Pilot Grants Program

The SCTR pilot grants program supports innovative research spanning the translational spectrum - from basic science to population health - including patient-centered and community-engaged research. Early Stage Investigators are strongly encouraged to apply for pilot grants on their pathway to research independence.

Pilot Funding Mechanisms

Translational Science

The Translational Science Challenge Grant accepts applications on a rolling deadline.

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High Innovation High Reward

The High Innovation High Reward Pilot accepts applications on a rolling basis.

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SCTR Discovery Pilot

SCTR's Discovery Pilot Grant accepts applications during spring and fall funding cycles.

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Pilot Funding Awardee Outcomes

“ It literally opened the door and helped built a solid foundation for our current multidisciplinary translational team research with the participation of many co-investigators across different departments at MUSC. ”

Hongjun Wang Ph.D. | Discovery Grant

“ This SCTR-supported study was an inter-professional collaborative team work that contributed to two seminal manuscripts … These manuscripts were highlighted in the MUSC Catalyst and EurekAlert, and importantly by the Lupus Foundation of America. ”

Samar M. Hammad Ph.D. | Discovery Grant

“ We were able to produce an initial prototype and preliminary data that resulted in a pending patent, and a NIH R21 funded project. ”

Dieter Haemmerich Ph.D., DSc

“ This pilot funding facilitated development of a new collaboration with ... BMIC. We have a manuscript that is nearing completion and … have started a collaboration with Columbia University to develop a grant proposal that will leverage data from the SCTR pilot. ”

Rochelle F. Hanson, Ph.D. | Discovery Grant

Pilot Success Stories

Marijuana Microbiome

3D illustration of human tooth with microscopic bacteria and viruses. Licensed from istock.com.

MUSC researchers and their collaborators will explore how cannabis smoking alters the bacterial communities in the mouth and how those changes affect the brain.

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Blood Cleanse

Three test tubes are pictured, the first with plasma, the second with plasma and chemotherapy, and the third with the filtered plasma. Modified from Figure 4d of the Motamarry et al article in Cancers under an open access Creative Common CC BY license.

With the help of High Innovation-High Reward seed funding, MUSC researchers have developed a way to remove toxic chemotherapeutic drugs from the blood after cancer treatment to prevent them from reaching the heart.

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Predicting Heart Disease

3D still showing myocardial ischemia. Licensed from http://www.scientificanimations.com, via the Creative Commons 4.0 license, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

MUSC researchers discover a potential biomarker that predicts severity of heart disease in African American lupus patients.

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More Information

The SCTR pilot grants program supports innovative research spanning the translational spectrum — from basic science to population health — including patient-centered and community-engaged research.

Pilot Grant Awardees (PDF)

Find Institutional information about the Medical University of South Carolina to guide the development of the resources and facilities portion of your proposal.

MUSC Scientific Environment

SCTR offers assistance to MUSC investigators who are submitting extramural grant applications with the goal to increase the quality of the application and funding success. Find instructions on the Scientific Grant Review web page.

Office of Research Development

Office of Research & Sponsored Program

Questions or requests for additional information can be sent to SCTR's Science Development Office - sctr-sdo@musc.edu.