INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN INFECTIONS & IMMUNITY (IHII)
FY2027 Research Grant Program
BACKGROUND
The purpose of the IHII Pilot Grant Program (i.e., Faculty Research Fellowship) is to enhance funding and success rates of extramural grants in strategic areas of infectious diseases and immunology (ID-IMM) research. This program is funded by generous support from the McLaughlin Endowment. The IHII wants to focus strategically on research ideas that will enhance interdisciplinary, collaborative basic-translational-clinical research, and potentially lead to product/technology development and commercialization. Projects should bring together diverse disciplines to address innovative human health questions.
ELIGIBILITY
- All UTMB faculty who plan to submit extramural grant applications are encouraged to apply. Proposals from basic, clinical, and translational ID-IMM related fields are welcome. New faculty or those developing new interests related to ID-IMM research are encouraged to seek membership in the IHII before applying.
- Progress reports for past IHII grants will be reviewed to assess the PI’s productivity and return-on-investment.
- Investigators may submit more than one application for consideration; however, no more than one IHII supported grant will be awarded. The PI may not have already received funding for the proposed project from other intramural or extramural sources; all related, pending proposals must be disclosed in your application.
FUNDING (contingent on availability of funds)
- Pilot grants of up to $50,000 for the new research ideas, especially those that focus on product/technology development and translational research. Greater awards may be possible in some areas where the IHII is partnering with other centers or institutes.
All funds must be spent by August 15, 2027. Carry-over across fiscal years is not possible due to institutional budgeting requirements.
- It is expected that, when needed, core facilities at the UTMB will be utilized. Funding of research taking place outside of the UTMB campus must be strongly justified.
- Funds may be used for up to 5% of clinical faculty salary support (including tenure-track) but this must be well justified within the project. Funds can be used to support non-tenure track salaries, but cannot be used for non-clinical, tenure-track faculty salaries or for indirect costs.
- Requests for equipment and travel (except where required to collect samples or data) are not justifiable expenses.
STRATEGIC RESEARCH AREAS
We seek to foster collaborative, interdisciplinary research focused on the development and application of multiscale research models to define mechanisms of infection, inform the development of medical interventions, and characterize immune responses and disease trajectories. Areas of interest include:
- Mechanisms of infection and transmission: Elucidate the biological mechanisms underlying pathogen infection and transmission and translate these insights into improved preventive and therapeutic strategies.
- Immune-mediated disease trajectories: Characterize the trajectories of immune-mediated diseases from initiation through progression and/or resolution, including the contributions of the microbiome and infectious agents.
- Inter-disciplinary studies at the intersection of infection and immunity: We encourage interdisciplinary research that:
1) Investigates immune responses to infections and vaccines in infants and young children. The LUDIR will co-sponsor the best pilot project on this topic.
2) Examines how environmental toxins, comorbidities, and other host factors influence immunity to infectious agents and vaccines.
3) Determines whether infections, immune responses, or vaccination accelerate or reverse biological aging.
4) Elucidates interactions among infectious agents, immune responses, and the nervous system in brain aging and neurological disorders.
- Emerging and vector-borne infectious threats: Address emerging challenges posed by vector-borne and other infectious threats. Emphasis is placed on developing innovative diagnostics and surveillance approaches to monitor multi-pathogen infections, transmission, and treatment efficacy.
- International research: Leverage international collaborations and multidisciplinary partnerships to develop innovative research programs and strengthen new R01, TMRC, U01, and other collaborative grant applications.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
I. An Office of Sponsored Programs Proposal Routing Form must accompany all intramural research grant applications (OSP Routing Form.pdf)
II. PROPOSAL PACKAGE (total 4 pages for A-E).
A. Title of the proposal and type (pilot, data acquisition, or bridging).
B. Names, affiliation, and expertise of the PI and collaborators as relevant to the proposal.
C. A description of how the proposed project will strengthen one of the strategic research areas listed above, benefit the infectious disease and immunology research program, and will employ interdisciplinary collaborative arrangements taking advantage of the unique strengths of the scientific environment at the UTMB.
D. A description of how the IHII support will lead to new extramural grant. Include plan for new submissions.
E. Proposed research plan. Organize the research plan as following:
1. Specific Aims: State the broad problem, critical knowledge gap, central hypothesis, and rationale for each aim.
2. Research Strategy:
Significance: Explain why the problem matters and how the project addresses it. Describe how the scientific landscape will be shifted or improved if stated objectives are met.
Innovation: Highlight novel concepts, approaches, methodologies, or structural interventions.
Approach: Include preliminary data that establish experimental feasibility or your team’s capability; outline of specific experimental design, methods, statistical analysis; identify expected outcomes, potential pitfalls, and alternatives; address scientific rigor and reproducibility as applicable.
F. A list of cited literature. This section is not considered in page limitations.
G. Detailed budget and budget justification for the IHII support. This section is not considered in page limitations.
H. SciENcv Biosketch of PI and key personnel. This section is not considered in page limitations.
I. ScieENcv Currrent/Pending Support file. Please include active and pending grants or any additional funds that are available to the PI/key personnel from intramural or extramural source. Junior investigators should also list start-up funds. Cite overlap with the proposed project (if any). This section is not considered in page limitations.
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
Proposals may be submitted by September 18, 2026, at 9 AM. Please send a single PDF file to Ms. Marcela Lopez (McLaughlin.IHII@utmb.edu). Please name your file as “LastName-Grant type.pdf” (e.g., Smith-Pilot.pdf)
APPLICATION REVIEW
The IHII Executive Committee and ad hoc reviewers will evaluate all proposals. Reviewers will be asked to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the proposal, as well as the likelihood that successful completion of the proposed project will advance the IHII’s goals and will lead to new extramural grant support.
Awards will be announced by October 20, 2026, depending on the availability of the funds and in accordance with the UTMB fiscal calendar year. Please contact Ms. Marcela Lopez (mblopez@utmb.edu) with questions or for further information.
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
- Awardees agree by acceptance of funding to include the Institute for Human Infections and Immunity in their affiliations on all publications and presentations arising from the grant, and to acknowledge the Institute for Human Infections and Immunity (and collaborative partners) for financial support.
- The Principal Investigator will be responsible for monitoring the deliverables, progress of the project, and providing a final report. Reports should include status of the study, resources committed, and value created (new manuscripts, disclosures, grants, etc.). The final report will be due 45 days after the end date of the project.
- The IHII will expect the submission of a related extramural grant within six months of completing IHII pilot funding for an investigator to be eligible to apply for future IHII awards.