Identify Funding

Point of contact: Jane Naraine

Typically offered: February

Major themes or new scientific directions may arise while conducting research for a currently funded NIH R01 that are not part of the original scope of the project. To assist Principal Investigators (PI) pursue an additional theme ("the last aim"), the Research Institute sponsors internal grants that support the extension of a recently awarded NIH R01.

The goals of this initiative include:

• Support for studies that could not be included in a primary aim but are still valuable to complete
• Establish collaborations with other investigators
• Provide key preliminary data for future grant submissions
• Invest in the portfolio of successful research faculty
• Support thematic priorities (e.g., clinical translation, bench-clinical collaboration, community outreach).

Funding will be for one year at $50,000 with the potential for an additional year of funding at $50,000, contingent on success towards the research objectives.

Point of contact: Jane Naraine

Typically offered: Solicitation for applications will occur semiannually in the Spring and Fall of each year. Off-cycle consideration for a Bridge Funding application may be given on an ad hoc basis. The funding periods for approved applications will be July 1 – June 30 (for Spring cycle) and January 1 – December 31 (for Fall cycle).

The intent of the Bridge Funding Program is to provide up to 12 months of bridge funding for basic science, translational, and clinical research projects to enable the continuation of an essential level of activity such that a recently funded project may progress to renewed funding or replacement funding.

For more information about the committee, refer to the Bridge Funding Committee Charter and the Bridge Funding Program Guidelines and Process SOP.

Point of contact: Megan Roman

Typically offered: Spring

The Carole Marcus Mid-Career Award to Promote Career Development and Mentoring in Pediatric Research is a two-year award sponsored by the Department of Pediatrics and the Research Institute, in memory of pioneering sleep researcher Carole Marcus, MBBCh, who was an outstanding and generous mentor for many fellows and faculty. Dr. Marcus had an unwavering commitment to academic rigor and transdisciplinary science.

The award's overarching goal is to foster a culture of research mentoring to facilitate the successful research careers of our remarkable CHOP junior investigators.

Cell and Gene Therapy Collaborative Acceleration Grant

Point of contact: Jim Berstler

Typically offered: Application period January through March. Funding begins July 1st.

Cell & Gene Therapy Collaborative Acceleration Grants are designed to support progress in later-stage preclinical programs advancing towards first-in-human testing of new therapies in either the engineered cell therapy or gene therapy space. We welcome translational proposals from across the institution. We would especially like to encourage applications where disease/condition experts are collaborating with gene and cell therapy experts.

Selected programs are eligible for $1.0-1.5 million in support over a two-year period.

Eligible applicants should already have demonstrated proof of concept of their scientific pursuit. The Acceleration Grants are designed to enable the transition from proof of concept to first-in-human testing and IND submission. Specifically, funding may support any activities to enable readiness for a first-in-human study, including pharm/tox and other IND-enabling studies, regulatory support, and vector production. Clear timelines and a sense of readiness will be important review criteria. Individuals based at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with faculty appointments at the University of Pennsylvania are eligible to apply.

To learn more about the program, see our atCHOP community page (log in required).

Cell and Gene Therapy Collaborative Seed Grant

Point of contact: Jim Berstler

Typically offered: Application period January through March. Funding begins July 1st.

Cell & Gene Therapy Collaborative Seed Grants are designed to promote early-stage development of new ideas in either the engineered cell therapy or gene therapy space, with the ultimate goal of achieving preclinical proof of concept by the end of the grant period. They support proof of concept programs for new cell or gene therapy applications, approaches, therapies, and technologies, as well as important clinical inquiries. We welcome translational proposals from across the institution. We would especially like to encourage applications where disease/condition experts are collaborating with gene and cell therapy experts.

Seed Grants also support the investigation of important inquiries related to the clinical application of developmental and approved cell and gene therapies including, but not limited to, safety profiles and patient population selection.

Selected programs are eligible for $200k-400k in support over a two-year period. Funding may support any activities in pursuit or development of proof of concept; however, funding may not be used to develop foundational infrastructure (e.g., data collection tools). Clear timelines and a sense of feasibility will be important review criteria. Individuals based at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with faculty appointments at the University of Pennsylvania are eligible to apply.

To learn more about the program, see our atCHOP community page (log in required).

Point of contact: Jane Naraine

Typically offered: September

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute supports pilot grant applications to support promising research efforts by Clinical Fellows and Instructors at CHOP. The goal of the program is to provide salary support for staff who can assist the trainee in achieving their research objectives. This opportunity is intended for individuals with clinical responsibilities who are trying to secure a NIH K (Research Career Development) award. Preference will be given to those applications that rank highly on innovation and the potential for transitioning to future federal funding support.

Funding is for one year at $50,000 with the potential for an additional year of funding at $50,000, contingent on success towards research objectives.

Point of contact: Jane Naraine

Typically offered: March

Dr. Klaus Hummeler was the first Director of the Joseph Stokes Jr. Research Institute when it was established in 1972 and he served as Chairman of the Research Committee. An infectious diseases physician and researcher, he ran the virus diagnostic laboratory at CHOP and developed techniques to identify more than 25 viruses, many associated with infectious diseases. He was a catalyst for the expansion of CHOP from a city-based hospital to a world-class children's hospital that accelerates research. In honor of Dr. Hummeler, an endowed research fund was established to recognize outstanding basic, clinical, or translational research papers published by members of the Research Institute each fiscal year.

Point of contact: Jane Naraine

Typically offered: February

The CHOP Research Institute sponsors internal grants to stimulate research in the cutting-edge fields of Genomics, Other Omics, and Big Data to advance CHOP's leadership in these areas. The overarching vision is to lead in developing new omics-based discoveries, diagnostics, and therapeutics for children and to achieve meaningful growth in the number of patients whose care is informed by omics. So far, the initiative has been primarily focused on genomics data which are more developed than other data types. This opportunity is intended to extend to other omics technologies (e.g., proteomics and metabolomics) as well as big data resources including clinical and EPIC data (e.g., phenomics, radiomics).

The goals of this initiative include:

• Analysis of existing omics and HER data with a translational relevance to clinical care
• Supplementing existing omics data with prospective research that generate and inform personalized medicine approaches
• Developing paradigms to creatively integrate existing multimodal/multi-omics datasets to address pressing biomedical challenges
• Collaboration across divisions or departments to merge different data types in ways that strengthen existing projects or open new opportunities
• Leveraging ARCUS resources to achieve study aims

Point of contact: Jane Naraine

Typically offered: September

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute supports applications to stimulate research projects led by CHOP-based Penn faculty on the Research track at the Research Assistant Professor and Research Associate Professor ranks. The goal of this initiative is to provide funding for staff and other expenses to support the PI in development of sufficient preliminary data for external grant submissions.

Funding is for one year at $50,000 with the potential for an additional year of funding at $50,000, contingent on success toward the research objectives.

Point of contact: Michael Campbell

Typically offered: Spring

Foerderer Awards are designed to allow ongoing research to move into new and productive areas, or investigators to apply new research techniques toward novel investigations.

Clinical, translational, and basic research projects are eligible. Projects should be designed to result in preliminary data to support extramural funding applications. Proposals involving collaborative research between different groups at CHOP are encouraged. Applicants may request up to $50,000 over one year.