The Penn Transplant Institute’s (PTI) Center for Transplant Science and Innovation (CTSI) requests applications to the PTICTSI Pilot Grant Program. This program is intended to support new investigators and established investigators new to transplant research. CTSI and the department of surgery seek to support transplant-related basic and translational research. Pilot funding will provide initial support to establish proof of concept or extend findings to enable extramural funding and publications in the future. Cross-disciplinary research is encouraged.

Eligibility

• All eligible investigators must have faculty appointments at the University of Pennsylvania at the commencement of the award and be independent investigators. Postdoctoral trainees, supported by a faculty sponsor, are also encouraged to apply.
• Applications are welcomed from basic and translational research investigators.
• Pilot Grant eligibility is restricted to investigators located at an institution in the greater Philadelphia area.
• Applicants must be U.S. citizens or have permanent visas.
• Proposals may not describe the same specific research that is funded by other sources during the grant period.

Budget and Duration

Individual applicants may request budgets up to $75,000 in direct costs and may propose projects lasting up to 12 months. The total equipment budget must not exceed $10,000.

Application

Your electronic application submission should include the following:

• Cover page, including abstract/project summary of up to 250 words
• Biosketch for PI and collaborators
• Budget and budget justification for one year–1 page (Note: equipment exceding $10,000, travel, and PI salary are not permitted on budget; the funding maximum is $75,000).
• Specific aims, research strategy (significance, innovation, approach and preliminary studies)–up to three pages total
• References–one page
• Status of Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval for clinical studies or IACUC approval for animal use. If approvals are pending at the time of submission, they must be obtained before funding commences. Funds will not be disbursed without copies of IRB/IACUC approval letters.
• If human subjects will be participating in the proposed research, an NIH Targeted/Planned Enrollment Table needs to be completed

Post-Award Requirements

Decisions/results will be communicated to applicants in March 2025. Once a grant is awarded, the responsibilities of successful applicants include acknowledgement of Penn Transplant Institute’s CTSI support in any publications emanating from the supported project, as well as progress reports and reporting of successful and independent grant applications resulting from work supported by this pilot grant. The current award period is April 1, 2025–March 31, 2026.

• Awardees are required to inform the PTI in the event that the PTI pilot project receives external funding during the project period
• Awardees are required to present on research accomplishments at a future talk/symposium hosted by the Penn Transplant Institute
• All awardees are asked to acknowledge PTI support in all scientific posters, presentations and publications using this specific language. “Direct PTI Funding Support: This research was supported by a pilot award from the Penn Transplant Institute’s Center for Science and Innovation.”
• A final progress report is due one month after the close of the project period. The one page report should contain a synopsis of scientific progress, and a list of resulting collaborations, publications, and grants.

The application deadline is Monday, January 6, 2025 at 5 p.m. Grants will be reviewed by the CTSI Advisory Committee. For detailed information and instructions, visit https://www.med.upenn.edu/ctsi/event/.