Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research by Scientific Teams
The Department of Pediatrics and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh seek to develop and support outstanding team science with the goal of obtaining large-scale NIH grants (U01, U19, P01, P30, and P50 grants) for teams of multiple investigators at UPMC Children’s Hospital and beyond. The goal of this program is to enhance collaborations to answer important biomedical questions at the basic, clinical, and translational science levels. Applications that incorporate multidisciplinary approaches to improve child health are desired. We are seeking letters of intent from teams of 2-4 investigators, of which at least the PI (or MPI) is a member of the UPMC Children’s Hospital community, with at least one project leader who is an established investigator with a record of current and previous federal funding. In addition, the planned team application is expected to include greater than 50% of the budget in the Department of Pediatrics and/or University of Pittsburgh. The Department will provide $100,000 (for 1 year) in seed funding to develop collaborations and infrastructure to establish team science projects that would lead to submission of a large-scale NIH application.
Important Dates
Letter of Intent Deadline – 11/15/25
Application Deadline – 1/15/26
Start Date – 4/1/26
Letter of Intent
Page 1:
1. Title.
2. PI and Co-I names and justification of leadership structure with regard to NIH expectations.
3. Statement of the overall objectives of the overarching collaborative project and how this objective fits with a planned application for large-scale NIH team funding.
4. A brief description of how core facilities will be developed and used.
5. Information regarding project fit within NIH and any interactions with NIH program staff.
Page 2:
1. A brief description of how the FIRST funding will be used.
2. Project specific aims for the seed funding period.
3. Description of how these aims improve child health.
Page 3:
List of collaborative publications and grants for the team (if applicable).
Full Application
1. Face Page – Application title, PI information, individual project titles, and project leader information
2. Abstract (300-word limit)
3. Description of how the seed funding will facilitate a large-scale NIH application (500-word limit)
4. Broad description of overall project aims, background, and significance (2-page limit)
5. Budget justification for the FIRST funds
6. Detailed timeline with deliverables for the seed funding period
7. NIH biosketch for lead PI
8. Individual project specific aims pages with research goals, strategy, and design (2-page limit for each project)
9. Description of planned cores and administrative structure (1-page limit for each)
9. NIH biosketches for individual project PIs
10. Relevant IRB or IACUC approvals for the seed funding work (if applicable)
11. Letters of collaboration (if applicable)
12. Report of a discussion with an NIH program officer about the feasibility of an application for a large-scale NIH grant
Budget
Allowed costs include salary and fringe benefits for study personnel (no faculty support), laboratory costs, core facility costs, administrative costs, and costs related to data analyses.
Formatting
Proposals should follow standard NIH guidelines – 11-point Arial font, 0.5” margins
Review
The major review criteria are two-fold: (1) does the application addresses an important question in biomedical science and pediatric medicine using innovative interdisciplinary approaches and (2) what is the likelihood that seed funding will advance team science applications to NIH. The applications will be reviewed in two stages. Scoring for point 1 will focus on potential impact, innovation, and rigor of approach. Scoring for point 2 will focus on appropriateness of the team, project synergy, and fit within NIH. Letters of intent will be reviewed by the CHP Research Oversight Committee, and PIs of meritorious projects will be requested to submit full applications for review by an advisory panel.
Progress Reports
A two-page final report will be required at the conclusion of the seed project to outline scientific progress, grant submissions planned, strategy for obtaining team science funding using the products of seed funding, and description of any challenges encountered.