Request for proposals released for 2020-21 Translational Pilot Studies awards

Pilot studies workflow.

Published September 26, 2019

UB’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Translational Pilot Studies program is now accepting Letters of Intent for 2020-21 pilot study applications. 

The program supports research projects that explore novel methodologies and technologies that can be translated to a clinical setting

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The program seeks to fund innovative, multidisciplinary clinical and translational research projects at UB and Buffalo Translational Consortium (BTC) institutions. Pilot studies are a great way to generate preliminary data for submission of extramural federal and private research grant applications that might not otherwise have a chance at being funded.

Formed in 2009, the BTC includes the leading academic, healthcare and research institutions in the Buffalo region, along with key community partners.

Priority is given to applications that address health disparities in underserved or underrepresented populations in the Western New York region and those with a team science approach which pair early-stage investigators with well-established investigators.

Letters of Intent (LOIs) from investigators interested in applying for Translational Pilot Studies funding are due Friday, October 25. Selected LOIs will be invited to submit full proposals based on criteria outlined in the Request For Proposals (RFP).

This is the ninth round of translational pilot study awards since the program was established in 2010. To date, 70 projects from eight UB schools/colleges and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center have yielded 132 publications in peer-reviewed journals and nearly $18 million in extramural funding.

Funding for the program is provided by: UB’s offices of the Provost, the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, the Vice President for Health Sciences, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and the deans of UB’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Public Health and Health Professions, and School of Nursing. Increased funding from the NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award since 2015 has expanded the number of pilot study grants awarded annually.

Prior recipients of CTSI Translational Pilot Studies awards will present their findings at the annual Pilot Studies Colloquium held at the Clinical and Translational Research Center on October 18.