Radiology Seed Grant Program

The Department of Radiology offers a seed grant program for faculty members to request funding for pilot studies. The goal of this program is to help faculty members generate preliminary data needed to compete successfully for external funding from government, private, or industrial sponsors. Projects across the full scope of research in Radiology and Imaging Sciences, including basic science, translational, and clinical research, are welcome. We accept applications from faculty members with any type of appointment (research, instructional, or clinical tracks). Multi-principal investigator applications involving radiology faculty members are welcome, and the research team may include persons from departments outside of radiology as co-investigators.

Non-faculty members, such as residents and fellows, are encouraged to participate in these projects but may not act as principal investigator.

Application Format and Instructions:

  1. Applications may be submitted on a rolling basis; there are no submission deadlines.
  2. Submit a one-page description of the proposed research, emphasizing impact of the project, general workflow, and plans/timeline for applying for external funding. Figures must fit within the one-page limit. References may extend to a second page.
  3. Submit an outline of the requested budget and brief justification for costs. Acceptable costs may include supplies, recharge rates for scan time, and non-faculty effort (technicians, research coordinators, data management). Costs may NOT include faculty effort, indirect costs, or tuition for students. The Department funds a statistician to support research, so costs may not include biostatistics support.
  4. Maximum requested budget for an individual is $25,000. For proposals involving two or more faculty members in Radiology, the maximum requested budget is $40,000. Individuals or collaborative teams may request less than the maximum amount. The Department reserves the right to award less than the full amount based on availability of funds.
  5. You may discuss the application in advance of submission with the Associate Chair for Clinical Research.
  6. Submit the application file to the Associate Chair for Clinical Research.
  7. Persons may not submit more than one project per rolling year without prior approval.

Review and Award Process:

  1. All applications will be reviewed internally to make a funding decision. Likelihood for future external grant funding is a key consideration. Applicants will receive a summary of comments.
  2. Rejected applications may be resubmitted once. Persons considering re-submission are encouraged strongly to discuss the application with the Associate Chair for Clinical Research.
  3. Persons awarded funds will receive a short code for expenses.

Expectations for Award Recipients:

  1. Funds should be spent only for the submitted project. If an awardee wishes to alter the project plan and direction, he/she must request and receive written approval from the Associate Chair for Clinical Research.
  2. All awarded funds must be spent within one year. Awardees may request a no-cost extension from the Associate Chair for Clinical Research. This request must include the reason for the extension and time frame for completion. Lacking such an extension, all unspent funds revert to the Department of Radiology after one year.
  3. Upon completion of the research or at one year after award (whichever comes first), awardees must submit a one-page summary of their work on the project. The summary must include a synopsis of the work, key findings, publications/presentations/patents, and grants submitted/received.
  4. Award recipients are expected to present their research at the monthly Radiology Research Conference.
  5. Persons not meeting these expectations may be disqualified from receiving future funding from the seed grant program.

Please address questions to the Associate Chair for Clinical Research Gary Luker ([email protected])