Funding Opportunities

The Wisconsin Partnership Program has invested $71 million into 98 different faculty research grants since 2004. Those grants have targeted a multitude of issues affecting Wisconsinites, including cancer, infectious disease, obesity, diabetes, children’s health and more. The Partnership Program currently administers three faculty grant programs:

Collaborative Health Sciences Program

The Collaborative Health Sciences Program provides up to $600,000 over three years to support novel ideas and new approaches to interdisciplinary research or education benefiting Wisconsin’s residents. Collaborative teams are made up of a principal investigator, co-principal investigator(s), and other collaborators. The principal investigator must be a professor, associate professor, senior scientist or distinguished scientist at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.

New Investigator Program

The New Investigator Program provides up to $150,000 over two years to support early-career faculty in initiating innovative research and/or educational approaches that address Wisconsin’s health issues. The program funds innovative proposals from new faculty that may be leveraged for external funding. Principal Investigators must be assistant professors at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.

Opportunity Grants Program

The Opportunity Grants Program, which is designed to be strategic, flexible and timely, provides start-up funding to support high-risk, high-profile, high-impact, state-of-the art education and research projects benefiting the health of the people of Wisconsin.

For more information for faculty grants, see this link: https://www.med.wisc.edu/wisconsin-partnership-program/faculty-grant-programs/   

Physician-scientists who are both clinically trained and expert researchers are essential to the successful translation of scientific discovery into more effective patient therapies. They have the unique capacity to blend their insights from treating patients and working in the laboratory in a way that enables and accelerates medical advances. However, the pipeline of physician-scientists is dwindling. The decline in this vital cadre of cancer researchers is occurring at a time when cancer research holds the greatest promise of improving survival and quality of life among cancer patients. A growing shortage of physician-scientists means that major laboratory research discoveries will progress to patient application ever more slowly. If the shortage continues unabated, some may not reach patient application at all, thus presenting a crisis in cancer research.

Timeline

• Application deadline: December 1, 20xx
• Review panel meeting: March, 20xx
• Finalists interview: Spring, 20xx
• Funding begins: July 1, 20xx

More information: Damon Runyon Physician-Scientist Training Award

More infromation on other grants avaiolble from Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation .

Science and health grants support research in neuroscience and immunology and their interrelationship in human health and disease.

David Mahoney Neuroimaging Program

Each U.S. medical school dean, and the presidents of the few selected biomedical research institutions that have been invited by letter, may nominate one applicant. Please check the website and let your SMPH Dean’s Office know if you are interested in applying as there may need to be an internal competition.

• Research on imaging innovations that help reveal how the human brain functions normally, how disorders and injuries alter these functions, and how various therapies affect those conditions. Funded research also can focus on immune cell interactions with brain cells.
• Clinical Neuroscience Research: Support for “first in humans” studies of patients with devastating brain diseases for which there currently is no effective treatment. Funded researchers set up controlled clinical studies in patients with a specific brain disease, based on promising animal studies suggesting that a specific therapy either treats the condition or prevents it from getting worse.
• For more information, see: https://dana.org/grants/

The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation will only award grants to a 501.c.3 entity so the proposal will need to go through the UW Foundation. Once the award is issued, it will be brought over to the UW and administered through Fund 133.

Doris Duke no longer requires institutional nomination. Rudie Flietner (rudie.flietner@supportuw.org) at the UW Foundation is familiar with Doris Duke and has been helpful in submitting past proposals to them.

More information is available from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

The Hartwell Foundation Individual Biomedical Research Award provides financial support to stimulate discovery in early-stage biomedical research that will benefit children. The Hartwell Foundation requires each selected research institution to hold an internal open competition annually to identify up to four nominees, based upon application requirements set forth by the Foundation.

For more information, please contact Chrissy Pientok: pientok@wisc.edu

Requirements

• Proposals must describe early-stage, innovative and cutting-edge biomedical research that will benefit children.
• Proposals should be from appropriate areas of basic and applied life sciences, principally limited to medicine and biomedical engineering.
• The research proposed may not have had significant funding from outside sources.
• Proposals should be based on sound science and should “make a difference.”
• Awards are $100,000/year for three years.
• All recipients must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents who hold a full-time appointment and be able to serve as PI.

Lily’s Fund Fellowships

Lily’s Fund provides support for epilepsy-related research through two funding mechanisms that are offered in alternating years.

The Lily’s Fund Fellowship will provide financial support for research training in epilepsy-related research. The successful candidate will be mentored by a UW-Madison faculty member to develop critical skills in research, advance their understanding of epilepsy and related scientific issues, and commence a career in epilepsy-related research.

The Lily’s Fund Fellowship provides up to 2 years of pre- or post-doctoral funding at one-half of current NIH NRSA stipend levels, plus fringe benefits. The applicant’s mentor must identify matching funds to fund the Fellowship fully. To be eligible for a Lily’s Fund Fellowship, pre-doctoral applicants must have achieved dissertator status, and post-doctoral applicants must have received their M.D. or Ph.D. degrees. All applicants must desire experience in epilepsy related research. Clinical fellows are eligible, but support will be limited to the research year, and matching funds are still required. Mentors are encouraged to recruit nationally and internationally for this fellowship opportunity.

Grace Grants

Grace Grants applications should propose innovative research that, if successful, will enrich our understanding of epilepsy, advance new epilepsy treatments, identify new diagnostic tools or otherwise improve quality of life for those who live with epilepsy. A priority will be given to new projects that spark new thinking and open new avenues of inquiry into the mechanisms of epilepsy. The Lily’s Fund Grace Grants provide up to $100,000 ($50,000 per year) over two years. Applications may be submitted by any UW-Madison faculty or academic staff member(s) who have the skills, knowledge and resources necessary to carry out meaningful epilepsy-related research.

The overall aim of ICTR Career Development awards is to develop a diverse and multidisciplinary clinical and translational research workforce. Awardees and their research mentors reflect the scope of the ICTR partners. While scholars are drawn primarily from the UW Schools of Medicine & Public Health, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Veterinary Medicine, the College of Engineering, and Marshfield Clinic, successful applicants have been affiliated with almost all of the UW-Madison schools and colleges. Programs include: TL1 Pre-Doctoral Award, TL1 Post-Doctoral Award, KL2 Scholars Program, AHEAD Pilot Award, and STRIDE Program.  Click on the links below for more information on each program:

• TL1 Postdoctoral Training Program Award (RollingAapplications due Oct 1 and April 1):  The goal of the ICTR TL1 Postdoctoral Program is to recruit and train individuals of diverse backgrounds and research interests in translational science. The program will support mentored training of U.S. citizens or permanent residents with professional doctoral degrees, providing salary and training support at the NIH rate. Training will focus on preparation for academic or leadership careers, supporting individualized research specialization, along with academic skills in leadership and team science, writing, responsible conduct of research, and rigor and reproducibility.  Funding is typically provided for two years, with an option of a third year of funding under extenuating circumstances. Successful applicants will have already identified a UW mentor, will have funding to complete the proposed research, and will have a letter of support from a department chair, indicating their potential to enter a faculty position when the fellowship is finished. It is anticipate the postdoctoral fellow will be supported by independent training grants, career development awards, or other types of extramural funding at the completion of the program. Eligibility is limited to applicants who are applying for or currently holding a postdoctoral position, academic staff, or non-tenure track faculty title series. In most cases, after completion of the TL1 Postdoctoral award, the trainee will be appointed to the faculty at UW Madison or elsewhere (tenure track or non-tenure track title series).
• TL1 Predoctoral Award:  The goal of the ICTR TL1 Predoctoral Program is to train future clinical and translational leaders and to introduce UW health-care professional and engineering students to the scientific foundation of this discipline. It builds on existing, strong clinical and translational training programs in the Schools of Medicine and Public Health, Nursing, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine, and the College of Engineering. Trainees earn a stipend, health insurance, tuition and fees, and a travel allowance. They participate in biennial mentor meetings attended by ICTR leadership and monthly writing workshops.
• KL2 Scholars Program: This award supports junior faculty at UW Madison pursuing and actively engaged in translational research and who are committed to developing an independent research program. Funded by NIH, three scholars are awarded for two years; additional time in the program is possible upon review of scholar progress and need.
• Advancing Health Equity and Diversity (AHEAD) Pilot Program: The UW ICTR Advancing Health Equity and Diversity (AHEAD) Program Pilot Award is a mechanism for investigators associated with the AHEAD Program and other UW post-doctoral scholars/junior faculty focused on health equity research to gain experience in translational research that will facilitate their future career development. Specifically, this pilot award program seeks to support post-doctoral scholars who embrace an interdisciplinary approach to research, including those who genuinely engage community partners & stakeholders.
• CTSA Translational Research Fellowship: These two-year fellowships will prepare residency-trained veterinary specialists to undertake research projects with high potential for translation to human disease.
• Success Together Reaching Independnce, Diversity, and Empowerment (STRIDE): The STRIDE Program supports early career faculty from groups underrepresented in the translational research workforce. The program provides a supportive environment and training in mentorship, scientific writing, grantsmanship, and networking. The program also provides an opportunity for scholars to connect with underrepresented institutional leaders.

ICTR Funding Opportunities

• Clinical & Community Outcomes Research (CCOR) Award:  To support excellent, community-partnered health research that solves problems translating knowledge into improvements in clinical practice, community programs and health policy. This pilot award may also support the development of interventions that require individual, organizational, or system behavior change. Up to $75,000 for 12 months of direct support.
• Collaborative Health Equity Research (CHER): To support new community-engaged research projects focused on health disparities/inequities wherein the PI is an early stage investigator, e.g., assistant professor, and a senior co-investigator is engaged to ensure a mentored experience and to connect the research team with relevant stakeholders. Up to $75, 000 for 12 months of direct support.
• Dissemination & Implementation (D&I) Research Award: To support research that addresses how to best ensure that evidence-based strategies, interventions, and programs are effectively delivered in clinical and community health practice settings and impact policy. Up to $150,000 for 18 months of direct support.
• Evidence to Implementation Award (E2I): The purpose of the E2I award is to expedite dissemination of evidence based practices, interventions, and innovations to appropriate end-users using the D&I Launchpad Program. These include self-management or other health promotion workshops and interventions, and health services innovations that improve delivery of care in the health care or community setting. Up to $75,000 for 18 months of direct support,
• Marshfield Clinic/Marshfield Clinic-UW-Madison Collaborative Research Pilot Award: The Marshfield-UW Research Pilot Award will provide support for proposals that build upon the research interests and infrastructure support of both partners. For Track 1: up to $50,000 for 12 months of direct support; for Track 2: up to $100,000 for 18 months of support.
• New Methods in Translation Science Award: The goal of this RFA is to support innovative processes and methods to advance translation across the research spectrum. The proposed method should NOT be solely project-specific; successful methods will be generalizable to other projects. Methods also must be truly novel, but not novel applications of existing methods. Applicants will choose one of three tracks  (Learning Health Systems, Health Disparities Methods, Pre-Clinical Novel Methods) to submit their grant proposal. We will fund at least one award per track, provided the applications are scientifically meritorious. Up to $50,000 for 12 months of direct support.
• Stakeholder and Patient Engaged Research (SPER): The Stakeholder and Patient Engaged Research (SPER) RFA provides support for activities that will strengthen a competitive application for external funding for research requiring strong stakeholder engagement methodology as a foundation for a success. Up to $100,000 for 12 months of direct support.
• Translational Basic & Clinical Research Pilot Award: These awards address translational basic discovery activities (biological, social, behavioral mechanisms that underlie disease); development of biomarkers, target and lead molecules, and devices (mechanical, computational); preclinical and animal models; translation of discovery to patients (new diagnostic, treatment, and prevention methods; Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials). Up to $50,000 for 12 months of direct support.

UWCCC Funding Opportunities

There are a number of funding opportunities available to UW Carbone Cancer Center (UWCCC) members. The UWCCC Office of Pre-Award Services assists UWCCC investigators in developing and submitting cancer-related grant proposals. Please see this link for more information: https://cancer.wisc.edu/research/funding/

The Department of Medicine (DOM) Research Committee funds are derived from the departmental “R&D tax” on clinical income.

With these funds, the Research Committee develops and oversees initiatives that stimulate research success throughout the department.

Specific initiatives include:

• Pilot funds
• Bridge funds
• Capital exercise funds

UW SDRC Pilot and Feasibility Studies

The University of Wisconsin Skin Disease Research Center (UW SDRC) is supported in part by a grant from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). The Pilot and Feasibility Studies Program of UW SDRC invites applications to support exploratory studies of outstanding merit. These studies should be relevant to NIAMS mission of explorations of innovative research ideas that will enhance skin biology and disease research activities. Complete details and application at https://dermatology.wisc.edu/sdrc/sdrc-pilots/

Opportunity Pool Funds

The O’Brien Center annually has up to $150,000 to fund pilot projects in benign urology research. Ideal projects will facilitate accumulation of preliminary data that can be used for future grant applications and expand the scope of urology research under the auspices of the currently funded O’Brien Centers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison/University of Massachusetts-Boston, Columbia University, and the Mayo Clinic.

Projects that support new investigators with a faculty appointment not already R01 or equivalently funded are especially encouraged. Established investigators not currently doing benign urology research in alignment with the funded centers are also encouraged to apply. The O’Brien Centers have adopted a standard format for application for pilot funding that can be found here.

UW-Madison Memorial Library Grants Information Center

The Grants Information Collection (GIC) is a Funding Information Network partner of the Foundation Center. The GIC is a library collection located in Madison, WI where visitors do their own research. You may schedule an appointment with the Grants Librarian for assistance or attend one of their free workshops.

Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education (OVCRGE) – Funding Resources 

The OVCRGE provides research funding for faculty through its annual cross-campus Fall Research Competition, as well as funding for travel for faculty to domestic and international meetings, named professorships, mid-career awards, and faculty fellowships. Other VCRGE funding programs provide grants to help transfer technologies from the laboratory to the marketplace.

Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education (OVCRGE) – Internal Competitions

The OVCRGE will coordinate these submissions for research opportunities by determining whether multiple candidates wish to apply and organizing an impartial review to select the most competitive proposal(s) to send forward to the funding agency. Coordination of opportunities that have narrow target research areas will be delegated to the School/College or Department involved in those areas.

Funding support for graduate studies at the UW-Madison largely takes the form of fellowships and traineeships. They are typically administered through a student’s respective academic program; therefore, inquiries about funding support should initially be addressed to the department.

UW-Madison Fellowship Programs

Selected programs of interest to SMPH students are listed below; see the UW-Madison Office of Fellowships and Funding Resources site for additional opportunities.

• Funding information for new and current graduate students
• Office of Postdoctoral Studies

Federal Agency Fellowship Programs

• NIH Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Fellowships
• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
• NSF Post-Doctoral Fellowships
• NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (ESSF)

Non-Federal Agency Fellowship Programs

• American Heart Association Pre and Postdoctoral Fellowships
• Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Research Fellowships