i.e. mice, rabbits, monkeys) and cost of purchases, separate the cost of live animals from the cost of animal care, and include the SVSC animal care IDC in the budget (see special rates here).
       

Key Personnel Bios (1-paragraph maximum for each key personnel; uploaded as a single PDF)

• Required for the PI, Co-PI(s), Co-I(s), and other senior/key personnel.
• Senior/key personnel are defined as all individuals who contribute in a substantive, meaningful way to the scientific development or execution of the project.
   

Notes:

• Figures and tables included within the body of the proposal will count towards the 4-page limit.
• Do not include appendices to the proposal.
• Applications that do not comply with the requirements will not be considered for review.
• Funding will not be dispersed without clearance of any applicable APLAC, IRB or IRB exemption requirements, including NCATS prior approval.
• If the research does not involve animals or human subjects, award recipients must provide confirmation.
   

Definitions:

Translational Science Principles: The NCATS Translational Science Principles characterize effective translational science approaches. The Principles were generated by an NCATS committee with expertise across the translational spectrum, and in science, operations and administration.

• Prioritize Initiatives That Address Unmet Needs: Focus on pursuing scientific goals that address unmet scientific, patient or population health needs.
• Produce Generalizable Solutions for Common and Persistent Challenges: Develop innovations that address persistent challenges to advancing translational progress that are found across multiple research initiatives or projects, or span research on multiple diseases or conditions.
• Emphasize Creativity and Innovation: Leverage creativity and innovation in research design, conduct, and facilitating factors, with the goal of increasing the impact of the research.
• Leverage Cross-Disciplinary Team Science: Engage team members with expertise across disciplines, fields, and professions to produce research that advances translation along the translational research continuum.
• Enhance the Efficiency and Speed of Translational Research: Implement evidence-informed practices and scientific and operational innovations to accelerate the pace of translational research.
• Utilize Boundary-Crossing Partnerships: Leverage collaborations across agencies and sectors and engage patients and communities in research to advance translational progress.
• Use Bold and Rigorous Research Approaches: Develop ambitious research questions and address them with rigorous and robust methods toward generating reproducible findings that contribute to advancing translation.
• Prioritize Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA): Leverage diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility to produce research outcomes that are relevant to the full diversity of the population.
   

Questions: 

For questions regarding the scope of the proposal, criteria for awards or the review process, contact:

• Gretchen Ehrenkaufer, gehrenk@stanford.edu, SPARK Program Manager
• Linda Lucian, llucian@stanford.edu, Biodesign Translational Program Manager

For questions regarding the application process and requirements, please contact K12/Pilots Program Manager, Ellen Orasa, eorasa@stanford.edu.
 

Grant Acknowledgment:

The Stanford CTS Pilot Program is supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UM1TR004921. See NCATS Strategic Plan 2025-2030 for further information (https://ncats.nih.gov/about/ncats-overview/strategic-plan).