This program invites applications from faculty with full-time appointments who are actively engaged in research at any one of the 11 CCTS Partner Institutions. Applications will also be accepted from community partners or trainees (pre-/post-doctoral researchers, clinical residents/ fellows) representing a scientific team – these individuals will be prompted to specify a full-time faculty lead/mentor as Principal Investigator of the voucher. Vouchers are intended for active research efforts that are ready to use these resources immediately

Through the CCTS Interdisciplinary Network Pilot Program, we seek to develop the future research workforce in a spirit that fosters collaboration, team science, and innovative discovery.

For additional funding opportunites, check out the following:

• NIH Covid-Related Funding Opportunities

• Open Funding Opportunities with the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)

• Open Funding Opportunities with the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)

• Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs Solicitation Listing

The Drug Discovery and Device Development Program represents a collaboration among the CCTS, the UAB Heersink School of Medicine, the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Alabama Drug Discovery Alliance (ADDA). It currently has several projects underway at different stages of development ranging from assay development and validation, high-throughput screening (HTS), lead identification and development, and a Phase I clinical trial.

The program also supports an annual Drug Discovery Research Award--projects are identified on a competitive basis in a two-stage application process overseen by ADDA. Funding typically involves at least two partners, including CCTS and Southern Research, a not-for-profit institution with an internationally recognized track record in drug discovery and development. Eligibility for the award has been for scientists affiliated with UAB or Southern Research. Efforts are underway to explore how CCTS partner institutions can work together with Southern Research to initiate similar research initiatives and high throughput screening campaigns for novel targets of interest.

Drug Discovery Research Award

Grants are for $50,000 per year for 2 years, with the second year of funding dependent on progress made in the first year. Funds can be utilized for various aspects of drug discovery and development for any human disease, including - but not limited to - assay development for high-throughput screening (HST), molecular modeling and medicinal chemistry efforts, or proof of concept studies in animals with newly discovered lead molecules.

Upon funding, a multidisciplinary team is assembled, consisting of members with relevant expertise, including cell biology, pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, HTS assay development as well as clinical knowledge. This team, which meets quarterly, helps create a compound progression pathway and guide the project through the drug discovery and development pipeline.

In addition to scientific merit, applications are evaluated for intellectual property and commercialization aspects, in collaboration with the UAB Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Southern Research.

Click here to view previous drug discovery research awardees. 

Through the Academic Drug Discovery and Device Development Program (AD4), CCTS investigators can access the leading-edge, high through-put screening and drug development capacity at Southern Research (SR) to assay new molecular targets, develop effective screens for novel targets, accelerate potential therapies through the development pipeline, and find new applications for existing clinically tested drugs (“re-purposing”).

Bench to bedside, the Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) seeks to improve well-being and health equity in communities across the Deep South through collaborative partnerships and scientific innovation. Aligned with this mission, the CCTS Biostatistics Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) and Informatics Initiatives seek applications proposing the development of novel statistical and computational approaches and related methodologic innovations that bridge the gap between data and clinical application.

Applications are invited from investigators developing novel methodology, including but not limited to statistical methods, clinical trial design, statistical genetics, approaches to the integration of quantitative and qualitative data analysis (i.e., mixed methods), clinical informatics and bioinformatics methods relevant to translational research. The methodologic developments should have the potential for implementation and application by other researchers. Priority will be given to applications that develop innovative measurement and/or analytic methods addressing health challenges pertinent to the CCTS mission.