COHS Pilot Study Awards: Improving Human Health and Well-Being

Criteria & Application

Application Deadline

December 19, 2023

Applicant Eligibility

The Principal Investigator (PI) must be a full-time UCI faculty member within or affiliated with a school or unit within the COHS, from any discipline. Junior and mid-career faculty, women, and members of underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to apply, but established investigators pursuing novel research lines are also welcome. Projects must include at least one COHS co-investigator from a different COHS school or unit.  For example, the PI could be from the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the co-I could be in the School of Nursing (within the COHS). Additional co-investigators may be outside the COHS. 

Investigators may only submit one application in which they are listed as PI. However, a PI can be named on more than one application if they are listed as a co-investigator.

Owing to the one-year funding period of the awards, no projects requiring an IND or an IDE will be considered for funding.

Application Workshop

To be eligible to apply for the Pilot Awards, the Principal Investigator or co-Investigator MUST attend a workshop on general application preparation.

COHS Pilot Planning Virtual Workshop
11 a.m. – 12 p.m., Monday, Oct. 23, 2023
Zoom meeting details will follow registration.

Register for the Workshop

Regulatory Approval

Please note that while having IRB or IACUC approval is not necessary at the time of submission, awarded funds will not be released until such approval has been received. Also, if all regulatory approvals have not been received 6 months after the award date, the award may be withdrawn.

Application Process

The application will be submitted via REDCap and must include:

  • Project Title
  • Amount Requested (maximum allowable is $75,000)
  • Names of Principal Investigator and Co-Investigators
  • Biosketches for Principal Investigator and co-Investigator(s) (New NIH format)
  • Scientific Abstract (300 words). Must include the following sections:
    • Significance (What health issue does this research address?)
    • Study Hypothesis/Research Question (Briefly explain the project’s aims)
    • Research Methods (Include a brief description of the study protocol; what is being done to whom, including where and by whom as well as the source of study data—humans, animals, archived samples, etc.)
    • Potential impact of the research
  • General Summary of the project (i.e., Lay language abstract) written to be accessible to a general (i.e., non-academic) audience (300 words max)
  • Health Equity (How, if at all, does your project address health equity? Please include the specific health disparities and population(s) your project will be addressing.) [not required] 
  • Research Plan (5 pages max, plus references) must include:
    • Specific Aims (usually about 1 page)
    • Significance (What is the potential to lead to improved human health and well-being?)
    • Innovation (What does this research add to the body of knowledge?)
    • Approach (What are the research activities that will completed in the year?)
    • Feasibility (What resources/competencies exist that will make this research feasible in a one-year timeframe?)
    • Plans for applying for extramural funding
  • Project milestones and timeline
  • Home department letter of support (may include information about available resources)
  • Budget (itemized, 1 page maximum)
  • Budget Justification
    • Funds cannot be used to support computer purchases or travel
    • No overhead will be provided for outside collaborators or institutions
    • The project duration must not exceed 1 year
  • Additional Information:
    • Keywords: Please provide 3-5 keywords to best describe your study and type of expertise needed for providing a quality review.  Keywords can describe content and/or methodology
    • Suggested Reviewers: Please provide 3-5 reviewers not in conflict with the proposed project to invite to review the proposal (can be internal or external).
    • All material must include the investigator’s name at the top right corner, and use a font no smaller than 11 pts, with margins no narrower than 0.5 inches.

Post-Award Project Support

Before funds are released, an activation meeting will be held with the awardee, a department financial analyst, and COHS staff, at which the team will discuss award funds management, review the project timeline and explain the Research Acceleration and Facilitation Team (RAFT) support that will be provided to the research team.

Application Review Process

The review process will be managed by the UCI’s Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS). Applications will be reviewed by COHS Leadership and internal and external reviewers. Review criteria will include:

  • Significance and impact of the proposed research
  • Qualifications of the PI and research team
  • Innovation
  • Approach; Scientific strength of the research design
  • Scientific environment
  • Clinical/population health impact
  • Project feasibility within the proposed time frame
  • Likelihood of generating extramural funding

In submitting an application, you agree to allow reviewers external to UC Irvine access to your application materials.

For more information, please contact Sarah Valdovinos at slvaldov@hs.uci.edu.