Seed Grant RFA

2023 Seed Grants Request for Applications

Program Description

The Center of Regenerative Medicine (CRM) is a multidisciplinary research center that spans multiple schools and numerous departments at Washington University in St. Louis. The CRM is focused on advancing regenerative medicine through excellence in research and education.

The Center for Women’s Health Engineering was formed in Sept of 2022 within the School of Engineering. The mission of the Center is to unite investigators from the McKelvey School of Engineering and the School of Medicine to collaborate in research, education and training and to advance novel engineering approaches for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disorders associated with women’s health.

There are two seed grant funding opportunities for 2023. We anticipate administering three total awards for FY2023, with up to two in Women’s Health Engineering depending on the applications that are received.

Opportunity #1 – Regenerative Medicine: Through the generous support of numerous departments, the CRM is pleased to offer one year, $50,000 (direct costs) research seed grants. The intent of these grants is to facilitate innovative research in regenerative medicine. Any project of high merit will be considered, but priority will be given to the following areas:

• The intersection of precision medicine and regenerative medicine
• Translational and/or entrepreneurial regenerative medicine
• Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs)

Newly initiated interdisciplinary collaborations among CRM members are highly encouraged.

Opportunity #2 – Regenerative Medicine and Women’s Health Engineering. Through a partnership with the McKelvey School of Engineering, we are also pleased to offer an additional opportunity to apply for one year, $50,000 (direct costs) research seed grants created in honor of the new Center for Women’s Health Engineering. These awards are based on the recognition that many challenges in Women’s Health will benefit from collaboration and application of the principles of regenerative medicine. As above, any project of high merit in the area of Women’s Health Engineering will be considered, but priority will be given to the following areas:

• Female reproductive organs and tissues – reproductive and non-reproductive contexts
• Ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, cervical cancer, vaginal cancer, vulvar cancer
• Reproductive endocrinology
• Trophoblasts, cell programming, and early fetal and placental development
• The maternal-fetal interface — physical and immune interfaces

If you have any questions or would like to discuss the suitability of your proposed project before submission, we encourage you to reach out to Michelle Oyen (oyen@wustl.edu) and Erica Scheller (scheller@wustl.edu). For both programs, we anticipate that these grants will be used to generate sufficient data to apply for extramural funding.

Eligibility and Specific Requirements

Applicants will designate their desired opportunity in the cover letter of the application. If an application is eligible for both programs, please specify this. If selected for funding, only one award will be given.

Opportunity #1 – Regenerative Medicine. Awardees must hold a faculty appointment at Washington University for the duration of the award and be current members or eligible for membership in the Center of Regenerative Medicine for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. There is no citizenship requirement.

Opportunity #2 – Regenerative Medicine and Women’s Health Engineering. To qualify for this award, at least one member of the research team must be a member of the School of Engineering and eligible for affiliation with the Center of Women’s Health Engineering and membership in the Center of Regenerative Medicine for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Priority will be given to interdisciplinary applications that bridge between the School of Medicine and the School of Engineering. Awardees must hold a faculty appointment at Washington University for the duration of the award. There is no citizenship requirement.

              In addition to high-quality research, the application must also contribute to one of two additional goals of the Center for Women’s Health Engineering, either training or entrepreneurship. Please include plans for training opportunities and/or commercial potential as it relates to your research in a separate section of the application as detailed below.

Terms

Grants will be awarded in the amount of $50,000 for 1-year (direct costs only). Awards may not be transferred or renewed. Funding is anticipated to begin April 1, 2023. Successful proposals must be approved, if applicable, by the Human Studies, Animal Safety, Biosafety, and/or Radiation Safety Committees. Approvals may be pending at the time of application.  The grant may include up to 10% coverage for faculty salary (maximum, total). The grant may not be used for equipment, journal subscriptions, memberships, or the purchase of general reference materials. Allocation of funds for grant-related publication fees or travel to present the work is encouraged. Grantees should acknowledge funding from the CRM and/or School of Engineering in publications and are expected to provide a progress report at the end of the grant period. In addition, grantees are expected to engage with the CRM and/or the Center for Women’s Health Engineering and participate in various activities, such as subsequent grant review. Grantees will also be required to present the results of their work, with presentation details to be determined at a future date.

Review

An internal and external selection committee identified by the leadership of the Center of Regenerative Medicine and the Center for Women’s Health Engineering will review applications. Notification of award is anticipated in March 2023 with funding to start April 1, 2023.