How to Apply
Key Dates
- Deadline to submit a proposal/application: Monday, February 26th, 2024(before MIDNIGHT, PST)
- Renewal applications due: Monday, February 26th, 2024 (before MIDNIGHT, PST)
- Finalists selected on March, 2024
- Finalist presentations (in person), April 19th, 2024
- Funding begins May 16th, 2024
Program
The Wallace H. Coulter Foundation provides funding to support collaborative translational research projects that involve co-principal investigators from the Department of Bioengineering and a clinical department in the School of Medicine. The goal of this program is to encourage research that addresses unmet clinical needs and leads to improvements in health care and to commercial products. Examples of desirable outcomes include inventions, patents, improved diagnosis and treatment of disease, commercial products, licenses, commercial partnerships, and startup companies.
Award Amount
Up to $100,000 direct costs for one year.
Eligibility Criteria
- Each proposal must have at least two co-principal investigators: One PI with a full, joint, or courtesy UTL, MCL, and NTL-Research faculty appointment in the Department of Bioengineering at Stanford. And at least one PI with a full, joint, or courtesy UTL, MCL, NTL-Research or Clinician Educator faculty appointment in a clinical department in the School of Medicine
- Other team members (grad students, postdocs, research staff, etc.) may be listed as team members on the proposal
- The intellectual property of core technology must be owned by Stanford (not under an option or license to any entity)
- Funding will not be dispersed without clearance of any applicable APLAC, IRB, or IRB exemption requirements, highly preferable that clearance is achieved prior to finalist stage in April.
Selection Criteria
The research must relate directly to applications in healthcare, and the objectives of the project should include an outcome that will benefit patients. Evaluation of proposals will be on the basis of innovation and scientific merit, potential health care impact, technical feasibility, and the potential for commercialization.
For translational grant programs, successful projects typically have established proof of concept for their innovation.
To help you prepare a strong application, we encourage teams to schedule a meeting with Gordon Saul (gsaul@stanford.edu) and Linda Lucian. Please reach out to our project coordinator, Lauren Brown, lbrown36@stanford.edu, to schedule a meeting time.
Awardee Responsibilities
In addition to actively carrying out work on project aims with approved budget use, recipients will be required to prepare brief written quarterly progress reports and to present a mid-year project update to the Coulter Oversight Committee in December, 2024.
Grant Duration
Grants will be for a one-year period and may be submitted for renewal.
The Coulter Program allows for a one-time no-cost extension to its grantees. These extensions are not automatically granted, but if approved, awards may receive 3-6 month extensions, determined on an individual basis. The application is reviewed for reasonable progress, feedback from assigned mentor/advisor and explanations of the need for an extension.
Submission
We strongly encourage applicants to discuss their proposal with Coulter Program Director, Gordon Saul (gsaul@stanford.edu), prior to submission. The proposal should follow the guidelines below.
Please submit as a single PDF file in this format: "Last name BioE PI_Last name SoM PI_2024Coulter" via email attachment to the Coulter Program Manager: Linda Lucian (llucian@stanford.edu) before the submission deadline date.
The Oversight Committee will review applications through March 2024. Applicants progressing to the finalist round will be invited to present to the Oversight Committee Meeting held in April. NOTE: finalists are required to be available for a 30 min timeframe during the April meeting. (Specific finalist presentation day/times to be determined in early April).
The Oversight Committee will review finalist presentations and make recommendations on funding priority. Applicants will be notified by April 1st, 2024 for funding to begin on May 16th, 2024. Note that the release of funds is dependent on appropriate IRB or APLAC approval. The appropriate approval process should at least be initiated, but preferably finalized, during the selection period in order to avoid delays should your proposal be selected for an award. No funding will be distributed without approval and IRB/APLAC approval delays are typically not grounds for no-cost extensions.
Application Format
Full proposals (renewals as well) should include:
1) Cover page: a) name of this RFP: Stanford-Coulter Translational Research Grant, b) project title, c) names, title, department, and contact information of the co-principal investigators, d) Office of Technology Licensing (OTL) disclosure (yes/no) and docket number, if relevant, e) funding amount requested, f) IRB or APLAC approval number, if relevant, g) one-paragraph summary, h) approval/signature of the department chair of the clinical co-investigator.
2) Body of proposal: summary of the base technology, the importance of the solution (clinical need), description of the product or service to be developed, and a translational plan of the milestones, timing, and cost to bring the product or service to market. Include approval number from IRB or APLAC for any studies involving human or animal subjects. If not applicable, an exemption letter from the IRB must be submitted.
Content details: The grant proposal should not exceed 5 pages (≥ 0.5” margins, font equivalent to Times New Roman 11 pt), excluding cover page, funding/pending proposal list, CVs, and budget. It must address the following topics (proposals will be rejected if any component is missing):
- Unmet clinical need this project would address, impacted patient population
- What is the envisioned product that would result from this project? Who are the main competitors?
- Technology status, relevant test results, prototypes
- Status of intellectual property, (core technology must be owned by Stanford, not licensed or optioned), description of ongoing IP strategy/interactions with OTL
- What are the major remaining risks for the project? Risks could include: a) changing clinical need b) engineering/science feasibility c) intellectual property d) analysis of the business/market-competitive landscape
- Expected specific milestones with work plan (per quarter)
- Also, address or include the following:
- List any non-PI team member names with a brief description of their planned contribution/value to the project
- Approval numbers for animals and human subjects, if not yet approved, reference eprotocol submission status
- List of current funding related to this project, including internal seed grants obtained and pending proposals for each co-principal investigator
3) Budget page (click on the template below)
Duration: Grants will be for a one-year period and may be submitted for renewal. Renewal applications are also due Monday, February 26th, 2024, before midnight.
Renewal (from either a previous seed award or a full award) applications: In addition to the content outlined above, a renewal application must include a brief comparison of milestones achieved vs. those planned in the original submission. Renewal applications will be evaluated on a competitive basis using the same process as with new applications. No-cost extension requests are allowed; however, all requests will be strictly reviewed for compliance with the award deliverables and project. Applications for no-cost extensions are due April 15th, 2024, by using this Form.
Budgets: Grants may be requested for up to $100,000 direct costs for one year. Funds may be used for salary support of graduate students and other research staff, but may not be used for general staff, administrative support, or tuition. Operating supplies, equipment items, prototyping expenses, imaging time, and travel directly associated with the research activity are examples of eligible budget items. Budget details should include general categories such as personnel, supplies, travel, non-capital equipment, and other project-related expenses. A justification should be provided if expenses are not addressed as part of the proposal. PI effort is not required as a part of your budget for this internal award. Submit using the Budget Page template (provided above).
4) Biosketch of only the two co-principal investigators (~3-page version preferred, but not to exceed 5 pages each)
5) Relevant literature references (not part of page limit)
Coulter funding is considered a university research award and once awarded it will be processed as a PDRF through OSR, not RMG