Grant Application and Letter of Intent

Applications will be solicited for two deadlines each year, on November 1st and May 1st, with scientific review in December and June. Awards will be announced in January and July. Projects will be funded in March and September. An investigator is allowed to apply for one proposal per funding cycle and can receive no more than one pilot project award every 2 years. All applications should be preceded by a one-page letter of intent. The letter may contain the abstract of the application, summarily describing background, significance, specific aims, and experimental design. 

The deadlines for submission of letters of intent are August 1st and February 15th, prior to the deadlines for submission of applications. Responses to these letters will be issued within four weeks and are final. Applications submitted without a prior letter of intent will not be considered. After approval of a letter of intent, the corresponding grant proposal must be submitted at the following proposal submission date. Please include with your submission the biosketch(es) of the investigators involved. Incomplete letters of intent and applications will not be considered.

Proposal Review

All application proposals will be reviewed for scientific merit by the TNBRC - Pilot Research Review Committee, appointed by the Center Director and composed of at least one member from each TNBRC Division and two reviewers outside the TNBRC and Tulane University. TNBRC reviewers serve on the Committee for five years, and their appointment may be renewed. The outside reviewers may be affiliate scientists and are appointed for three years, which may be renewed for three years. Committee members will be permitted to seek confidential verbal or written reports from colleagues not belonging to the Committee if they require further assessment. All additional outside assessments received, whether verbal or written, will be reported to the Committee. Ad-hoc members with specific areas of expertise may be appointed as needed. The recommendations of the Committee will be forwarded to the Center Director. It will be the Director’s responsibility to make the final decision as to which proposals are funded and at what budgetary level. Receipt of overlapping funding at any time after a pilot study award is made, funding for the pilot study project will terminate.  An application proposal can be revised and resubmitted in another application period if it is not funded. However, please note that this policy only permits one resubmission per proposal. The resubmission will be treated as a new submission, requiring a new letter of intent submission.

Review Criteria

Proposals are reviewed using the following criteria:  

1.    Scientific merit (significance, approach, innovation) 
2.    Complementarity between Goals of the Project and TNBRC's Scientific Program 
3.    Likelihood of moving from the pilot study to an NIH-grant application or equivalent.
4.    Feasibility of the project about the time allotted for the pilot project program.  
5.    Budget
6.    Availability of an approved IACUC protocol 

•  An IACUC protocol may be submitted with the application, which may help prevent delays. 
• An approved IACUC protocol is required before starting the project.

Pilot Programs Funded

•    Synthetic virus-like structures as a new platform for vaccines and understanding for vaccines and understanding B cell biology
•    Autoantibodies against chemokines as novel therapeutics for COVID-19 and PASC
•    Testing a CTL-based HIV vaccine in macaques Autoantibodies against chemokines as novel therapeutics for COVID-19 and PASC Synthetic virus-like structures as a new platform for vaccines and understanding B cell biology
•    Eradication of SIV Reservoirs by Targeting the Autophagy and Survival Mechanisms of SIV-infected Cells Harboring Replication-Competent Virus
•    A Tick-Targeted Vaccine for Preventing the Transmission of Tick-borne Pathogens
•    An animal model to study pathology associated with the novel tick-borne pathogen Borrelia mayonii
•    The role of defective HIV proviral DNA in promoting viral escape
•    Induction of multiple broadly neutralizing antibody lineages with a multivalent HIV nanoparticle vaccine
•    Quantification of Corneal Sensory Nerve Fiber Density to Evaluate ZIKV-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy in NHPs
•    Establishing reference values for assays used for diabetes testing
•    Oxidative stress induced neuropathy in the aging rhesus macaque brain
•    Define the impact of early cART in SIV-infected infant macaque
•    Determine the anatomical distribution of SIV/HIV particles in the hours and days after vaginal challenge by correlation of PET and fluorescence imaging approaches
•    NK cell modulation of CMV infection in pregnant rhesus macaque dams
•    The mechanisms of immune protection from re-infection with Zika virus (ZIKV) in the Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) model
•    CMV Modulation of Natural Killer cell memory
•    Targeted Estrogen Delivery to Improve Pancreatic Islet Transplantation in a NHP Model of Diabetes
•    Impairment of MAIT cell function by SIV contributes to reactivation of latent TB
•    NHP research to study macaque Idiopathic Chronic Enterocolitis (ICE)
•    Development of a Non-human Primate Model of Pulmonary Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) Infection
•    Genome wide functional analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis ABC transporters in a non-human primate model of chronic tuberculosis infections
•    Epigenetic and Immune Consequences of Early Adverse Maternal Care 
•    Novel DNA-Vaccination against Plasmodium Liver Stage Exported Proteins in the presence of prior SIV infection
•    Preclinical Evaluation of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Gene Therapy for Krabbe Disease
•    SIV Vaccine Using Replication Competent BCG and Vaccinia Virus Vectors
•    Safety Analysis of the Mtb:Δ-sigH Mutant in a Model of TB/AIDS Co infection
•    Therapeutic Treatment of Live Attenuated Recombinant Varicella-SIV virus in SIV Infected Rhesus Macaques
•    Nonhuman primate model to study macrophage dysregulation and inflamm-aging
•    Novel Proteins in SIV
•    Universal Adult Stem Cell Vaccine Platform
•    Mechanism of Follicular CD4+ T Cells Impairment in Rhesus Macaques

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Alignment with TNBRC Scientific Priorities (Strongest Predictor)

TNBRC explicitly prioritizes projects investigating:

• Infectious diseases
• HIV/AIDS and cure strategies
• Tuberculosis and co-infections
• Immunology
• Cardiovascular disease
• Central nervous system (CNS) disorders
• Diabetes and metabolic disease
• Comorbidity research

Projects directly aligned with these areas are most competitive.

2. Potential to Lead to NIH or Other External Funding

A primary goal of the pilot program is to generate preliminary data that can support future competitive grant applications. Reviewers specifically look for projects with clear potential to evolve into NIH R01s or other extramural awards.

3. Strategic Use of Nonhuman Primate Resources

Preference is given to studies that:

• Utilize existing nonhuman primate samples
• Use animals already allocated to ongoing projects
• Maximize unique TNBRC resources
• Address questions that cannot be answered adequately in lower-order models

This is one of the most distinctive review considerations compared with traditional biomedical foundations.

4. Innovative and Exploratory Research

TNBRC states that pilot projects should generally be:

• Exploratory
• Developmental
• High-risk/high-reward
• Novel rather than confirmatory

Incremental extensions of previously funded projects are less competitive than innovative studies opening new directions.

5. Strong Scientific Merit

Applications undergo formal peer review for scientific quality. Successful projects generally include:

• Clear hypotheses
• Rigorous experimental design
• Appropriate statistical methods
• Strong significance
• Realistic milestones

Scientific merit remains a core determinant of funding decisions.

6. Infectious Disease and Translational Biomedical Focus

Historically, major TNBRC research strengths include:

• HIV/AIDS
• SIV/SHIV models
• Tuberculosis
• Viral infections
• Immunology
• Emerging infectious diseases
• Translational medicine

Projects within these established strengths often align particularly well with the Center's mission.

7. Reduction, Refinement, and Replacement (3Rs)

Current TNBRC guidance states that proposed studies are evaluated with consideration for:

• Reducing animal use
• Refining animal procedures
• Replacing animal studies where possible

Projects incorporating modern alternative methodologies may receive favorable consideration.

8. Collaboration with TNBRC Scientists

For investigators outside TNBRC, sponsorship by a TNBRC Core Scientist is required. Strong collaborative relationships with Center investigators enhance feasibility and alignment with institutional priorities.

9. Investigator Expertise

Competitive applicants generally demonstrate:

• Relevant publications
• Experience in biomedical research
• Ability to complete pilot studies
• Technical expertise related to proposed methods

Applicants must be beyond the postdoctoral stage and affiliated with nonprofit academic or research institutions.

10. Focused, Feasible Pilot Project

The program typically funds:

• 2–4 projects annually
• Up to approximately $75,000 direct costs
• One year of support

Successful proposals usually have focused aims capable of generating meaningful preliminary data within a short timeframe.

Frequently Supported Research Themes

Based on published priorities and TNBRC research programs, the most competitive topics include:

• HIV cure and remission strategies
• SIV/SHIV pathogenesis
• Tuberculosis and co-infections
• Viral immunology
• Cardiovascular complications of infectious disease
• CNS and neuroinflammatory disorders
• Diabetes and metabolic disease
• Comparative pathology
• Translational infectious disease research
• Novel Approach Methodologies (NAMs)
• Biomarker discovery using NHP models 

Funding Strategy

A highly competitive TNBRC pilot proposal typically includes:

1. A biomedical question aligned with TNBRC priority areas.
2. Strong use of nonhuman primate resources or existing NHP specimens.
3. An innovative, exploratory hypothesis.
4. Clear potential for future NIH or equivalent funding.
5. Strong scientific rigor and feasibility.
6. Consideration of animal reduction/refinement strategies.
7. Collaboration with TNBRC investigators and resources.