Eligibility

Applicants must be PGRN members. An individual can be listed as a principal investigator (PI) or co-principal investigator (co-PI) on only one proposal to the PGRN Research Grant opportunities in each funding cycle. PGRN Research Collaboration Grant awardees (PI or co-PIs only) are ineligible to serve as a PI or co-PI for one subsequent funding cycle. Trainees are eligible with faculty sponsorship documented in a letter of support.

Proposal (no more than 4 pages, excluding references, budget justification, biographical sketches, and letters of support)

The following sections should be included in your proposal. Applicants have flexibility in the organization but all sections are required.

1.    Introduction to the proposal – for resubmissions only, an additional ½ page will be allowed to summarize modifications made in response to the prior review. The total proposal page limit for resubmissions is 4 ½ pages.

2.    Aims – no more than 1 page

3.    Background and significance

4.    Research strategy and approach – Include statistical analysis. Studies focused on diverse and understudied populations are encouraged.

5.    Timeline – project completion is expected 12 months after the initial award.

Budget and justification (half page, not included in 4 page limit)

Provide a detailed budget and justification that will be considered in the review. Budgets should be realistic and any additional funds available to contribute to the project should be discussed at a high level. A detailed budget for items that are part of the infrastructure that support the project, but are outside of the scope of the grant, are not required. Indirect costs are not allowed.

Investigator(s) Biographical Sketch/CV

A brief (max 5 pages) NIH or equivalent biographical sketch is required for all investigators with funded effort on the grant. NIH biographical sketch format, instructions, and examples can be found here: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms/biosketch.htm.  If a biosketch is not available a CV (5 pages max) can be provided.

Letters of Support

Your application should include letters of support from collaborators and other significant contributors.

Criteria for Review

Proposals will be reviewed by an Expert Review Panel with support from the PGRN Scientific Committee. Scorable criteria include significance, study design and analysis, strength of collaborations, inclusion of diverse and understudied populations, and feasibility of completion during funding period. Investigators will be assessed as acceptable or not, consistent with new NIH criteria, and priority will be given to investigators who are within 10 years of completing training.  Each proposal will be reviewed by at least two reviewers and applicants with competitive scores will be reviewed for prioritization for funding by the entire review panel. Reviewer comments will be summarized and shared with all applicants after the final funding decision. The final selection for funding will be made by the PGRN Executive Council.