Women's Pain Research Challenge

Up to three awards totaling $150,000 from the Virginia Kaufman endowment Fund will cover direct costs for a 12-month project led by a Pitt faculty member. Award periods begin following all regulatory and administrative approvals. Awardees will also receive in-kind CTSI project management support for the duration of their award period.

Projects that fit this opportunity include causes, diagnosis, or treatment of pain conditions in women that are either unique or not unique to the female gender as long as women are of the target study population. Awards will be announced at the 2024 Magee-Womens Summit Dinner celebration the evening of November 13, 2024.  

Examples may include studying the causation, diagnosis, or treatment of:

• Pain conditions not unique to womanhood, but focusing on a female population such as: migraine, back pain, fibromyalgia, dental pain, mental health factors of stress, anxiety, and depression etc.
• Pain conditions specific to womanhood such as: pelvic pain disorders, endometriosis, female cancers, pelvic inflammatory disease, etc.
• Reproductive pain caused by menstruation, pregnancy, assisted reproductive treatments, intrapartum, postpartum, and menopause
• Pregnancy, perinatal, and maternal health related to preterm birth, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, labor, and delivery
• Addressing breastfeeding pain related to mastitis, latching issues, or tongue-ties to promote a positive breastfeeding experience
• The effect of nutrition and exercise on female pain conditions
• The role of the microbiome, genetics, and other biological factors in women's pain

The Women's Pain Research Challenge is a multi-round competition. For more information, click the hyperlinks for each round below.

• Teams must submit a 2-page Letter of Intent in the fillable PDF template that defines a challenging health problem, presents the team’s innovative solution, and introduces the team of problem solvers. Applications will be submitted on InfoReady content management system.
  • The categories included in the LOI are:
    • Project Proposal: Problem | Solution
    • Project Plan: Milestones | Team
    • Project Innovation: Novelty | Path to Impact | Overall Impact
      
      
• A Path to Impact graphic must also be submitted for Round 1 review. In an effort to promote research dissemination strategies, CTSI would like to see your graphical representation of a process map to implementation. Your figure should summarize your long-term strategy to connect your research with the community of women you aim to impact. More information on Path to Impact is included below.

Examples of acceptable graphics include the following:

Presented by CuffLink, a finalist in the Pitt Innovation Challenge (PInCh) 2023.

Presented by Engaging Together for Healthy Relationships, a finalist in PInCh 2022.

Teams selected for Round Two must submit a 5-page proposal that defines a challenging health problem, presents the team’s innovative solution, and introduces the team of problem solvers. 

The Project Package is a single PDF that includes: 

• Project description (3 pages including references)
  • Project Proposal: Problem | Solution
  • Project Plan: Milestones | Team
  • Project Innovation: Novelty | Path to Impact | Overall Impact
• Budget (1 page)
• Budget justification (1 page)

Budget and Budget Justification

Use the Budget & Budget Justification Template form to outline plans for the $50,000 award, 12-month award.

The budget will support direct costs only. Salary support reflects non-Federal fringe benefit rates. PI must have a minimum of 0.5% effort on the project (direct or cost shared). Funds may not be used for indirect costs, manuscript preparation or publication fees, or travel (except as required to collect data).

Please refer to the template for all additional instructions and requirements. Please direct any questions about allowable expenses to Annie Gohn at amg459@pitt.edu.

Project Proposal:

• Problem: Does the proposal identify a critical barrier in the field? Is the project description clearly defined?
• Solution: Does the proposed solution address the described problem? Is the solution clearly defined?
• Communication: Does the proposal tell a clear, concise, and compelling story?

Project Plan:

• Milestones: Does the project plan fit the scope of this 12-month, $50,000 award to ease the burden of pain?
• Team: Does the team reflect the diverse expertise necessary to complete the project milestone?

Project Innovation:

• Novelty: How unique is the proposed solution from the status quo? Does the solution shift current clinical or research paradigms to address an unmet need?
• Path to Impact: Is there a clear and reasonable implementation plan for this solution to improve the health of individuals and/or communities?
• Overall Project Impact: After successful development, will this solution clearly address the critical barrier in individual health, society, and/or biomedical knowledge?

Path to Impact: Please see this CTSI guide for your Path to Impact plan.

We welcome applications from early-stage solutions – this section asks you to identify the project’s current stage of development along the Path to Impact continuum and define the macro-level steps needed to make an impact on the health of individuals, communities, and/or biomedical knowledge. For more developed solutions, align your application’s milestones with the immediate next steps of the Path to Impact continuum.

Intellectual Property: Before you share your ideas with outside parties or present your work publicly (conferences, publications, or media), we encourage you to submit an Invention Disclosure to the Innovation Institute. Please email Annie Gohn at amg459@pitt.edu if you would like to initiate intellectual property discussions or draft an Invention Disclosure.

For questions, please email Annie Gohn at amg459@pitt.edu.