Applications are currently under review for the 2026 Pilot Award Cycle.
No new applications are being accepted at this time.
No new applications are being accepted at this time.
Overview
The UCI Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS) is pleased to announce a new call for pilot applications for the ICTS Translational Science Pilot Studies Award Program. One-year awards in the amount of $40,000 will be conferred in this round. The funding period is from July 1, 2026- June 30, 2027.
Purpose: The ICTS Translational Science Pilot Studies Awards are intended to provide investigators with support to engage in proof-of-concept or preliminary research that addresses a common roadblock or bottleneck in translational research. Projects are expected to inform a subsequent application for extramural funding to extend the findings, which should be generalizable across multiple diseases and lead to improved efficiency or effectiveness of future translational research.
Rationale: The ICTS Translational Science Pilot Studies Award Program is supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), one of the centers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). As defined by NCATS, a key tenet of translational science is to understand common causes of inefficiency and failure in translational research projects. Many of these causes are understood to be the same across targets, diseases, and therapeutic areas. In the new funding cycle for the ICTS, NCATS has mandated that Pilot Awards must address a question of translational science significance. Pilot Awards must be intended to be generalizable across multiple diseases and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of translational research to enhance health and reduce the burdens of illness and disability.
Investigator Eligibility
- Multiple-Principal Investigator (m-PI) projects are allowed.
- At least one Principal Investigator (PI) must be a full time UCI faculty or UCI academic employee from any school or discipline who is eligible to serve as a NIH PI. For information about PI eligibility visit the UCOP website: https://ucop.edu/research-policy-analysis-coordination/resources-tools/contract-and-grant-manual/chapter1/chapter-1-500.html.
- The individual who will be doing the majority of the work should be a named PI.
- PIs who did not receive a Pilot Studies Award from the ICTS within the prior year are eligible.
- Investigators must take a full funding cycle break before applying again.
- For example, if you were funded as a PI for 2025, you cannot apply as a PI again for the 2026 pilot cycle; you must wait for the following 2027 pilot cycle to apply again.
To be eligible to apply for Pilot Studies Awards, the Principal Investigator or co-Investigator MUST attend a workshop and be an ICTS Member. Membership is free and it is easy to sign up. You can sign up for an ICTS membership here. If you are not already an ICTS member, you will be prompted to become a member during workshop registration. Workshops are currently scheduled for mid-October. Registration is required to attend. Zoom meeting details will follow registration.
Notes:
- Investigators may only submit one application in which they are listed as PI or m-PI. However, a PI or m-PI can be on more than one application if they are listed as a co-investigator.
- This funding opportunity is available to all investigators who meet the eligibility criteria. We especially encourage investigators from the following groups to apply:
- Junior and mid-career faculty
- Faculty from the Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) and the Long Beach VA.
- If CHOC and VA applicants do not have a joint UC Irvine faculty appointment, their proposals must have a UC Irvine m-PI.
- If you have a primary appointment with CHOC or the VA, please contact us to discuss your specific situation, as no subcontracts are allowed with this award.
Eligible Projects and/or Project Characteristics
All characteristics must be met for it to be an eligible project:
- Must address a translational science roadblock.
- Currently not funded.
- The project will generate preliminary results for a full application for extramural funds.
- Can be completed within a one-year funding period.
- Findings will be generalizable across a variety of diseases and improve the efficiency and/or effectiveness of future translational research.
- Note: Projects that are only generalizable across multiple cancer types are not eligible for this funding opportunity.
- Project must be executable without an IND or an IDE.
- Project is not a clinical trial.
Application Process: Two Phases
Phase One: Pre-Application
Application Opens: October 1, 2025 (pre-application links will be sent following attendance at a workshop)
Deadline: Monday, November 3, 2025
A pre-application is REQUIRED. Not all submitted pre-applications will advance to Phase Two.
The pre-application will be submitted via REDCap and must include:
The pre-application will be submitted via REDCap and must include:
- Project Title
- Amount Requested (maximum $40,000 direct costs)
- Names of Principal Investigator(s) and Co-Investigators
- Biosketch(es) for Principal Investigator(s) (New NIH format)
- Abstract (max 250 words)
- Significance
- Study Hypothesis/Research Question
- Research Methods
- Potential Impact
- Project Plan:
- Translational Science Focus: Relevance of the proposed project to translational science. Address the following 3 questions. (max 200 words)
- What is the translational science roadblock your project will address? (by which we mean what barrier to the research process do you seek to overcome with this project)
- What are the various health conditions that your project impacts? How will the findings of your project be generalizable across multiple diseases?
- How will your project lead to enhancing the efficiency and/or effectiveness of future translational research?
- Study Hypothesis/Research Question: Briefly explain the project’s significance, aims and objectives. (max 200 words)
- Research Methods: Address the source of the study data (humans, animals, archived samples, etc.) and provide a brief description of the study protocol: what is being done to whom, including where and by whom. (max 200 words)
- Evidence of feasibility: Describe any prior experience and/or existing resources that will support your efforts to complete this research in a 12-month timeframe. If the project involves human subjects, provide evidence to support your ability to recruit your target sample size. (max 200 words)
- Translational Science Focus: Relevance of the proposed project to translational science. Address the following 3 questions. (max 200 words)
- Additional Information:
- Keywords: Please provide 3-5 keywords to best describe your study and the type of expertise needed for providing a quality review. Keywords can describe content and/or methodology.
- Suggested Internal (UC Irvine) Reviewers
Phase Two: Full Proposal
Application Opens: Based on the scoring of pre-applications, selected applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal. Invitations will be issued on or before December 19, 2025.
Deadline: Friday, January 30, 2026
Documents and information submitted in the pre-application phase will be transferred to the full application. Please update any changes that have been made since submission.
In addition to the materials from the pre-application (updated if necessary) the application must include:
- Biosketches for co-Is (New NIH format)
- General Summary of the project written to be accessible to a general (i.e., non-academic) audience (250 words max)
- Research Plan (5 pages max, plus references [references do not count in 5 pages maximum]) must include:
- Specific Aims
- Significance & Innovation (be sure to address the translational science aspects of the project)
- Approach
- Plans for applying for extramural funding
- ICTS Pilot Project Implementation Plan
- Data Safety and Monitoring Plan (If human subjects research)
- Data Management and Sharing Plan
- Home Department Letter of Support
- Budget (itemized, 1 page maximum)
- Include only direct costs in your budget proposal. Indirect costs (F&A) are assessed internally by ICTS after projects are selected for funding. Do not include F&A in the application budget.
- Funds cannot be used for computer purchases, publication fees, food, travel, or equipment.
- No overhead will be provided for outside collaborators or institutions (including the VA or CHOC).
- Subcontracts are not allowed. It is possible to engage an outside collaborator as a vendor.
- This funding mechanism does not permit cost-sharing. Each person named in the application should be included in the budget.
- Funds must be fully expended by 6/30/2027; any funds remaining in the project budget after that date will be forfeited. No-cost extensions are not allowed.
- Budget Justification (1 page maximum)
- Suggested Reviewers
Regulatory Approval: Please note that while having regulatory approval (IRB, IACUC) at the time of the application is not required, the awarded funds cannot be released, by NIH mandate, until such approval has been received and NIH Prior Approval has been received. If regulatory approval and Prior Approval has not been received 3 months into the award year, the award may be rescinded.
Resubmissions: Applications that were not funded during a prior call for ICTS pilot awards may be resubmitted a second time by checking the appropriate box during the application process. Resubmissions will have the opportunity to address the criticisms raised during the review process; however, no additional space will be allowed for the rebuttal, which will have to be included in the 5-page limit of the Research Plan. A maximum of ONE resubmission will be allowed for each previously unfunded project.
Post-Award Project Support: Before funds are released, an activation meeting will be held with the awardee, a department financial analyst, and ICTS staff at which time the team will review the project implementation plan and explain the Research Acceleration and Facilitation Team (RAFT) support that will be provided to the research team. If this is a multiple-PI project, the individual who will be doing most of the work should be a named PI and will be participating in the scheduled RAFT calls.
Application Review Process: Pre-applications will be reviewed by internal reviewers, and the full applications will be reviewed by internal, external, and community reviewers. Both application rounds will undergo an administrative review. The review criteria in both rounds will include:
- Factor 1: Importance of the Research (Significance and Innovation)
- Factor 2: Rigor and Feasibility (Approach)
- Factor 3: Expertise and Resources
- Overall Impact
- Generalizability
- Efficiency and Effectiveness
- Project feasibility within the proposed time frame
- Likelihood of generating extramural funding
The UC Irvine ICTS participates in a national CTSA External Reviewer Exchange Consortium (CEREC) to improve fairness in the scientific review process and better match applicants with feedback from experts in their respective fields. Trained community reviewers are also included in the grant review process. In applying, you agree to allow reviewers external to UC Irvine access to your application materials. We may also share information regarding your proposal with other internal funding mechanisms to avoid funding duplicate effort and identify the best alternate funding source for your proposal.
Note: If at any point in the application process the proposal is determined to not meet the funding criteria (i.e., Translational Science) it will not move forward in the review process. If you are unsure your proposal fits the funding criteria, we encourage you to reach out and discuss it with us.