Pilot Project Grants

The NIH-funded Brain Vascular Malformation Consortium (BVMC, U54 NS065705) is soliciting proposals for a one-year pilot project proposal. Proposals should focus on the following rare diseases and/or related outcomes in cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM), Sturge Weber syndrome (SWS), or hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT).

Applications must include the following:

• Two-page research description in standard NIH format (Specific Aims, Significance, Innovation, and Approach). All proposals should include one additional page outlining the timeline and significant milestones, with clear go/no go criteria.
• NIH Bio sketch for key investigators involved in the project.
• Budget and brief Justification.
• Applications must be submitted to phillip.evans@ucsf.edu no later than Friday, March 17, 2023.
• Anticipated start date is July 1, 2023.

• Pilot projects proposals will be capped at $50,000.
• Proposals will be reviewed by the BVMC Executive Steering Committee and selected for funding based on the following criteria: clinical research potential in rare diseases, potential to enhance clinical trial readiness for any of the three BVMC diseases; thematic relationship to the aims and scope of the BVMC; scientific quality of the proposal; leverage existing BVMC (and RDCRN) resources and infrastructure, especially patient registries/databases; feasibility in projected time frame; ability to support promising junior investigators; ability to seed new collaborations that might lead to novel research concepts or therapeutic approaches; and ability to seed new collaborations that might lead to new grant proposals.
• Anticipated Start date is July 1, 2023.