The Children’s National Health System (CNHS) Global Health Initiative (GHI) is pleased to sponsor the Global Health Exploration Award. GHI seeks to foster and encourage the development of research that addresses key pediatric global health challenges, improves health outcomes in resource-limited settings, and favorably positions faculty to obtain extramural funding in pediatric global health research. Projects to be considered must be conducted in a low or middle-income country (LMIC) on a pediatric topic of importance to that country and/or have direct relevance to emerging global threats. Proposals to study a health issue in a developing country that could be studied using a US population are not encouraged and will receive a lower score. Please direct questions about this RFA to globalhealth@cnmc.org.
In the 2017-2018 academic year, the GHI will award up to $30,000 to faculty applicants who demonstrate:
- A focused, high-impact, achievable pediatric research question
- A strong mentoring plan to develop new talent in global health research and/or to develop new intra-institutional partnerships
- A high potential and plan for securing follow-up extramural research funding
The total funding pool for academic year 2017-2018 is $30,000, to be divided between 1 or more grant applications that demonstrate the highest chance of translation into high-impact research and independent funding for academic global health work. Applicants are invited to request a funding amount up to $30,000, though smaller grant requests may be more likely to receive funding. The amount requested should be enough to launch the project and obtain pilot data for an external grant application. Funds can be used to supplement other grant funding. We cannot anticipate the number of awards we will make in summer 2017.
The GHI will accept applications in any of the following categories:
1. Trainee Mentoring Grant
2. Faculty-to-Faculty Mentoring Grant
3. Interdisciplinary Research Grant
Trainee Mentoring Grant
GHI will support research and global health training for residents and fellows by pairing an experienced global health investigator (with a track record of extramural funding and global health publication) to a less-experienced investigator seeking mentorship in global health research. A trainee who wishes to be mentored must demonstrate an interest in research in resource-limited settings and have written support of their residency/fellowship director for completing the proposed project. The trainee should plan to spend a minimum of 4-weeks on the ground where the research is taking place and should have a local mentor in addition to the CNHS global health mentor. This grant mechanism is targeted at building research skills in our trainees by providing mentoring and a sentinel research experience abroad to kick-start careers in global health, and facilitating the obtainment of pilot data that can build towards a larger grant application for the trainee and supervising faculty member. As such, it is expected that the mentor (ideally with the mentee) will include a plan for submission of a competitive extramural grant application to support ongoing global health research within 12 months of receiving initial internal grant funding.
Faculty-to-Faculty Mentoring Grant
GHI will support the development of global health interest among CNHS faculty through a mechanism that encourages faculty-to-faculty mentoring by pairing an experienced global health investigator (with a track record of extramural funding and global health publication) to a less experienced, or non-funded investigator seeking mentorship in collaborative interdisciplinary research. A faculty member who wishes to be mentored must demonstrate an interest in research in resource-limited settings and have the written support of their division chair for completing the proposed project. The mentee is responsible for finding an experienced global health researcher who has a record of significant extramural funding in global health as a Principal Investigator (PI). The pair should share some scholarly and/or research overlap, but need not be in the same department or division. Trainees may be included in the research team, but the focus should be on development of the mentored faculty member in global health research. It is expected that the mentee will include a plan for submission of a competitive extramural grant application to support ongoing global health research within 12 months of receiving initial internal grant funding.
Interdisciplinary Research Grant
GHI will support new collaboration and partnership in global health research across our institution by supporting pairs or teams of interdisciplinary researchers seeking to complete global health research. All principal investigators should have written support of their division chair for completing the proposed project during academic time. This grant mechanism may be used to obtain pilot data needed for a larger grant application, and it is expected that the team include a plan for submission of a competitive extramural grant application to support ongoing global health research within 12 months of receiving initial internal grant funding.
