New Pilot Awards Available for Research Teams

To help basic scientists translate their research to patient care, the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research has created a new pilot program for basic scientists who wish to collaborate with clinical researchers.

The Irving Institute has offered CaMPR (Collaborative and Multidisciplinary Pilot Research) grants since 2007 to interdisciplinary teams of Columbia researchers, but these teams have been based almost exclusively in clinical departments.

The new award, CaMPR-BASIC, takes the next step by offering support for basic scientists from the CUMC and Morningside who team up with a researcher from a clinical department.

“The idea behind the program is to bring clinical focus to pre-clinical research in order to bring new therapies into medical practice,” says Henry Ginsberg, MD, director of the Irving Institute. “We think clinical researchers can bring a perspective to basic research that can speed the development of new therapies, by ensuring that animal models are appropriate, that target molecules are specific, and that the research has the potential to make a significant impact on patients.”

The Irving Institute will award two $40,000 CaMPR-BASIC grants this year. The program is open to new collaborative teams consisting of faculty members at the level of assistant professor. The deadline for Phase I of the application process is Friday, October 26, 2012.

For more information on eligibility, visit the CaMPR-BASIC website.

The Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at Columbia University Medical Center is part of the national Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) consortium, whose goal is to accelerate discoveries toward better health, and is funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, through grant number UL1 TR00040.

Tags

CTSA, Translational Research