ITM Pilot Awards

It’s terrific. This is an interesting and creative way to not only administer grants, but to have community understand what’s happening here, where are their tax dollars going, how are we addressing problems that may seem to be unsolvable and progress can be very slow, but without these sorts of attempts, we don’t know where to go.
Louis Philipson, MD James C. Tyree Professor of Diabetes Research and Care of Medicine UChicago Medicine
It was fantastic! The most instructive experience has been how to translate a scientific idea/project to an impactful message for public viewing.
Christos Lazaridis, MDAssociate Professor of Neurology UChicago Medicine
Everybody should do it because then you get to go outside the research and do things where it can make an impact.
Abhinav Bhushan, PhD Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Illinois Tech
I learned to increase the impact of the message by focusing on the important points and cutting out extraneous information. I learned how to convey a positive, encouraging message that will hold peoples' attention.
Gregory Karczmar, PhDProfessor of Radiology UChicago
It was a truly fantastic experience. Coming up with the script and making my research project come alive.
Jeff Stepan, MD Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine UChicago Medicine
I would hazard a guess that 99% of us as physicians don’t do anything like this. Being able to communicate and express our ideas in a way that’s engaging and entertaining is huge.
Matt Sloan, MD Urology Resident UChicago Medicine
Great team, solid communication and care throughout. I was really impressed on use of videos, captions and other images to create an informative video.
Mahboobeh Mahdavinia, MD, PhDChief, Division of Allergy and Immunology Rush University Medical Center
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The ITM launched a new Pilot Award program in 2017 that offers researchers more money, new resources, and collaboration opportunities with stakeholders ranging from industry to community members.
Since 2007, the ITM has awarded more than $8.5 million in its Pilot Awards to help accelerate innovative research. And the impacts have been huge. Researchers have explored creative projects, used their data to secure millions of dollars in federal funding, launched companies, and more.
The ITM is now thrilled to build on that success with a NEW Pilot Award program that offers:
  • Up to $60,000 in funding.
  • ITM resource support for study design, networking, and more.
  • Video production and communications support to share research findings and impacts.

2

Funding Rounds Each Year

60,000

Maximum Funding $ Per Award

26

Pilot Projects Funded Since 2017

8,600,000

$ in Pilot Awards Given to Investigators Since 2007

The ITM is accepting letters of intent until September 22, 2024. To stay up to date on this and future award cycles, sign up for the ITM newsletter here.

Who’s Eligible?

Individuals from any ITM institution, which include the University of Chicago, Rush, Loyola University Chicago, NorthShore University HealthSystem, the Illinois Institute of Technology, and Advocate Aurora Health. All applicants must be eligible to be a principal investigator on a study with their local IRB or collaborate with one as part of a study team.

What is the Application Timeline?

The application timeline is outlined below, with the start date for these one-year awards slated for July 1, 2025. 

Submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) by September 22, 2024

Up to 10 Finalists Will be Notified on November 1 and Invited to Submit Full Applications

Full Applications are Due March 23, 2025

Check Out ITM Pilot Award Program Researchers in Action

See What We've Done.