Grants for clinical and translational research projects. Pilot Funding

Advancing Child Health through Translational Research


Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Are investigators who do not have a Harvard University faculty appointment or are based at institutions not affiliated with Harvard eligible to apply for a Harvard Catalyst Child Health Pilot Grant?
A: Not as Principal Investigator. The Principal Investigator must hold a Harvard University faculty appointment. However, Co-Investigators can be from any institution. Conversely, if you are a Harvard faculty Principal Investigator working with a Co-Investigator from an outside institution, it is helpful to provide justification of how the external expertise adds to the project.
Q: Who is eligible to be a Principal Investigator?
A: Any faculty member who holds a Harvard University faculty appointment regardless of type of degree or institutional appointment is eligible to be the Principal Investigator. All non-tenure track investigators with faculty appointments should provide a letter from their department verifying their appointment title and faculty status at Harvard with their grant proposal. Students of any rank, clinical trainees, post-doctoral and clinical fellows cannot serve as the Principal Investigator of an application, but may serve as Co-Investigators, provided they make a substantial contribution to the project. A substantial contributor helped conceive of the experimental idea, contributed to the intellectual development of the project; and/or designed the study or part thereof (scientific or technical details), and will be involved with the study throughout the funding year. If you have questions about whether you are eligible to apply, please contact us by E-mail or at 617-432-7810.
Q: Can researchers apply for more than one Child Health Pilot Grant?
A: Researchers cannot apply as Principal Investigator for more than one Pilot Grant. However, researchers can be listed as Co-Investigator on multiple applications.
Q: How can the $25,000-50,000 award be spent?
A: The award funds, which should be considered NIH funds, can be spent on direct costs such as supplies or salary. There is a 5% effort cap on faculty salaries, but there is no minimum effort commitment requirement. By agreement with the institutions, the Pilot Grants are not subject to indirect costs. More details about allowable costs are listed in the RFA. Some small-scale projects may be perfectly appropriate for the lower end of allowable costs. In general, the budget should fit the project.
Q: Who are the reviewers and what purpose do they serve?
A: Reviewers are faculty members from participating institutions. The reviewers will be asked to comment on the following considerations:
  • Does the proposal provide a novel approach to an identified problem/obstacle in child health research, or does it identify a new topic of research?
  • If successful, how will the results impact children?
  • Does the project relate to one of the three stated themes for the RFA?
  • Is the project feasible in the project period?
  • Does the project have a high potential to lead to future funding?
  • Do the investigators have the requisite skills and experience to carry out the project successfully?
  • Is the project collaborative across disciplines or institutions?
  • Is the Principal Investigator a junior or mid-level investigator; if so, is appropriate supervision and mentoring provided?
Q: Are preliminary data required in order to apply for a Child Health Pilot Grant?
A: Preliminary data are not required. They can and should be included if it speaks to the project's feasibility.
Q: Are junior investigators encouraged to submit applications, and if so, does a senior person need to be included on the research team?
A: As long as the team has relevant experience and expertise, junior investigators are encouraged to submit applications.
Q: What kind of detail is needed for the budget submission?
A: NIH detailed budget and budget justification forms are used. If there is more than one institution, budget documents are required from each institution receiving funds. For further information, please contact your departmental grants administrator or the Harvard Catalyst finance office.
Q: Will there be a Letter of Intent or an interview by the review committee?
A: No, there will not be a Letter of Intent or an interview.
Q: Are projects that deal with the social sciences applicable?
A: Yes, projects that have a social science focus are applicable if they are relevant to one of the three themes of this RFA.
Q: Are clinical trials eligible?
A: Yes. While interventional clinical studies are expensive to fund and often years in the making, the Pilot Grant could be used to show proof of concept for a study, or to explore a specific ancillary angle of an ongoing study, where the aims of the ancillary study proposed in the pilot particularly address the areas specified in the RFA.
Q: Will basic science studies be eligible for the Child Health Pilot Grant Program?
A: One goal of this Pilot Grant, explicit in the themes in the RFA, is that many kinds of basic science will not be responsive to this RFA, and would be excluded. If your basic science project addresses a point in the RFA directly, we suggest you discuss with the Harvard Catalyst Research Navigators at 617-432-7810.
Q: What types of studies may not be considered responsive to the RFA? The following are a few examples to give a sense of what may not be considered responsive.
Examples of Topics not Responsive to the RFA Comments and Counterexamples
Extending an adult trial of outcomes after arrhythmia ablation procedures with a new catheter downward in age to 18-21 year olds. At the older extreme, some NIH- or FDA-defined cutoffs for "pediatric" studies do not fit the spirit of the RFA in improvement of child health. However, extension to young teens, children, or infants may be entirely acceptable.
Novel treatment strategies for preeclampsia. From the point of view of this RFA, such a study would be considered "obstetrics" not directly applicable to child health. But many studies about the role of the fetal or perinatal environment or physiology on subsequent pediatric well-being may be highly relevant.
A first-in-human study of a new oral iron chelator, carried out at Children's Hospital by pediatric investigators, but limited to adults. The specific goal of the RFA is for projects related to child health; trials of adult drugs eventually to be tried in children are not responsive to the RFA. However, novel pediatric indications for drugs approved in adults might fit the RFA well.
Laboratory studies to identify the gene for an autosomal recessive early-onset adult dementia. Although one's genes are with one from conception, and although pediatric subjects might participate in such a study, this is not in the spirit of life-course research and the effect of pediatric or prenatal influences on adult health.
Studying an inherited disease using patient-specific iPS cells in culture. This topic would not be responsive to the themes of this RFA unless there is clear relevance to child health.
Application of next generation sequencing to the microbiome of the intestinal tract in inflammatory bowel disease. To be responsive, such a project should be aimed at a question relevant to child health in particular. Including some younger patients in a broader project would probably not be responsive.
Q: Is there an optimal number of Co-Investigators that should be involved with a project?
A: At least one Co-Investigator is required, but there is not an optimal number of Co-Investigators that should be involved in a project. There is no limit to the number of Co-Investigators that may be listed on a project, but padding the number of investigators is not likely to advance the project or help the reviewers assess the project. Bottom line: the Principal Investigator should include as many Co-Investigators as are needed to complete the project.

If you have additional questions, please contact a Harvard Catalyst Research Navigator (E-mail, 617-432-7810). For finance related questions, please contact your departmental grants administrator or Lucy Kolessin, Director of Finance and Research Administration (E-mail, 617-432-7804).

Cite Us

Have you received a Pilot Grant? Remember to cite Harvard Catalyst in your publications and posters.