Health Innovation in Translational Science

• Therapeutic - applied biological product, either chemically synthesized or naturally occurring, whose novel action can be used to diagnose or treat a specific health ailment.
• Device - instrument, wearable, consumable, or other tool used for the diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, or prevention of a specific health ailment.
• App - novel software application or digital tool used to assist decision-making workflow of clinicians, or in the self-management of a user's health via smartphone or browser.
• Clinical Workflow - novel clinical process modification that improves patient outcomes.
• Public Health / Social Impact Program - community-based solution to improve the well-being of a larger segment of the population.

*This funding opportunity will not consider proposals which will involve clinical trials. 

CTSI Assistance (Optional)
For CTSI pilot program related questions, please email Aleks Zivic (abz17@pitt.edu). To request a consultation on whether your proposal fits the scope of health innovation, please email Aneesh Ramaswamy (akr40@pitt.edu). 

Award funding of up to $25,000 is available to cover direct costs; no indirect support will be provided. The award period will last for 12 months, beginning when all regulatory and administrative approvals have been received. 

Please be aware, under no circumstances, do the HITS pilots have any mechanism for no-cost extensions; any funds that are not spent during the award period will be forfeited. 

Before any funding can begin, awardees must provide documentation of all necessary regulatory approvals (IRB, IACUC, hSCRO, IBC, CORID, etc.). Once regulatory documentation is provided, awarded projects will undergo an administrative review from NCATS, which may take up to 30 days. Funding cannot begin until projects have been approved by NCATS. Because of this, all applicants are strongly encouraged to have the necessary regulatory documents ready for submission.

The HITS Pilot Awards competition is focused on supporting the work of graduate student researchers (master's or doctoral) at Pitt working with a formal mentor. As such, each project should have at least two investigators:

• Principal Investigator (PI): the PI must be a faculty member at Pitt.
• Co-Principal Investigator: the Co-PI must be a graduate student currently enrolled in either a Master’s, Doctoral, or other terminal degree program at Pitt.
• Other Co-Investigators (Co-Is) may be included but are not required.

The PI should serve as a mentor to the Co-PI, as either the academic mentor or academic adviser to the Co-PI. Submissions should describe clearly the role of each investigator, with sufficient detail for reviewers to identify that all listed team members will have an active role in the research.

New PIs are strongly encouraged, but submissions from established investigators will be accepted if there is clear evidence that the pilot project represents a distinctly new direction from their previously funded work. Study teams that involve cross-disciplinary collaborations are strongly encouraged. Co-investigators may be from other universities; however, CTSI’s primary mission is to promote research at the University of Pittsburgh, so applicants should justify extensive off-campus collaboration. Partnerships with nonacademic community partners are also acceptable.