Goals and eligibility for the program: The mission of the RAD_BRITESTAR Program is to invest department funds to support, protect and advance the research mission of the department.  RAD_BRITESTAR Awards will be made to Radiology Faculty through a competitive, peer-reviewed process through a development project program. 

The development project program provides awards of $12.5K each to support innovative research proposals that require seed funds to collect preliminary data so that the research can transition to sustainable extramural funding.  

Research applications are encouraged from all Discovery areas, including basic, clinical, and translational disciplines.  Collaborations between basic research scientists and clinical radiologists are strongly encouraged. Applicants are also encouraged to identify how the proposal relates to the NIH Precision Medicine initiative.  An important consideration in evaluating applications will be the likelihood that the investment will result in extramural funding.  Applicants can be PI on only one application but may participate as co-investigator on multiple applications.

Application Deadlines: Applications must be submitted by 11.59 pm on June 30, 2026.  Award announcements will be made at Radiology Research Day on September 30.

Award period: 
Awards are for a total period of 12 months. An extension may be granted for an additional 12 months if needed. All remaining funds will automatically expire after 24 months.  Extension requests with a justification must be sent to: lneuber1@jhu.edu

Grant review process: 
Applications will be assigned to tailored review groups (3 reviewers per application), assigned within the Radiology Research Grant Review Committee. The Review Committee will integrate the evaluations and make recommendations to the Department Director, who will make final decisions regarding funding.  Scores and concise narrative reviews of grant applications will be provided to each applicant independent of the funding decision, including suggestions on how to enhance the research approach or to improve the application. If unsuccessful, applicants can revise and resubmit their proposals. Revised applications should include a detailed response to issues generated in the review (1 page maximum). 

Awards must be used specifically for the research proposal, as described in the submitted budget.  Funds may be used for salary support of the principal investigator or co-investigators to not exceed 10% effort.  Effort of postdoctoral fellows and technologists, as well as supplies and service center costs may be included.  The award will not support travel or meeting-related expenses. Applicants are encouraged to use resources that are already available within the Department, including equipment and expertise. 

Development Project Awards 
Development Project Awards in the amount of $12.5K each are available to support faculty who wish to perform innovative exploratory studies.  The funds will be used to collect data to compete for expanded federal or foundation funding.

 

Eligibility

All Radiology faculty are eligible to apply for these Awards. The faculty member’s primary appointment must be in Radiology.

Proposal

Proposals must be written using Arial size 11 font, single-line spacing, standard 8.5" x 11" pages with margins not less than 0.5”.  Please pay close attention to all instructions - applications that do not meet content and formatting requirements will not be reviewed.

1. Title Page: Include name(s) of key individual(s), with divisional and departmental affiliation, contact information for the Principal Investigator(s), and the area(s) where the research will be conducted. Provide an Executive Summary (30 lines or less).
2. Research Plan, maximum of 4 pages, with the following sections:
   1. Specific Aims, clearly state the overall hypotheses and goals of the application.
   2. Background and Preliminary Results sections should explain the importance of the proposed studies be within the context of the current state of knowledge in the field and provide justification for the current hypotheses and proposed approach.
   3. Research Approach: Describe the proposed approaches. Each protocol should clearly explain the importance of the approach, what you expect to learn and what the limitations are. Standard methods do not need to be described – just provide references for them. Include justification for sample size and proposed statistical analysis of the results.  Please also clarify how the proposed research is a departure from PIs prior work and takes advantage of resources and expertise uniquely available at Hopkins.
   4. Timeline Provide a brief timeline of when the proposed studies will be performed and completed.
3. Budget and budget justification to not exceed 2 pages.
4. Bibliography (single spaced, no page limit).
5. Biosketches of the principal investigator, co-PIs, and co-Investigator(s) in the current NIH format.

 

Review Criteria

The proposal will be scored on the likelihood that funding will help the PI secure sustainable research support.  Scoring will consider the following (ranked in order of importance)

1. Extent to which proposed research is a departure from PIs prior work
2. Impact/significance of the proposed research, if successfully completed
3. Feasibility/soundness of the approach
4. Extent to which proposed research takes advantage of resources and expertise uniquely available at Hopkins

 

 POST-AWARD REQUIREMENTS

1. Proposals selected for support will be announced to the Department. Principal investigators will provide the title and a brief description of their project for dissemination on the Radiology website and via email communication. 
2. Upon completion of the award, the investigator will provide a Final Report summarizing the project’s results and milestones during the funding period. This report is due no later than 6 months after the completion of the funding period and will be submitted to the Department Director. The report should include milestones achieved and details of any extramural application(s) (including the specific aims) that resulted from the award. Investigators obtaining Award Category 1 will not be eligible for future awards until extramural applications are submitted. The Radiology Research Grant Review Committee will track the success of the extramural applications.
3. If an award recipient receives funding for the same project from another source (i.e., extramural or internal funding), any unused portion of the award will be returned or a request submitted justifying why support is still needed. 

Registration Opens 03/01/2026 Registration Closes 06/30/2026

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Apply

Contact Laura Neuberger
RadBritestar@jhmi.edu
410-502-0174