Bridge Funding Program

Background and Purpose

The Bridge Funding Program (BFP) was established by the CoM to provide short-term bridge- or “gap”- funding for established and productive CoM researchers who have had previous NIH or federal funding and have an active research program/laboratory that faces uncertain funding for a limited time period. This program is one of the most successful in the CoM for sustaining our research mission.

Funding Priorities, Eligibility and Other Procedures

The BFP is a peer-reviewed competition open to UC-paid, CoM full-time faculty. Specifically this opportunity targets Principal Investigators that have a grant under review and will exhaust current funding prior to the Notice of Award, requiring funds to sustain their program/laboratory, or have a scored grant being prepared for resubmission but needs funding to execute experiments or retain personnel during a funding gap. Grant applications that have been reviewed, but not scored (i.e. triaged) will not be considered for bridge funding.

• In either case, an abstract and reviewer critique (with score and review) from the previous submission should be provided.
• Grant proposals must be submitted through the CoM Operations & Finance group (i.e. a “UC CoM” proposal).
• Faculty who have received BFP funds within the past three fiscal years are not eligible to apply.
• Applications will be reviewed for scientific merit by a panel of UC faculty members who will recommend those for funding.
• Applicants must be nominated by their department chairperson. Departmental contributions toward gap funding should be detailed and will be considered when making funding decisions.
• In the situation of a Co-PI or multi-PI funded program that includes other universities or collaborations outside of UC, the UC faculty member must be the NIH contact PI. The UC faculty member must retain contact PI status for the subsequent resubmission or new application for the program being bridged.
• Excluding supplies, funds may not be used offsite. All technicians, students, and/or postdoc supported through this mechanism must be UC affiliated.

The number of proposals funded will be a function of funds available, and the number of meritorious, qualified applications received. Awards up to $50,000 for one year to support supplies and internal core usage; technician, student, and/or postdoc salaries are anticipated. Project periods of longer than one year will not be considered. Priority will be given to applications that have a competitive and closely fundable score.

Funds cannot be used for faculty salaries, travel, or equipment and must be spent within one year.  Unspent funds, or funds that have not yet been used when external funding is received, will be reclaimed by the CoM for redistribution. Faculty are expected to report any external funding received during the year of support.

There is no limit on the number of applications/nominations per department or on the number of awards per department.     

Application Materials

The following documentation must be submitted with the application:

• All applicants must have an ORCID. Registering for an ORCID is free and takes around 30 seconds
• Letter of support from chairperson (describing departmental funds that will be used for support of the applicant’s research program)
• Copy of NIH grant application abstract and reviewer critique (to be considered your application must have received a score and review)
• NIH bio sketch of investigator including “Other Support” page
• 2 page description of the research plan for the period of requested funding (include details of actual experiments that will be conducted, and how these new experiment will address the concerns raised in the previous review)
• Budget, with full budget justification for each item (include lab personnel, supply costs, animal costs, etc.).
• Faculty statement of what would be the effect on their research program if no bridge funding were available 
• Other Support - you must declare if your project is supported by any other mechanisms.

Rolling Deadline

To be more responsive to the needs of research community, the BFP will accept applications on a rolling basis. However, once all funds are spent the BFP will be unavailable until the next fiscal year. Applications must be submitted electronically through the SUBMISSION PORTAL.

Expectations

Awardees will be expected to provide a brief update 6 months after award; after 1 year; and thereafter to allow the Office to assess return on investment. These data include funding awards and publications. Such data are essential for the continued funding of this program.

Recipients of College of Medicine Office of Research support are asked to assist the Office when requested (i.e. providing grant reviews, attending College of Medicine events, etc.).

Acceptance of the Bridge Funding Program requires recipients to utilize the College of Medicine Grant Pre-Review Program when resubmitting their grant. Failure to comply may result in loss of funds and affect future funding opportunities.

It is an expectation that if awardees are successful in their resubmission that they return any unused funds so that we may support other faculty who have gaps in their funding. Awardees should report funding success directly to our office after the notice of award is received. Awardees should not continue to charge the Bridge Award after the new award is available.

If you have any questions, please contact Brieanne Sheehan.