TraCS $5K-$50K Grants
The NC TraCS $5K - $50K Translational Research Matched Pilot Grant Program will award 1-year grants of up to $25,000 which must be matched for total awards of up to $50,000.
The program serves as a stimulus for new research initiatives aimed at obtaining sufficient preliminary data to allow new applications for extramural funding.
Eligibility for the $5K-$50K award program follows UNC guidelines for external sponsored research. Eligible PIs from UNC-CH must hold a faculty appointment or other appointment authorized to serve as PI on an externally sponsored research project. Proposals submitted from partner institutions must include a co-investigator from UNC-CH who meets this criteria.
New requirements for funded pilot grants
The NC TraCS Institute is funded through a CTSA grant from NIH's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). NCATS recently instituted a new policy requiring the review and approval of all TraCS pilot grants involving human subjects research prior to TraCS funds being released. Therefore, if your proposal is funded and involves human subjects research, TraCS will require additional documentation to send to NCATS. NCATS expects to complete their review in less than 30 days. The NCATS review can occur concurrently with the IRB review; however, final NCATS approval is contingent upon IRB approval.
Submission Due Dates
March 26, 2019
July 23, 2019
November 19, 2019
March 24, 2020
July 28, 2020
November 17, 2020
Note: Submissions should be received by 5:00 pm on the submission due dates.
Apply OnlineMatch Commitments
View a list of NC TraCS $5-$50K match commitments
NC TraCS Study Section
A key strength of the NC TraCS Pilot Program is the 30 member standing Study Section. Each member has a strong background in a particular facet of clinical and translational research and a record of service on NIH and other federal agency funding review committees.
The Study Section provides NIH-style written critiques to all $5K-$50K applicants. Funded awardees are assigned to a Study Section member who provides mentorship such as recommending collaborators and referrals to NC TraCS research support resources as appropriate. Study Section mentors also provide guidance to unfunded applicants seeking to strengthen their resubmissions.
The TraCS Study Section’s purview has recently expanded to include the review of other UNC internal pilot programs beyond NC TraCS, to bring consistency to the review process across the School of Medicine and beyond.