Overview:

The Pain Research Challenge is a funding opportunity for ideas and solutions associated with both physiological and psychological pain. Research solutions can address the dynamics of pain, causes and alleviation of pain, and treatment to prevent and/or mitigate pain. Solutions should address a specific problem in the area(s) of pain including mechanism, treatments, modalities, and impacts of acute and chronic pain.

To participate, teams are asked to complete the brief application template. Advancing teams are invited to submit a budget and seven-minute slideshow presentation.

Awards:

Up to $150,000 in awards are funded by the Virginia Kaufman Endowment Fund and the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). Three projects will be selected to receive a $50,000 award. The award period will last 12 months. 

Eligibility:

At least one member of the team must be a University of Pittsburgh faculty member. While individuals are welcome to apply, University partnerships or cross-disciplinary teams are encouraged. Teams with connections among other universities and community organizations are also encouraged.

Application Process:

The Round 1 application period opens on January 6, 2020. Applications must be submitted through Powered by PInCh^®. Please note: Powered by PInCh requires teams to create a new project and add a brief description prior to submitting the Round 1 application.

Round 1:

Application Due Date: Monday, February 17, 2020 at 5 p.m.

Download and complete the one-page application template which requires a response to each of the following categories:  Problem, Solution, Novelty, Impact, Project Plan, and Team.  NOTE:  each response is limited to 350 characters (with spaces) or approximately 50 words, and therefore, needs to be concise.

Round 2: Invited Applications

Application Due Date: Monday, April 20 at 5 p.m.

1. Seven-minute narrated slide presentation

• A file of slides (i.e., PowerPoint) with a voice recording is required.  Presentations should not exceed 20 slides and should not be more than seven minutes in length.
• The presentation must include and address the following
  • Project title
  • Problem statement
  • Solution description/aims
  • Approach
  • Impact
  • Innovation
  • Include the current stage of development of the solution (i.e., any preliminary data).
  • Role of the Pain Research Challenge award.
  • Team introduction (include name, affiliation, discipline/department for each team member).

Judging Criteria

• Significance and impact of the articulated problem and corresponding solution
  • Does the project address an important problem or critical barrier in the field?
  • How will the solution, if successful, change the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field?
• Innovation of the proposed solution
  • Does the project propose novel concepts, methods, instrumentation, or interventions?
  • Does the project challenge and seek to shift current research or clinical practice paradigms?
• Feasibility and approach of the proposed solution
  • Is the methodology well-reason and appropriate to accomplish the specific aims of the project?
  • Are the personnel and other physical resources available to perform the proposed research within the time frame allotted?

Important Dates:

For questions, please email pain@pitt.edu.