Application and Eligibility | Neuroscience:Translate

The application period for the 2024 Wu Tsai Neuroscience:Translate award program is closed.

Please make note of the key dates below and visit the Stanford | Seed Funding portal to submit your application.

Eligibility Criteria

Each proposal must have at least two co-principal investigators from two different fields both of whom must be members of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute (become a faculty affiliate)

• At least two fields should be represented. At least one faculty must be a clinician. Clinician is broadly defined to include faculty who work with human users, they don’t have to be humans with disease. The other faculty members may be from engineering, sciences or any other discipline.
• All co-principal investigators must be Stanford faculty with UTL, MCL, CE, or NTL appointments.
• Other team members (grad students, postdocs, research staff, etc.) may be included.
• Intellectual property of core technology must be owned by Stanford (not under an option or license to any entity).

Selection Criteria

The research must relate directly to applications in neuroscience or brain health, broadly defined. The objectives of the project should include an outcome that will benefit patients or other users of the technology. Evaluation of proposals will be on the basis of innovation, scientific merit, potential impact, technical feasibility, the potential for translation, including commercialization, and quality of the diversity statement.

Submission

For translational grant programs, successful projects typically have established proof of concept for their innovation. We strongly encourage applicants to discuss their proposal with Program Director, Gordon Saul (gsaul@stanford.edu) prior to submission. The proposal should follow the guidelines below.

The Oversight Committee will review applications in October. Applicants progressing to the finalist round will be invited to present to the Oversight Committee on November 29, 2023 from 11am to 2:30pm.The committee will review finalist presentations and make recommendations on funding priority, with funding to begin on January 16, 2024. Note that release of funds is dependent on IRB or APLAC approval as appropriate. The IRB or APLAC approval process should be initiated, and preferably finalized, during the selection period in order to avoid delays should your proposal be selected for an award. Award end date will not be extended due to delayed approvals.

Duration

Award timeframe is for a one-year period and teams may submit for renewal the following year. Renewal instructions below.

Please submit one PDF file following the guidelines and required content listed below via the Stanford | Seed Funding portal by the application deadline.

Submit file name as: Last name PI_Last name PI_2024_WuTsaiNeuro

Preview of Full Proposal Requirements

Cover page

Project title, names and contact information of the co-principal investigators, team members, administrative/finance contacts, funding amount requested, and a one-paragraph summary of the project.

Body of proposal

Summary of the base technology, importance of the solution (clinical or user need), description of the product or service to be developed and a translational plan of the milestones, timing, and cost to bring the product or service to market (further details below) is needed.

The body of the grant proposal should not exceed 5 pages (>0.75” margins, at least 11 pt font), excluding cover page, funding and pending proposal list, brief biosketch, references, budget and diversity statement. The body of proposal must include the following components (proposals will not be reviewed if any component is missing):

• Importance of the project to neuro health, broadly defined. What is the envisioned product that would result from the work proposed?  Who are the main competitors and what distinguishes the proposed technology from competitors? Explain how the product can improve outcomes, lower costs and/or increase access to care
• What is the current stage of the technology? Include relevant test results, proof of mechanism or prototypes
• Discuss clinical need, impacted population and market opportunity; include competing technologies and approaches
• Include intellectual property status; describe the IP strategy for the technology and team interactions with OTL
• Include a general commercial development plan, proposed regulatory pathway and the reimbursement/payment approach for the technology
• What are the major remaining risks for the project? Risks may include: a) clinical need b) engineering/science feasibility c) intellectual property d) business/market-competitive landscape
• List expected specific major milestones with work plan (per quarter) and research plan for achieving them. How does the plan address the major risks and improve the translational prospects for the project?
• Describe the translational plan for follow on project work and funding post Neuroscience:Translate award.

Diversity Statement (not part of page limit)

• The statement should be a 1-2 paragraph description of your team's goal for increasing diversity, inclusion, belonging, equity and justice (DIBEJ) at Stanford. Further details (including tips for applicants) can be found in the description of Wu Tsai Neuro's grant making process.

Also address or include the following:

• Approvals for animals and human subjects should be addressed ahead of the grant-funding period, include protocol numbers or a letter of exemption. Approvals are strictly required for funding dispersal and are generally not a valid rationale for no cost extension requests.
• List of current funding related to this project, include all funding (dilutive and non-dilutive) supporting the project, including internal seed grants obtained and pending proposals for each co-principal investigator

• If the project has not already been disclosed to the Office of Technology Licensing (OTL), it is strongly recommended that an Invention and Technology Disclosure be submitted to OTL by the deadline. 

  SEE THE INVENTOR DISCLOSURE PAGE LOCATED ON THE OTL SITE

Budget Page

Grants may be requested for up to $100,000 direct cost for one year. Include a justification for all category items/personnel. Funds may be used for salary support of graduate students and other research staff, but may not be used for general staff or administrative support. Operating supplies, non-capital equipment items, prototyping expenses, imaging time and travel directly associated with the research activity are examples of eligible budget items. Budget details should include general categories such as personnel, supplies, travel, non-capital equipment and other project-related expenses. Submit by using the linked budget page template.

Also include:

• Biosketch of co-principal investigators (not to exceed 5 pages each)
• List ream members, include the proposed role in the research project
• Relevant literature references

Renewal proposals/applications

Renewal applications will be evaluated on a competitive basis during the same review process as new applications. In addition to the content outlined above, a renewal application must include a brief comparison of milestones achieved vs. those planned in the original submission. 

No-cost extensions

No-Cost Extension requests are by application. are allowed. Applications will be strictly reviewed for compliance with the award deliverables and project. Applications are due one month prior to award end date by downloading the linked form template.

Neuroscience:Translate Oversight Committee

Contact

Questions? Please contact Program Manager, Linda Lucian: llucian@stanford.edu.

Stanford | Seed Funding Application Portal