We are pleased to announce that Letters of Intent for our Pilot Project Program Research Awards are now open!
The mission of the NNE-CTR, developed collaboratively by Co-PIs Clifford Rosen, M.D., MaineHealth, and Gary Stein, Ph.D., University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, is to support clinical and translational investigations that address regional health and healthcare challenges. The NNE-CTR infrastructure develops and sustains initiatives in rural health and health care in the IDeA states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Our NNE-CTR consists of seven Core facilities available to investigators, and that are committed to the immediate and long range goals of health equity by developing novel strategies to improve the health, health literacy and delivery of health care to Northern New England communities.
Our Pilot Projects Program is designed to encourage and incentivize new collaborations and multidisciplinary research partnerships between laboratory scientists, physician investigators, and rural practitioners initiating clinical and translational research. We are interested in research that includes health services, outcomes, quality of care, and implementation science. We provide funding and professional and technical support for clinical and translational research, from project development through completion, for NNE-CTR members. Preference will be given to applications related to health challenges in the areas of Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease and its associated diseases (obesity and diabetes), chronic disease, COVID-19 impacts, substance use disorders, and other projects addressing health equity and health care disparities in our predominantly rural Northern New England communities. Projects must be clinically and translationally relevant in nature; projects that are solely basic research projects will only be considered if mechanisms are being pursued that relate to the diagnosis, prognosis, or targeting of disease. Pilot projects that partner the NNE-CTR with the NNE-Practice and Community Based Research Network Coop (PCBRN) and INBRE programs will be considered.
The first step in the process is to submit a Letter of Intent. We will review your letter of intent to ensure your proposed project meets our eligibility and programmatic criteria. If you are invited to submit a full proposal, we stand ready to provide you with guidance and support in developing your application. During the course of developing your LOI, please feel free to contact us for assistance in identifying collaborators to reinforce your initiative, and for assistance in developing your concept. Our contact information is below.
You will find information on eligibility criteria and specific instructions on how to submit your Letter of Intent at our website, where you will also learn more about the NNE-CTR Pilot Project Program expectations, and the grants that we have awarded over the past six years. We appreciate your interest in this NNE-CTR funding opportunity and look forward to supporting the development of your proposal.
Rob Koza, PhD Janet L. Stein, PhD
MaineHealth Institute for Research University of Vermont
MaineHealth Larner College of Medicine