Grant Support

Sponsored Awards 

A sponsored award is funding from an external agency such as a private foundation, corporation, or governmental agency for an activity with a defined scope and purpose undertaken by WMed with the expectation of a defined deliverable or being provided in return. WMed encourages extramural support of research and other scholarly activities that contribute to its overall mission.

Sponsored awards may be in the from of a grant, subaward contract, or a formal or informal agreement. The external funding agency is a “sponsor” and the award itself is referred to as the "sponsored award." The activity supported by a sponsored award is a “sponsored program.”

Each sponsored award at WMed has a designated Principal Investigator responsible for the overall conduct of the sponsored program.

Sponsored Program Administration 

Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) seeks to support faculty and staff throughout the lifecycle of a sponsored award including all pre-award and post-award aspects.

Pre-Award Phase

Post-Award Phase

SPA seeks to advance extramural support for the institution by providing administrative and informational assistance to faculty and staff, while ensuring compliance. The acceptance of external funding, whether restricted or unrestricted, imposes certain obligations on WMed with regard to use, management, and accountability of those funds.  Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) is WMed’s liaison with external funding agencies regarding financial and contractual obligations for all sponsored programs.

WMed Pilot Research Project Support Program

The WMed Office of research is soliciting applications for the seventh annual round of program support for pilot research projects. The purpose of the Pilot Research Project Support Program is to encourage and support faculty in developing significant research and rigorous scientific inquiry that engages residents and students. The Pilot Research Project Support Program is also intended to promote the development and future submission of applications for external funding by WMed in support of faculty scholarship. The Pilot Research Project Support Program is an annual competitive award, with review of applications conducted by the Pilot Research Review Subcommittee.  The Pilot Research Project award supports projects with a maximum budget of up to $10,000.  The Office of Research will also support a Student/Resident Initiated Research Project award with a maximum budget of $750.  This award is intended to be written by medical students or residents, in collaboration with a mentoring PI who will support the research.  

The submission deadline for applications for the Pilot Research Support Program is 5:00 p.m., Friday, March 15, 2024. Applications for Student/Resident Initiated Research Projects can be received at any time during the year. 

For assistance completing the application, contact office.research@wmed.edu.

  • Application Criteria and Eligibility

    Pilot Research Project Application Criteria

    1. Funds must be used for new initiatives that are not currently funded.
    2. Projects must engage medical students or residents in the proposed research activities.
    3. Funds should be used for purposes that foster or facilitate the generation of new research initiatives, which may include proposals for additional external funding.
    4. Funds may be used for supplies, support services, support staff salaries, equipment, fees, data analysis, publication costs, data collection, travel necessary to complete research activities, and other direct costs associated with the proposed research activities.
    5. Funds may not be used for faculty, resident, or student salary or to support travel for presentations.
    6. Proposed budgets may not exceed $10,000.
    7. Proposals will be peer reviewed by WMed faculty appointed to the pilot research review subcommittee, of the Research Committee.
    8. Funding must be utilized within one year of the award date.
    9. An interim progress report is due 6 months after the award is made.
    10. A summary of the project results will be required at the end of the funding period describing any presentations, publications, and efforts to seek extramural funding based upon the utilization of the pilot project funds. 
    11. Matching funds may be available for early stage proof of concept proposals with potential for commercialization (contact Sandra Cochrane, assistant dean for the Innovation center for more information).
    12. Proposals will be accepted addressing any relevant area of clinical, basic science, community, or educational research.


    Eligibility

    Individuals or groups of individuals eligible for award submission are restricted to those holding a WMed faculty appointment at the time the proposals are due.

    Previous Pilot Research Project awardees and co-PIs are eligible to submit if he/she has: 1) had a manuscript accepted/published in a peer reviewed journal describing the previously funded project; or 2) has submitted an external funding proposal derived from his/her most recent funded pilot project through the WMed Sponsored Programs Administration; or 3) at least 6 months have elapsed since submission of a satisfactory final report as required for his/her most recently funded pilot research project.

    Funding priority will be provided to investigators without existing resources to support their research activities.  A list of all other support, both extramural and institutional, is required in the application.

  • Application Submission and Review

    Follow the instructions below, complete the Pilot Research Project Support Application Form and submit to the Office of Research at office.research@wmed.edu.

    Proposals should be written for general faculty comprehension. Proposals may not be reviewed by an expert familiar with the content, and technical language should be suitably defined for a general lay-faculty audience. Do not use overly technical text, undefined acronyms, and discipline-specific jargon.

    Proposal Limits

    Pilot Research Project: A maximum of six printed 8-1/2-by-11-inch pages, consecutively numbered, including a one page abstract and a research plan.  The research plan should include 1) specific aims, 2) significance, 3) approach.   

    The proposal also requires a budget, list of facilities and resources, list of all other support (extramural and institutional), and list of references (there is no page limit to these sections, minimum font size 12 point, margins at least ¾ inch).

    Proposal Review

    The Associate Dean for Research, through the Research Committee, will designate faculty to the Pilot Research Review Subcommittee in order to review pilot project applications representing both clinical and non-clinical disciplines. Each member of the Pilot Research Review Subcommittee will submit a conflict of interest statement, and will not be involved in the review of any submission in which they have a conflict. 

    Based upon scores and the recommendation for funding from the Pilot Research Review Subcommittee, the meritorious proposals will be rank ordered and funded until funds are no longer available.

    Merit Review Criteria

    Significance

    1. There is a clear rationale for the proposed activity.
    2. The proposal makes a strong case that the activity will make a meaningful contribution within its own field.
    3. The proposed activity is novel. It advances new hypotheses or research questions.


    Approach

    1. The proposed activity is well conceived and organized.
    2. The proposal is clearly written, particularly for a non-specialist audience.
    3. The methods or procedures are clearly stated and appropriate for the proposed activity.
    4. The plans for data analysis or evaluation critique are clearly stated and appropriate for the proposed activity.


    Budget and Resources

    1. The proposal describes access to appropriate resources, equipment and facilities necessary to complete the proposed activity.
    2. The costs for the proposed budget are clearly itemized and justified.
    3. Other funding sources are not available to support the project.


    Research Team

    1. The proposal adequately describes the engagement of students and/or residents in defined and specific research activities.


    Outcomes

    1. The proposal adequately describes how the anticipated results are to be disseminated.
    2. The likelihood that the proposal would support the applicant in seeking additional external funding in the future.
  • Journal Evaluation Tool
    The changing mechanisms of scholarly publishing may make it difficult for a scholar to determine where to publish the results of research or creative works. In order to assist authors in making the best decisions for your work, and to avoid journals that may not be credible, the Medical Library has created a web site for the evaluation of journal titles and Open Access options offered by publishers.