The LaunchPad for Diabetes Ignite program will provide pilot seed funding to support research projects proposing innovative solutions for the treatment of Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. This Program provides support for research that is likely to lead to a full LaunchPad proposal, NIH grants or other funding opportunities.

The LaunchPad program is supported through a generous gift from Paul and Diane Manning.

Eligibility Criteria:

Permanent, full-time, tenure-track faculty at professorial rank (assistant, associate, full)

Submission:

Potential applicants must contact: Sharon Krueger sak8e@virginia.edu to discuss the proposal idea. Final proposal submissions are due by Friday November 1st, 2023 via email to Sharon Krueger. There will be a 3 page proposal limit.

Applications should be submitted as a single PDF. The cover page, budget page, and short NIH CV’s do not count towards the page limit. Use Arial font 11-12 point size.

The LaunchPad Review Board will review the pilot submissions and select projects for funding.

Budget Information:

Applicants may request up to $40K for their pilot project. Eligible budget items include: supplies, minor equipment items, prototyping expenses, imaging/core facility time. Funds cannot be requested or used for F&A costs, administrative support or tuition.

Duration:

Pilot projects will typically be for a six-month period.

Reporting:

Award recipients are required to submit a final report. Update meetings will also be held between the funded project PI and LaunchPad program director.

Key Elements of the Proposal:

Cover Page:

Must contain the project title, names of the investigators, amount requested, and summary of the novelty and significance of the proposed work, and the approval and signature of the department chair.

Project Plan:

Overall plan discusses the clinical problem, current standard of care, impact of proposed research on patient care, realistic research milestones and follow-on funding strategy.

Selection Criteria:

Importance of the area to diabetes research, feasibility of the proposed exploratory research, likelihood of the proposed pilot project leading to additional grant funding and appropriateness of the proposed budget and timetable in relation to the scope of the proposed research