Application Process

Proposal submission involves two rounds: an initial LOI followed by an invitation from AR³T to submit a full proposal.

Round 1 Letter of Intent: The applicant is required to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) that consists of a project name, investigator information (names of PI and collaborators, institutional affiliations, sponsoring organizations, and email addresses), a one-sentence project description, and a project summary (1-2 page maximum).

Round 2 Full Proposal: Those invited to submit a full proposal should upload a PDF file here that meets the following requirements:

1. Cover Letter from PI(s) including a statement of the relevance of the proposed work to the field of Regenerative Rehabilitation.
2. Research Plan: The research proposal will generally follow an R03 format and should include:
   1. A one-page specific aims
   2. Brief background, preliminary studies, methods, timeline (limited to a total of 4 pages)
   3. Address the resources available to support the proposed work
   4. References
3. Budget & Budget Justification: Please note that
   1. The PIs’ salary support must be limited to 15% of direct costs.
   2. The primary PI’s effort must be at least 1% effort.
   3. The budget cannot cover conference travel.
   4. Inclusion of capital equipment will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
   5. Per NIH policy, graduate student total compensation (salary, fringe and tuition) cannot exceed the NRSA post-doc level 0 stipend.
4. Address Compliance Issues
   1. Animal studies must include a Vertebrate Animals section
      1. Concise description of procedures involving animals, identifying species, strains, ages, sex and total number to be used by species
      2. Justification for the appropriateness of the species for the proposed research; and an explanation for the use of proposed species versus alternative models
      3. Interventions to minimize discomfort, pain, distress and injury
      4. Justification for the euthanasia method if not consistent with the AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals
   2. Assurance of IACUC and/or hSCRO approval and of completion of NIH-mandated responsible conduct or research training, where indicated, must be furnished after Award notice and before funds can be released.
5. Investigator Biosketches: Biosketches are limited to four pages.

Additional Information

• Please see review criteria for more information.
• Subscribe to the AR3T newsletter in order to receive the latest news on research and grant opportunities for Regenerative Rehabilitation researchers.
• If you have any questions, please contact ar3t@pitt.edu.