Pilot Grant Application

Call for Proposals

Internal funding opportunity for Stanford graduate students, medical students, medical residents, postdoctoral and clinical fellows, as well as Instructors.

Deadline: July 11, 2023 (see application deadlines below)

Purpose

Stanford Department of Medicine (DoM) is providing an internal funding opportunity for Stanford graduate students, medical students, medical residents, postdoctoral and clinical fellows, and faculty to facilitate collaborative translational research projects.  The goals of TRAM include: pilot funding to support translational projects, to provide access to a core facility to assist in translational studies, and to provide a seminar series workshops and an annual symposium to highlight the translational research supported by the program.

Amount of Funding

  • Student (medical, graduate or undergraduate) awards for up to $5K for one year
  • Fellow (post-MD or post-PhD) or clinical resident awards for up to $20K for one year
  • Instructors may apply for the Fellow Award (up to $20K for one year)year

Eligibility

  • Proposals may be submitted by students, residents, fellows, postdocs and Instructors*
 
  • *Instructors may submit applications for the Fellow Award 

 

  • We encourage cross department/school and cross discipline collaborations, but AT LEAST ONE KEY FACULTY MENTOR MUST BE A DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE (DoM) PROFESSOR, ASSOCIATE OR ASSISTANT PROFESSOR. 
  • For a list of eligible DoM faculty mentors, please see http://medicine.stanford.edu/faculty/faculty-directory.html

 

  • Funds must be applied to specific translational research questions that require direct patient interactions. (Funds can be used for research reagents, kits, assays, and other research consumables, as well as core facilities' service fees, but are not to be used for salary support).
 
  • Scholar must have at least two Stanford faculty mentors: one of whom must have a clinically-based program, and the other must have a basic research lab.
 
  • This must be a new collaborative translational project (TRAM will not support an ongoing project). 
 
  • Scholar is required to participate in MED221, a TRAM course that includes lectures and project updates, every Wednesday 3-5pm (September 2023 through June 2024). We don't know yet whether this will be done remotely by zoom or in person.  Winter and Spring quarters - tba (possibly a hybrid of zoom and in person meetings).

 

  • Scholar needs to present project progress at the TRAM Annual Symposium: June 5, 2024).

 

**TASC: Translational Applications Service Center
TASC is a SoM core facility that can be used by the members of the TRAM program for blood processing, isolation of RNA, DNA and protein from human tissues (including FFPE) and blood.  It is a fully equipped laboratory with tissue culture facilities for in vitro passage of primary human tissues and cell lines, and freezer/liquid nitrogen storage of clinical specimens.  TASC can also provide technical assistance to obtain and analyze data from molecular, proteomic and genomic technologies, including the nano-immunoassay (NIA).

Application Guidelines

By July 11, 2023, please send one merged Word file containing the following in the order listed below via email attachment to:

Joanna Liliental
jlili@stanford.edu

Last name_TRAM_2023.docx

Institutional representative: not applicable. You do not have to generate a PDF form or submit your proposals to your Research Process Manager (RPM) in RMG or RMG Fellowship Office for approval. You can submit them directly to Joanna.

1) Title Page
Translational Research and Applied Medicine (TRAM) 
Pilot Grant Program 2023-2024 
Project Title
Proposal type (select one: Medical Student, PhD Student, Undergraduate Student, post-PhD Fellow, post-MD Fellow, Instructor)
Applicant: name, title, department, address, phone, email address
Mentors: name, title, department, address, phone, email address

2) Research Proposal (maximum 2 pages-not including figures, and references)
Format: single-spaced, 1/2 margin, Arial or Helvetica Font Size 11 or larger 
a ) Background
b) Hypothesis
c) Aims
d) Research Methods
e) Statement of direct clinical relevance

3) Budget justification (1 page)

4) NIH Biosketches (applicant, each mentor, and all key personnel)
NIH Forms webpage containing biosketch template for the new NIH biosketch:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms.htm

5) Description of other funding support (applicant and each mentor) 

6) Faculty letter of support
Each application must include a letter of nomination from your faculty mentors addressed to the TRAM Pilot Grant Review Committee. This letter must also state that:
(a) the scholar (applicant) will participate in MED 221 (every Wednesday 3-5 pm), 
(b) Key personnel (mentors) will attend the scholar’s MED221 progress presentations
(c) Scholar will provide a progress report of the findings at the TRAM Annual Symposium on June 5, 2024 (date to be confirmed), and 
(d) will mention TRAM funding in all presentations, abstracts and publications.




Questions? Contact Person
Joanna Liliental, Ph.D.
Associate Director-TRAM 
jlili@stanford.edu

 

Questions?

Joanna Liliental PhD
Associate Director, TRAM Program
jlili@stanford.edu