Pilot Grant Program for Early-stage Injury Researchers

Help us accelerate the pace of research to keep children safe -- reducing injury and violence and promoting recovery. Apply for this pilot grant to help you advance an injury and/or violence prevention research program. It is our intention that you use this opportunity to accelerate your efforts to seek extramural funding or start a new partnership for further advancement. Applications are due December 5, 2025.

Injuries, both physical and psychological, affect everyone, regardless of age, race, or economic status. For young people under age 25, unintentional injury, suicide and homicide are the 3 leading causes of death-- together claiming nearly 32,000 lives in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fatalities are the tip of the iceberg; the burden of serious injuries that lead to physical and emotional consequences is large.

About the Pilot Grant Program

In partnership with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Research Institute and Center for Injury Research and Prevention, the Penn Injury Science Center (PISC) invites proposals for our Pilot Grant Program to fund injury and/or violence prevention projects for up to $10,000 each, with a total of $20,000 available this cycle. PIs must be trainees and early-stage investigators affiliated with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Applicants must propose a partnership with a Penn-based PISC investigator that does not have CHOP or PSoM Dept of Pediatrics as their primary appointment. Scholars affiliated with CHOP’s Center for Violence Prevention and the Center for Injury Research and Prevention are encouraged to apply, but an affiliation with these centers is not required. 

Funding Opportunity Purpose

This program supports trainees and early-stage investigators in conducting rigorous research that can help build or contribute to an injury and/or violence prevention research program and lead to extramural funding. Applicants may have multiple institutional affiliations, and PISC partners do not need to be affiliated with CHOP.  

Proposals should focus on research priorities on one or more of the following topics: 

  • Adverse childhood experiences
  • Drug overdose
  • Suicide prevention
  • Drowning prevention
  • Older adult falls
  • Transportation safety
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • Violence prevention (child abuse and neglect, cross-cutting prevention, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, youth violence). 
Eligibility
  • Principal Investigator must be CHOP-based and have their grants managed by CHOP
  • PhD or Postdoc Trainee or early-stage investigator (ESI). ESI is further defined as not previously competed successfully as PD/PI for a substantial NIH independent research award (R or R-equivalent).  
  • A Penn-based PISC investigator must serve as a Co-Investigator. CIRP and PISC leadership can facilitate introductions as needed. 
Application Timeline
  • Application Due Date: December 5, 2025
  • Award Notifications: December 22, 2025
  • Project Period: January 1, 2026-December 31, 2026 
Funds Available & Allowable Costs
  • Maximum Award per Project: $10,000
  • Total Funds Available: $20,000
  • Funds cover direct costs only
  • Allowable Expenses: Research supplies, equipment, participant costs, data collection expenses, statistical support, research staff costs, intern stipend
  • Not Allowed: Salary support for investigators or travel.
  • IRB approval required before funds are disbursed 
Application Guidelines

Applicants must submit a single PDF that includes:

  • Face Page – Title, PI name(s), role, department(s), and contact information. For PhD and postdoc trainees, a mentor must sign, confirming good standing and program/training duration through at least May 2026.
  • Scientific Proposal – Specific aims, background/significance, innovation, methods, and timeline (max 3 pages; references not included in page limit).
  • Plan for Use of Pilot Funds to Build or Contribute to a Research Program (max ½ page).
  • Project Relevance to Injury Science (max ½ page).
  • Budget & Justification (max 1 page).
  • NIH Biosketch for PI(s) and co-investigators. 
Review & Selection Process

Applications will be peer-reviewed by a PISC and CHOP review committee using the new simplified peer review framework.

  • Factor 1: Importance of the Research (Significance, Innovation), scored 1-9
  • Factor 2: Rigor and Feasibility (Approach), scored 1-9
  • Factor 3: Expertise and Resources (Investigator, Environment), to be evaluated as either sufficient for the proposed research or not (in which case reviewers must provide an explanation) 
Submission Instructions

Applications must be submitted as a single PDF by December 5, 2025 (5:00 PM ET) to:

Veronica Rog, rogv@chop.edu.