Erica Stewart, MBA
- Position
- Senior Business Operations Specialist, Department of Neuroscience
- Organization
- West Virginia University
Trainee Pilot Grants
The goal of the Center for Foundational Neuroscience Research and Education pilot award program is to offer opportunities and resources to support innovative research for neuroscience trainees that fosters outstanding basic, clinical, and/or translational research. Applications should provide evidence for the strong probability of success in future federal funding applications, increased publication quality, and increased national reputation.
Eligibility
Must be new projects that address topics within and/or related to the neurosciences.
Open to all graduate students and residents within the WVU Neuroscience community across the university.
New projects must have at least two PIs. Support and input from the trainee’s mentors are required.
Award Schedule
10 June 2025 - RFA
15 July 2025 - Full Application Due
20 July 2025 - Funding Decision
Instructions
A complete application must include:
Research Strategy
Project aims
Significance
Rationale
Innovation
Research methods
Post-pilot award (proposed) specific aims for the “next step” project anticipated to follow the successful completion of this award; a clear statement of how pilot funding will support future submissions and lead to a competitive federal application with full indirect costs within 2.5 years of the award start date.
Cover page (use attached form).
Detailed budget including budget justification (use attached form).
Research proposal, limited to five pages
Pilot applications do not need to be routed through the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP). Applications can be submitted to Erica Stewart.
Evaluation
A review committee who have grant review experience at a national level will review and rank proposals.
Applications will be prioritized and approved based upon scoring.
Notification
Up to 5 awards will be announced no later than 20 July 2025.
Funding will not be available until final budgets and documentation of appropriate IRB, animal use approvals, and compliance with all other relevant research study regulations are provided.
Funding Period and Reporting Requirements
Funds are limited to one-time support for the project; salaries and travel are not supported by these funds.
Awards are capped at $25,000.
Funded from 1 September 2025 –31 August 2026 (“no-cost-extensions” may be considered).
A progress report is due on 1 March 2026.
A final report is due on 1 December 2026.
CFNRE Requirements
All supported projects will be tracked and those that demonstrate extramural grants funding will be considered in future funding decisions.
Awarded investigators are expected to:
Publish findings in scholarly journals.
Present research at scientific meetings.
Acknowledge the WVU CFNRE in all work: This project has been supported in part by the West Virginia University Center for Foundational Neuroscience Research and Education.