ICTS Pilot RFA 2026-27

Click here

  1.  Funding Details 

    1. $25,000 for a funding period starting in April 2026 through March 2027 1. The $25,000 award is for direct costs, do not include indirect costs in your project budget

      1. No University of Iowa faculty salary or meeting travel will be supported

    2. It is expected that pilot projects lead to external grant or contract submissions

    3. Publications that result from the pilot grant program, in whole or in part, must cite the NIH CTSA program grant UM1TR004403.

  2. We require investigators to declare in the Letter of Intent what Translational Science Principle(s) their project addresses. View definitions and examples of the Translational Science Principles here: https://ncats.nih.gov/about/about-translational-science/principles.

  3. Pilot projects must focus on advancing translational science (and/or removing the barriers). Translational research projects per se (e.g. projects focused on a particular target or disease, but do not build on or establish processes or principles applicable to other diseases), will not be allowed. (See the following link to learn more about translational science: https://ncats.nih.gov/about/about-translational-science)

    1. Projects are intended to: 

      1. explore innovative new leads or new directions 

      2. stimulate team approaches that incorporate less traditional researchers 

      3. provide initial support to establish proof of concept for translational science. Projects must be feasible within the proposed timeframe, have high methodological and scientific quality, and answer important translational science questions.

  4.  ICTS Core Services (Mobile Technology Lab; Clinical Research Trials Office; Biomedical Informatics; Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design; Qualitative Core; Community Engagement; etc.) used for this project are available to awardees. Use of ICTS Core(s) must be stated in your Letter of Intent and the Core must be contacted prior to submitting a full application. We recommend contacting a Core as soon aspossible in case their services need to be factored into the budget. You can request a Letter of Support from the Cores here: https://redcap.link/ICTSLOS

Application

Two-stage application

  1. Two-stage application 

    1. Submit a one-page letter of intent (LOI) with individual faculty NIH or NSF Biosketches due October 17th, 2025. LOIs should be sent to Jamie Thrams (Jamie-thrams@uiowa.edu)

    2. Applicants will be notified on or shortly after November 7, 2025 if they have been selected to submit a full proposal

    3. Selected applicants will be asked to submit a full proposal through InfoReady Review (https://uiowa.infoready4.com) by January 9, 2026. Sections 2B-E of the proposal must be limited to 5 pages. 

      1. Pilot Grant Application (available at https://icts.uiowa.edu/investigators/pilot-grant-programs)

      2. Please include: 

        1. IRB application unique to the study of the pilot application (Clinical Trial studies should start their IRB application as early as possible to meet this requirement)

        2.  Abstracts/Relevance (maximum of 250 words/2,000 characters, including spaces)

        3. Specific Aims

        4. Background and Preliminary Data

        5. Research Plan

        6. Budget & Justification

          1. Graduate stipends and tuition expenses are not allowable costs

Download Application

Awardees will be notified by February 20, 2026.

ICTS Pilot Grant Program Webinar:

Information for Potential Applicants

An informational webinar for applicants will be held on Wednesday, September 17th. 3:30-4.30pm. Click here or scan the QR code to register.

More information to apply can be found at https://icts.uiowa.edu/investigators/pilot-grant-programs

Questions can be directed to Jamie Thrams (jamie-thrams@uiowa.edu)

ICTS-Pilot-Grant-Program-Webinar-Information-for-Potential-Applicants