Health Innovation in Translational Science
Congratulations to our $25,000 Awardees!
Remotely Powered Soft Artificial Muscles for Biomedical Implants. Ravi Meenakshishundaram.
Determining Plasma Biomarkers Predicting Combinatorial Interventions to Improve Healthspan. Souvik Ghosh.
Development of Innovative Liquid and Tissue Biopsy Tools to Diagnose CTNNB1-mutated Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Brandon Lehrich.
Therapeutic Targeting of Mitochondrial Function in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Using Extracellular Vesicles. Stephanie Podguski.
Malleous: a novel suction-integrated surgical retractor for reduced brain injury. Benjamin Leslie.
Development of a Collagen-based 3D bioprinted Model System to Study Hemostasis & Clotting Disorders. Antonio Pereira Tavares.
The Health Innovation in Translational Science Pilot Program funds early-stage translational science — science about how to conduct translational research more effectively. This is distinct from translational research itself.
Translational research moves scientific discoveries toward real-world clinical or community benefit: from basic science findings into clinical trials, from clinical findings into practice, or from evidence into policy. Translational science, by contrast, examines and improves the processes, methods, and systems by which that translation happens.
Examples of translational science questions include: How can we improve participant recruitment into clinical trials? How can data be more effectively harmonized across multi-site studies?
Click below for more instructions including eligibility, proposal examples, etc.
How can community engagement be structured to strengthen research relevance and uptake? What consent processes best support vulnerable populations in research? These are questions about the machinery of translational research — and answering them rigorously can accelerate and improve translational research across many projects and settings.
This specific competition awards up to $50,000 over 12 months to support a focused, early-stage translational science project embedded within an active, funded translational research effort.
Round 1 Letter of Intent Deadline:
Friday, September 25, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EST
Notification to Advancing Teams:
Monday, October 12, 2026
Round 2 Full Proposal Submission Date:
Friday, November 6, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EDT (by invitation)
Notification to Awardees:
Tuesday, December 1, 2026
$50,000 (direct costs)
Performance Period 12 months
Host Project Requirement Applicant must hold active, independently funded, multi-year translational research funding for the full 12-month performance period of this award
Project Type Translational science — science about how to conduct translational research — not an extension or supplement of the host translational research project itself
Stage of Work Early stage; pilot or proof-of-concept in nature
Priority Focus Projects should address: (A) creating more trustworthy evidence, and/or (B) accelerating sharing of evidence with stakeholders. Both priorities are equally weighted.
PI must be a University of Pittsburgh faculty member. Applicants must have an active, independently funded, multi-year translational research project that will remain active throughout the pilot period. Proposed work must constitute translational science and be intellectually distinct from the host project.
This program awards up to $50,000 over 12 months to support a focused, early-stage translational science project embedded within an active, funded translational research effort.