FIU Medicine and Baptist Health Pilot Funds

Request for Applications

The FIU Medicine and Baptist Health Research Subcommittee will accept proposals to fund up to six innovative pilot projects designed to advance our collaborative research efforts and expand externally funded research. Each project will be funded up to $75,000.

Applications must include both a primary faculty member at FIU Medicine and a Baptist Health employee. While research topics are unrestricted, priority will be given to proposals that align with Baptist Health clinical institutes and FIU Medicine strategic research initiatives.

Purpose of Funds

The Pilot Project program supports early-stage, high-potential research initiatives that intentionally build toward external grant submissions to federal agencies, foundations, or other external sponsors. Pilot funds are not intended for stand-alone or exploratory projects without a clear trajectory toward external funding. Applicants must explicitly describe how the proposed pilot activities will advance the project to the next stage of funding and identify the anticipated external funding mechanism(s) to which the project will be submitted. Projects that do not demonstrate a clear, feasible, and timely pathway to external grant submission will not be considered. Applicants should also identify the anticipated submission timeline/cycle and clearly describe how the proposed pilot work will address specific feasibility, preliminary data, or infrastructure gaps needed to strengthen competitiveness for that external application.

Applications will be evaluated on the extent to which the proposed work supports the submission or strengthening of an external grant application, its alignment with the mission of the Baptist Health clinical institutes and the FIU Medicine strategic research initiatives, and the feasibility and innovation of the approach.

For applicants with prior Pilot Fund support, reviewers will also consider evidence of progress toward external funding, including grant submissions and, where applicable, how the proposed work will build on prior efforts to address reviewer critiques and strengthen resubmission competitiveness.

Submitting your proposal

There is no specific application form. Proposals may be submitted in Word or PDF format. The proposal is limited to three pages, including figures but excluding references. It must follow this format: letter-size pages (8.5 by 11 inches), Arial 11-point or Times New Roman 12-point font, single-spaced, with 1-inch margins.

Allowable expenses include those related to the conduct of the research project but may not include the principal investigator's salary. A separate budget narrative is required and must include:

• Proposal Budget Sheet
• Budget Justification
• Electronic Proposal Routing Approval Form

The deadline for submission is July 1, 2026. Submit applications to pilot@fiu.edu.

All awardees MUST present initial progress during the next FIU Medicine and Baptist Health Research Subcommittee meeting. A final report must be submitted to the subcommittee within 30 days of project completion. The final report must include plans to submit an extramural grant proposal, as well as any project-related publications and scholarly outputs. Failure to submit a final report and evidence of grant submission may result in ineligibility for future funding under this program.

Review criteria

Applications to the FIU Medicine and Baptist Health South Florida Pilot Project program will be reviewed and ranked through an internal screening process based on four core review criteria.

• Pathway to External Funding (50%): Does the project demonstrate a clear and timely pathway toward submission of an external grant? Does the proposal define planned next steps that would follow upon achieving the project's aims? Does it meaningfully advance the research program and increase external funding potential? Are the proposed activities likely to generate preliminary data, outputs or infrastructure that strengthen competitiveness for future grant submissions?
• Significance: Does the project address an important problem or critical barrier to progress in the field? Is it consistent with the mission of the Baptist Health clinical institutes and the FIU Medicine strategic research initiatives.
• Innovation: Does the application challenge and seek to shift current research or creativity paradigms by utilizing novel theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions? Are the concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions novel to one field of research or novel in a broad sense? Is a refinement, improvement, or new application of theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions proposed?
• Approach: Are the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the aims of the project? Are potential problems, alternative strategies, and benchmarks for success presented? If the project is in the early stages of development, will the strategy establish feasibility, and will particularly risky aspects be managed?

Submit your application