pilot research grants

NEIU Office of Research Development Pilot Research Grants

As part of our EARDA grant from the National Institutes of Health, the Office of Research Development at NEIU will fund small grants to faculty to conduct pilot research projects in the biomedical, behavioral, or health-related sciences. "Health related" is broadly defined. If you're not sure whether your project would be eligible, contact the director of the Office of Research Development, Dr. Linda Rueckert. Faculty who are awarded a pilot grant are expected to subsequently submit a grant application for external funding as a follow-up to the pilot study.

The grants are for 1 year, and can range up to $20,000. The start date is expected to be July 1, 2009. The money can be spent on equipment, supplies, student research assistant salaries, travel, or faculty course release time. It can not be spent on publication costs. Funds may not be used for research involving foreign populations.

Any NEIU tenured or tenure-track faculty member may apply. Non-tenure-track or non-NEIU faculty may serve as co-investigators, but not as Principal Investigators. Applicants may not apply for funding for the same project from other sources. However, complimentary funding from other sources is allowed (e.g. one project with some aspects funded by a COR grant, and some funded by this grant).

All applications should be submitted electronically, as MS Word or .pdf attachments, to L-Rueckert@neiu.edu, by Dec. 17, 2008. Dr. Rueckert will reply to you when she receives them. If you do not receive a reply within 2 days, please call 773-442-5841 to make sure your application was received.

For more information, see the Pilot Grant Instructions.

You will need to use the following NIH forms (MS Word fillable documents): cover page, page 2, budget, budget justification, biographical sketch, resources, and continuation page for the Research Plan.

You may find it useful to look at previously-funded pilot grants. They are linked below. Please note that the required format has changed somewhat from last year.

Christina Ciecierski (Economics), "Determinants of Physical Activity Among College Students"
Terrence Puryear (Biology), "The Temporal Effects of Varying Levels of Folate"
Masami Takahashi (Psychology & Gerontology), "Long-term Effects of "Unjust" War: Psychological Health of Former Suicide Bombers"

Timeline (tentative):

Dec. 17, 2008 - applications due to Dr. Rueckert (L-Rueckert@neiu.edu).
Dec. 18 - appications will be sent to external reviewers.

Jan. 12, 2009 - applications and external reviews will be reviewed by Research Development Committee, and funding decisions made.

? - applications selected for funding will be forwarded to NIH for further review.

July 1 - researchers will receive funds. (Please note that this start date is contingent on NIH approval, and cannot be guaranteed).

By submitting this application, a faculty member (PI) agrees that if funded, he/she will:

Acknowledge the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Extramural Associates Research Development Award as the source of funding in any resulting publications or presentations.
Submit a final report after the project is finished.
Attend at least one ORD-sponsored workshop or seminar during the year in which they are funded.

Questions? Contact Dr. Linda Rueckert, the Director of the Office of Research Development.