Funding Opportunities
To advance scientific knowledge and develop treatments and cures for spinal cord injury (SCI), the Extramural Grants Administration Program will issue requests for applications (RFAs) on behalf of the Spinal Cord Injury Research Board. Check this web site for updates, or sign up for SCIRB eAlerts and indicate RFA as your area of interest.
Tips on managing graphics and file sizes submitted with your RFA or RFP are provided.
Funding Opportunities Pending Review
- Translational Research Projects (TRP) in Spinal Cord Injury (Round 3) RFA
- Projects to Accelerate Research Translation (PART) and Innovative, Developmental or Exploratory Activities (IDEA) in Spinal Cord Injury (Round 4) RFA
Recommended Awards
- Individual Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships in Spinal Cord Injury Research (Round 4) RFA. A total of $1.16 million in the form of three (3) predoctoral and four (4) post-doctoral awards were recommended. Projects are three-year awards.
| Organization | Investigators | Funding Mechanism | Project Title | Recommended Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burke Medical Research Institute | Jason B. Carmel, M.D., Ph.D. and Bushra Yasin, M.D., Ph.D. |
Postdoc |
Paired Brain and Spinal Cord Stimulation to Augment Motor Responses in People with Cervical Myelopathy | $192,366 |
| Columbia University | Sunil K. Agrawal, Ph.D. and Tatiana D. Luna, M.S. |
Predoc |
Improving Upper Body Trunk Control in Spinal Cord Injury Patients Through Robotic Rehabilitation Training | $135,600 |
| Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai | Ann M. Spungen, Ed.D. and Chung-Ying Tsai, Ph.D. |
Postdoc |
The Effects of Incorporated Exoskeletal-Assisted Walking in SCI Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation | $189,476 |
| New York University School of Medicine | Dan R. Littman, M.D., Ph.D. and Hyeon Kyu (Alice) Kwon, B.S. | Predoc | Enteric Glial Cells Cause Gastrointestinal Complications Post Spinal Cord Injury | $135,600 |
| Regenerative Research Foundation | Sally Temple, Ph.D. and Elizabeth Fisher, Ph.D. |
Postdoc |
Modulation of Inflammation Following SCI Using Plasmid IL-10 Microbeads |
$184,686 |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | Ryan J. Gilbert, Ph.D. and Jessica Funnell, B.S. |
Predoc | Neuroprotective Curcumin-Releasing Hydrogel for Treatment of Acute Spinal Injury | $135,600 |
| University of Rochester Medical Center |
Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D. and Chia Hsu, Ph.D. |
Postdoc | The Role of Phosphodiesterase 10A in Inflammation After Spinal Cord Injury | $189,366 |
|
Total (7 awards) |
$1,162,694 |
|||
- PART and IDEA in Spinal Cord Injury (Round 3) RFA. A total of $4.1 million in the form of three (3) PART and four (4) IDEA awards were recommended. These projects are three- and two-year awards, respectively.
| Organization | Principal Investigator | Funding Mechanism | Project Title | Recommended Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronx Veterans Medical Research Foundation | William A. Bauman, M.D. | PART |
Romosozumab to Improve Bone Mineral Density and Architecture in Chronic SCI |
$826,939 |
|
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai |
Ravi Iyengar, Ph.D. |
IDEA | Systems Therapeutics for Spinal Cord Injury | $342,914 |
| Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai |
David F. Putrino, P.T., Ph.D. |
IDEA | Virtual Reality to Reduce Pain in the Upper Extremities After Spinal Cord Injury | $357,639 |
| University of Rochester | Gail V.W. Johnson, Ph.D. | IDEA |
Transglutaminase 2 as a Therapeutic Target to Facilitate Recovery After Spinal Cord Injury |
$360,000 |
| Winifred Masterson Burke Medical Research Institute |
Edmund R. Hollis, Ph.D.
|
PART |
Rehabilitation and Cortical Remodeling After Surgical Intervention for Spinal Cord Injury |
$963,000 |
| Winifred Masterson Burke Medical Research Institute | Botir T. Sagdullaev, Ph.D. | IDEA | Blood Flow Control and its Impairment in Spinal Cord Injury | $357,566 |
| Winifred Masterson Burke Medical Research Institute | Jian Zhong, Ph.D. | PART | Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation as a means to Promote CST Axon Regeneration | $990,000 |
| Total (7 awards) | $4,198,058 | |||
- Individual Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships in Spinal Cord Injury Research (Round 3) RFA. A total of $1.2 million in the form of two (2) predoctoral and five (5) post-doctoral awards were recommended. Projects are three-year awards.
| Organization | Investigators |
Funding Mechanism |
Project Title | Recommended Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
Ryan J. Gilbert, Ph.D., Devan Puhl | Predoc |
Delivery of Neurotrophin-3 mRNA by Electrospun Fibers to Promote Axonal Growth |
$135,600 |
|
Research Foundation of CUNY obo The City College of New York |
John Martin, Ph.D., Lillian Yang, Ph.D. | Postdoc |
Harnessing Activity-Dependent Competition to Repair the Corticospinal Motor System After Cervical Spinal Cord Injury |
$184,734 |
|
Stony Brook University |
Prithvi K. Shah, Ph.D., Pawan Sharma |
Predoc |
Activity-dependent Closed-loop Neuromodulation of the Cervical Spinal Cord for the Recovery of Skilled Upper Limb Function After a Spinal Cord Injury |
$117,570 |
|
Winifred Masterson Burke Medical Research Institute |
Jason B. Carmel, M.D., Ph.D., Qi Yang, Ph.D. |
Postdoc |
Combined Therapy of Forelimb Area Motor Cortex and Spinal Cord Epidural Stimulation to Improve Hand Function After Spinal Cord Injury and Identifying the Responsible Pathway |
$186,426 |
| Winifred Masterson Burke Medical Research Institute |
Caitlin E. Hill, Ph.D., Carolin Ruven, Ph.D. |
Postdoc |
Role of Ubiquitinated Proteins in Dystrophic Axonal Endings Following Spinal Cord Injury |
$186,426 |
| Winifred Masterson Burke Medical Research Institute |
Edmund R. Hollis, Ph.D., Hisham Mohammed, Ph.D. |
Postdoc |
The Role of Intracortical Circuits in Motor Recovery from Spinal Cord Injury |
$175,926 |
| Winifred Masterson Burke Medical Research Institute |
Jian Zhong, Ph.D., Ning Xia, M.D., Ph.D. |
Postdoc |
Generation and Validation of a Transgenic Chainamplifying Tracer (TCAT) Mouse Line |
$172,926 |
| Total (7 awards) | $1,159,608 | |||
- PART and IDEA in Spinal Cord Injury (Round 2) RFA. A total of $6.5 million in the form of three (3) PART and eleven (11) IDEA awards were recommended. These projects are three- and two-year awards, respectively.
| Organization | Investigators | Funding Mechanism | Project Title | Recommended Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bronx Veterans Medical Research Foundation Sub-applicant- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai |
Christopher Cardozo, M.D., Dongming Cai, M.D., Ph.D., Bin Zhang, Ph.D. |
IDEA | Role of Synaptojanin 1 in Functional Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury |
$344,624 |
| Bronx Veterans Medical Research Foundation | Jill Wecht, Ed.D. | IDEA | Dose Effect of Norepinephrine Precursor (Droxidopa) on Blood Pressure and Cerebral Blood Flow Velocity in Hypotensive Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury | $344,887 |
|
Feinstein Institute for Medical Research Sub-applicant- Bronx Veterans Medical Research Foundation |
Ona Bloom, Ph.D., Ann Spungen, Ed.D. |
IDEA |
Impact of Walking on the Immune System of Persons with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury |
$222,870 |
| Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai | Hongyan Jenny Zou, M.D., Ph.D. | IDEA | Enhancing Axon Regenerative Capacity Through Epigenetic Regulation of DNA Methylation Dynamics | $360,000 |
| Regenerative Research Foundation Sub-applicant- Marine Biological Laboratory |
David Butler, Ph.D., Jennifer Morgan, Ph.D. |
IDEA | Developing Intracellular Antibodies Against Alpha-Synuclein as Potential Therapeutics in Spinal Cord Injury and Disease | $311,921 |
| Regenerative Research Foundation Sub-applicant- The Children's Hospital Corporation |
Sally Temple, Ph.D., Larry Benowitz, Ph.D. |
IDEA | The Role of Zinc in Axon Regeneration Following Spinal Cord Injury | $335,000 |
| Research Foundation of CUNY obo City College of New York Sub-applicant- Columbia University |
John Martin, Ph.D., Sunil Agrawal, Ph.D. |
IDEA | Robotic Rehabilitation to Promote Recovery of Forelimb Function after Cervical SCI in Rats | $332,738 |
| Research Foundation of CUNY obo College of Staten Island Sub-applicant- Bronx Veterans Medical Research Foundation |
Maria Knikou, P.T., Ph.D., Noam Harel, M.D., Ph.D. |
PART | Activity-Dependent Transspinal Stimulation for Recovery of Walking Ability after SCI | $898,595 |
| Research Foundation for SUNY - SUNY Polytechnic Institute Sub-applicant- The Methodist Hospital Research Institute |
Janet Paluh, Ph.D., Philip Horner, Ph.D. |
PART | Healing the Contusion-Injured Spinal Cord Microenvironment with Nanotechnology- and Stem Cell- Assisted Modulation | $970,404 |
| University of Rochester | Mark Noble, Ph.D. | PART | Acute Treatment with 4-aminopyridine Promotes Extensive Recovery from Traumatic SCI | $990,000 |
| Winifred Masterson Burke Medical Research Institute | Jason Carmel, M.D., Ph.D. | IDEA | Combining 4-AP with Motor Training to Promote Forelimb Motor Recovery in Rats with Pyramidal Tract Injury | $359,241 |
| Winifred Masterson Burke Medical Research Institute | John Cave, Ph.D. | IDEA | Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Cell Adhesion in Reactive Astrocytes and Glial Scar Formation Following Spinal Cord Injury | $360,000 |
| Winifred Masterson Burke Medical Research Institute Sub-applicant- University of Michigan |
Edmund Hollis, Ph.D., Roman Giger, Ph.D. |
IDEA | Immune-mediated Nervous System Repair | $360,000 |
| Winifred Masterson Burke Medical Research Institute | Jian Zhong, Ph.D. | IDEA | Investigating Axonal mRNA Translation in CST Axon Sprouting and Regeneration | $360,000 |
| Total (14 awards) | $6,550,280 | |||
- Translational Research Projects (TRP) in Spinal Cord Injury (Round 2) RFA . A total of $2.8 million in the form of two (2) TRP awards were recommended. Both projects are four-year awards.
| Organization | Investigators | Project Title | Recommended Award |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Health Research, Inc. Sub-applicant- Medical University of South Carolina |
Johnathan Wolpaw, M.D., Gerwin Schalk, Ph.D. |
A Spinal Reflex Operant Conditioning System Suitable for Clinical Translation | $1,623,620 |
| University of Rochester |
Mark Noble, Ph.D., Christoph Proschel, Ph.D. |
Pharmacological Treatment of Acute Spinal Cord Injury | $1,203,455 |
| Total (2 awards) | $2,827,075 | ||
- Individual Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships in Spinal Cord Injury Research (Round 2) RFA. A total of $1.5 million in the form of two (2) predoctoral and seven (7) post-doctoral awards were recommended. These projects are three-year awards.
| Organization | Investigators | Funding Mechanism | Project Title | Recommended Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronx Veterans Medical Research Foundation, Inc. |
Noam Harel, M.D., Ph.D., Yu-Kuang Wu, P.T., Ph.D. |
Postdoc | EMG Triggered Closed-Loop Stimulation for Spinal Cord Injury Individuals | $187,440 |
| Columbia University |
Sunil K. Agrawal, Ph.D., Dario Martelli, Ph.D. |
Postdoc | Improving Locomotor Function After Spinal Cord Injury with a Perturbation-Based Balance Training | $193,482 |
| Cornell University |
Chris B. Schaffer, Ph.D., Yu-Ting Chen, Ph.D. |
Predoc | In Vivo Three-Photon Excited Fluorescence Imaging of Spinal Cord Neural Activity in Awake, Locomoting Mice after Spinal Cord Injury | $135,600 |
| Feinstein Institute for Medical Research |
Ona Bloom, Ph.D., Nawshin Kutub, Ph.D. |
Postdoc | Biomarkers in Adult and Pediatric Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury | $168,414 |
| Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai |
Hongyan Zou, Ph.D., M.D., Shalaka D. Wahane, Ph.D. |
Postdoc | Epigenetic Modulation of Immune Response to Enhance Neuroprotection in Spinal Cord Injury | $176,550 |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
Ryan J. Gilbert, Ph.D., Anthony D'Amato, Ph.D. |
Predoc | Estrogen Based Biomaterials Promote Astrocytic Growth Factor Production and Provide Neuroprotection Against Glutamate Excitotoxicity |
$135,600 |
| University of Rochester |
Christoph Proschel, Ph.D., Jennifer Stripay, Ph.D. |
Postdoc | Novel Pharmacological Approach to Promoting Myelin Preservation, Neuronal Regeneration and Preventing Muscle Atrophy Following SCI |
$176,454 |
| Winifred Masterson Burke Medical Research Institute |
Caitlin E. Hill, Ph.D., Ying Dai, Ph.D. |
Postdoc | Improving Axonal Growth Through Schwann Cell Transplant by the Activation of Integrin Following SCI | $174,090 |
| Winifred Masterson Burke Medical Research Institute |
Edmund R. Hollis, Ph.D., Yue Li, Ph.D. |
Postdoc | Motor Learning Mechanisms During Rehabilitation from Spinal Cord Injury | $168,414 |
| Total (9 awards) |
$1,516,044
|
|||
- Institutional Support for Spinal Cord Injury Research (Round 6) Solicitation of Interest: Twenty (20) eligible organizations received letters of support for the expansion of spinal cord injury research within their organizations. These projects are five-year awards.
- PART and IDEA in Spinal Cord Injury (Round 1) RFA. A total of $6.2 million in the form of four (4) PART and seven (7) IDEA awards were recommended. These projects are three- and two- year awards, respectively.
| Organization | Investigators | Funding Mechanism | Project Title | Recommended Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronx Veterans Medical Research Foundation |
Hesham Tawfeek, M.D. |
IDEA |
Role of T Cells in Bone Loss After Spinal Cord Injury |
$356,999 |
| Columbia University |
Ulrich Hengst, Ph.D. |
IDEA | Pumilio 1 and 2 Control Axon Regrowth by Shaping the Axonal Transcriptome | $360,000 |
| Cornell University |
Chris B. Schaffer, Ph.D. |
IDEA |
Imaging Neural Activity in the Spinal Cord of Awake Mice After Spinal Cord Injury |
$350,876 |
|
Research Corporation of Long Island, Inc. Sub-applicant- Houston Methodist Research Institute |
Victor L. Arvanian, Ph.D., D.Sci, Philip J. Homer, Ph.D. |
PART |
Neuroplasticity Integrting Human Induced Neuralized Pluripotent Stem Cells (NiPSCs) in SCI Animals |
$935,867 |
| Research Foundation for SUNY Stony Brook |
Sue Ann Sisto, Ph.D., Victor Arvanian, Ph.D. |
PART |
Effects of Spinal Electromagnetic Stimulation and Locomotor Training on Motor Recovery and Walking in Incomplete SCI |
$989,199 |
| Research Foundation for SUNY Stony Brook |
Irene C. Solomon, Ph.D., William F. Collins, Ph.D. |
IDEA |
Therapeutic Potential of Mild to Moderate AIH on LUT and Respiratory Function in SCI |
$355,111 |
| Research Foundation for SUNY, University at Albany |
Ben G. Szaro, Ph.D. |
IDEA |
Functional Analysis of Genes Implicated in Successful CNS Axon Regeneration |
$359,738 |
| Research Foundation of CUNY obo College of Staten Island |
Maria Knikou, P.T., Ph.D. |
PART |
Transspinal-Transcortical Paired Stimulation for Neuroplasticity and Recovery After SCI |
$947,004 |
|
Weill Medical College of Cornell University Sub-applicant- Winifred Masterson Burke Medical Research Institute |
Anthony Sauve, Ph.D., Brett C. Langley, Ph.D. |
PART |
NAD-Augmenting Agents to Enhance Neural Survival and Function Following Spinal Cord Injury |
$890,241 |
|
Winifred Masterson Burke Medical Research Institute Sub-applicant- Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Dylan J. Edwards, Ph.D., P.T. |
IDEA |
Improving Hand Function in Chronic SCI with Combined Robot Training and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation |
$359,000 |
| Winifred Masterson Burke Medical Research Institute |
Jian Zhong, Ph.D. |
IDEA |
Visualizing New Synapses and Their Activity in the Injured Spinal Cord |
$360,000 |
| Total (11 awards) | $6,264,035 | |||
- TRP in Spinal Cord Injury (Round 1) RFA: A total of $8,771,302 was recommended for two (2) TRP awards. These projects are five-year awards.
|
Organization |
Investigators | Project Title | Recommended Award |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Columbia University Sub-applicant- University of Louisville Research Foundation |
Sunil K. Agrawal, Ph.D., Susan J. Harkema, Ph.D. |
Tethered Pelvic Assist Device (TPAD) and Epidural Stimulation for Recovery of Standing in SCI | $5,033,354 |
|
RFCUNY obo The City College of NY/CUNY School of Medicine Sub-applicants- Winifred Masterson Burke Medical Research Institute, Bronx Veterans Medical Research Foundation |
John Martin, Ph.D., Jason B. Carmel, M.D., Ph.D., Noam Y. Harel, M.D., Ph.D. |
Combined Motor Cortex and Spinal Cord Stimulation to Promote Arm and Hand Function After Chronic Cervical Spinal Cord Injury | $3,737,948 |
| Total (2 awards) | $8,771,302 | ||
- Individual Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships in Spinal Cord Injury Research RFA: A total of $822,541 in the form of four (4) predoctoral and two (2) post-doctoral awards were recommended. These projects are three-year awards. *Denotes that the awardee declined funding due to prior acceptance of National Institutes of Health funding.
| Organization | Investigators | Funding Mechanism | Project Title | Recommended Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
Ryan Gilbert, Ph.D., Christopher Johnson, D.L., B.S. |
Predoc | Magnetic Alignment of Electrospun Fibers for Treatment of Acute Spinal Cord Contusive Injury | $135,600 |
| Research Foundation for SUNY, University at Albany |
Ben Szaro, Ph.D., Rupa Choudhary, M.S. |
Predoc | Intracellular Modulations of Cytokine Signaling Leading to Successful CNS Axon Regeneration in a Vertebrate Model | $85,585 |
| The Research Foundation of CUNY obo City College of New York |
John Martin, Ph.D., Alzahraa Amer, M.S. |
Predoc | Modulating Spinal Cord Neural Activity to Promote Recovery of Motor Function After SCI | $135,600 |
| *The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York |
Ulrich Hengst, Ph.D., Jose C. Martínez |
Predoc | Control of the Transcriptome in Regenerating Axons Through mRNA Degradation | $127,500 |
| Winifred Masterson Burke Medical Research Institute |
Jason Carmel, M.D., Ph.D., Hongguen Park, Ph.D. |
Postdoc | Dissecting and Strengthening Corticospinal Connections After Spinal Cord Injury Using Advanced Neuroscience Methods | $172,902 |
| Winifred Masterson Burke Medical Research Institute |
Jian Zhong, Ph.D., Mariel Voutounou, Ph.D. |
Postdoc | Promoting Intrinsic Growth Competency of Injured Neurons Using Genetic and Small Molecule Approaches | $165,354 |
| Total (6 awards) | $822,541 |
- Collaborations to Accelerate Research Translation (CART) and IDEA in Spinal Cord Injury Research RFA: A total of $5.7 million in the form of three (3) CART and six (6) IDEA awards were recommended. These projects are three- and two-year awards, respectively.
| Organization | Investigators | Funding Mechanism | Project Title | Recommended Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University |
David Sharp, Ph.D., Kelvin P. Davies, Ph.D., Sylvia O. Suadicani, Ph.D. |
CART | Harnessing Microtubules to Enhance Urological Function After Spinal Cord Injury | $1,197,182 |
| Burke Medical Research Institute | Dianna Willis, Ph.D. | IDEA | Alterations in Extracellular Vesicle Communication as a Cause of NMJ Dysfunction After SCI | $448,978 |
| Burke Medical Research Institute | Jason Carmel, M.D., Ph.D. | IDEA | Delayed Versus Immediate Motor Training Following Brain Stimulation to Enhance Recovery in Rats with Chronic Corticospinal Tract Injury | $450,419 |
| CUNY City College of New York | John Martin, Ph.D. | CART | Repairing the Damaged Corticospinal Tract after Cervical Spinal Cord Injury | $990,000 |
| Health Research Incorporated, Wadsworth Center | Jonathan Carp, Ph.D. | IDEA | Role of Abnormal Urethral Sphincter Motoneuron Properties in Urinary Tract Dysfunction After Spinal Cord Injury | $442,373 |
| Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai | Hongyan Zou, M.D., Ph.D. | IDEA | The Role of HDAC3 in the Epigenetic Regulation of Functional Polarization of Microglia and Macrophages After Spinal Cord Injury | $360,000 |
| Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai | Noam Harel, M.D., Ph.D. | IDEA | Augmenting Hand Muscle Control in Cervical SCI through Paired Cortical and Cervical Stimulation | $391,353 |
| Regenerative Research Foundation | Sally Temple, Ph.D. | CART | Sustained Delivery of IL10 and SHH to Promote Spinal Cord Regeneration After Injury | $1,097,684 |
| SUNY Downstate Medical Center | Joseph Francis, Ph.D. | IDEA | 24/7 Use of Fully Integrated Bi-Directional Autonomous Brain Machine Interface in Non-Human-Primates | $341,559 |
| Total (9 awards) | $5,719,548 |
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