Pilot Projects (PP)-Faculty 

The Faculty Pilot Project awards will provide support for several types of activities which include: 

• developing Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs), 

• the collection of preliminary data for new grants or resubmissions through Launch awards, or 

• through Data Science Pilot Project (DSP) awards facilitating large scale data collection or analyses.

Awardees will be invited to participate in our Entering Mentoring program and participation will be encouraged for junior faculty.

All network institutions must have committed to providing 25% release time (3 person months) for PP faculty award recipients at the time of award.

To submit a Letter of Intent (LOI), please click on the link above. The LOI must be completed by 5 pm ET on Friday, March 6, 2026. Absolutely no late LOIs will be accepted.

Completed LOIs will include the title and short description of your project. This short description is limited to 4 sentences total and should accurately describe the biomedical relevance of your project. Applications submitted without an LOI submission will not be accepted.

Applicants should include their email address which will be used for all correspondence regarding this application. 

Completed applications, including institutional required signatures on the Face page, must be submitted to the link above by 5 pm ET on Friday, April 3, 2025. Absolutely no late applications will be accepted.

Applications with missing components will not be accepted.

If you have any questions relating to this NOFO, please contact John Clarkson (Email).

PP awardees are required to have a scientific mentor if they are an early career investigator or are using the PP award to transition into a new research area.

All early career faculty supported by the PP awards are required to have one scientific mentor, who can help them navigate the challenges associated with establishing a research program while transitioning to a faculty role. Mentors will advise faculty during the preparation of their career development plan to ensure the proposed plan activities will enable the faculty member to achieve their career goals.

See Mentoring page for more details.

All projects must address biomedically relevant questions within the scope of research supported by NIH. It is incumbent upon the applicant to clearly demonstrate the biomedical relevance of the proposed work within the proposal.

The application forms package can be downloaded from the SC INBRE website in a fillable, pdf format. Proposals must be prepared with a minimum of 0.5" margins all around, using Arial (or similar sans serif font; font size no smaller than 11 pt) and subdivided into sections indicated below (page limits are noted). All forms must be completed according to the NIH guidelines for “R” series awards. Each package includes the following:

• • Face Page:  This page must be filled out in its entirety and signed by an authorized institutional representative.

  • Project Summary/Performance site/Key personnel:  Fill out all components and indicate whether or not the project uses human embryonic stem cells.

  • NEW! Biographical Sketch(es) of PI and other Key PersonneI (NIH-format) and Biographical Sketch(es) Example (NIH format)

  • Budget Page: Enter direct costs only; total cannot exceed $15,000 for CUREs, Launch or BIPP awards

  • Budget Justification: Allowable costs include personnel; supplies; travel; equipment; and other costs as allowed on NIH research project grant budgets. Student support should be listed as salary not stipends. PPs are not eligible for indirect costs.

  • Introduction/Response to Reviewers’s Comments (for resubmissions only): 1 page

  • Progress Report (for PP competitive renewals only): 2 pages

    1. • For current PP awardees seeking a second year of funding,  indicate how the additional funding will be crucial for a proposal submission within this second year or how funds will be used to address reviews from a previous proposal submission. There should be new specific aim(s) for the renewal.

  •  Specific Aims: 1 page

  • Research strategy (up to 6 pages): Should have the following 3 sections — Significance, Innovation, and Approach. Rigor of prior research should be addressed in the Significance section. In the Approach section, applicants need to address rigor, in terms of how the proposed study will address weaknesses in previous research,  describe experimental design/methods that will yield robust and unbiased results, address anticipated outcomes/alternatives, and relevant biological variables. 

  • Literature cited: 1-2 pages

  • Vertebrate Animals (1 page). If the proposed project involves vertebrate animals,  include a vertebrate animals section which addresses the following: 

    1. a description of procedures which includes species, strains, sex, ages, and number of animals to be used in the proposed project;

    2. justification for model used; 

    3. address minimization of pain and distress; and 

    4. method of euthanasia according to NIH guidelines (see NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare for additional information). 

Note: Submit your animal protocol for IACUC approval while you are preparing your RP application if you do not already have it approved.If your campus does not have an OLAW assurance or IACUC and you want to propose a project involving vertebrate animals, contact Dr. Edie Goldsmith (Email) before submitting your application. Research involving vertebrate animals must have IACUC approval before work on the project can begin. For applications selected for funding, the IACUC approval letter will be due to John Clarkson (Email) no later than July 17, 2026. The Administrative Core will not release funds to any investigator who has proposed to use vertebrate animals in their research until the project has been approved by NIH/NIGMS.

• • Select Agents Research (1 page; if necessary). If your proposed activities involve the use of select agents at any time during the proposed project period complete this section. In this section address the following: 

    1. Identify the select agent(s) to be used in the proposed research; 

    2. Provide the registration status of all entities* where select agent(s) will be used; 

    3. Provide a description of all facilities where the select agent(s) will be used. If there are no select agents, do not complete this section.

  • Resource Sharing Plan (1 page, if applicable): Should be provided for applications which propose the development of novel model organisms or novel research resources/tools.

  • Data Management and Sharing Plan (1 page). Describe the plan, consistent with NIH data/resource sharing policies (see NIH Scientific Data Sharing), for sharing of research data/resources generated. The Data Management and Sharing Plan (DMSP) must include the following sections: 

    1. Data type; 

    2. Related tools, software/code; 

    3. Standards; 

    4. Data preservation, access and associated timelines; 

    5. Access, distribution or reuse considerations; and 

    6. Oversight of data management and sharing. A sample plan is available on this website (NIH Data Management & Sharing Plan).

  • Authentication of Key Biological/Chemical Resources (1 page). Describe methods/procedures for validating the identity of significant biological/chemical agents used.

  • Plans for Further Development of the Work (1 page). Describe plans for publication and how you plan to use the data in grant proposals; if possible, mention specific opportunities for funding; new collaborations.

  • Plans for training of students/postdoctoral fellows under the award (1 page). SC INBRE projects require the training of students or fellows. Formal training plans are not allowed, but activities designed to improve student research capabilities can be described. Make sure to include opportunities for training in lab safety and responsible conduct of research.

    2. • CRU applicants: Explain what role the students will have in the project and how participation in the project will help develop the students’s research and intellectual skills and help them mature as scientists. Provide details of interactions between faculty member and students/fellows.

       • PUI applicants: Include a description of how the proposed research will be accomplished with an undergraduate research team. How will the students be trained and supervised in conducting research (involvement in experimental design, execution, and data analysis)? 

  • Checklist: This is the page where the indirect costs associated with the project are calculated and shown.

Human Subjects Research is not allowed for this proposal. Investigators can use human tissues/samples as along as the work doesn’t meet the definition of Human Subjects Research.

If you are working with human cells or de-identified samples, or uncertain if your research qualifies as human subject research, please review the flow chart at this link to see if your work qualifies as Human Subjects research.

Human Subjects Forms

• • Human Subjects Form and Instructions

  • Human Subjects Exempt Form

  • Human Subjects Attachment Packet