Opportunity Overview
The South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research Institute (SCTR) Discovery Pilot Grant — Fall 2026 supports new, innovative, multidisciplinary clinical and translational research with potential to improve health outcomes in South Carolina.
Funding and Deadline
Discovery Pilot awards provide up to $25,000 in direct costs for a 12-month project period. Fall 2026 applications are due October 9, 2026. The public SCTR Discovery Pilot page reviewed by Atlas does not publish a closing time for this funding mechanism, so Atlas does not infer one. SCTR lists recommended funding notification for December 4, 2026 and the earliest project start as January 1, 2027.
Eligibility
Eligible principal investigators include compensated full-time or part-time faculty and properly credentialed clinicians employed by an MUSC Health facility. Faculty from other institutions are encouraged to partner with MUSC faculty. Students, trainees and faculty may participate as co-investigators, but postdoctoral scholars may not serve as PI. Interdisciplinary collaboration is required, and investigators from the MUSC Regional Health Network and early-stage investigators are encouraged.
The PI may have only one active SCTR award at a time. The proposed project must be novel and distinct from other funded work.
Required Application Materials and Submission
Applications are submitted through InfoReady. The published Discovery Pilot instructions require a one-page Specific Aims section, a three-page Research Strategy, Literature Cited when applicable, early-stage-investigator material when applicable, a one-page Timeline, an NIH Biosketch, a detailed Budget and Budget Justification, and a Progress Report when applicable. A PHS 398 budget format is used. Applicants also need a SPARC ID obtained through SPARCRequest.
Allowable and Unallowable Costs
Published allowable direct costs include faculty salary and fringe up to the stated effort limit and NIH salary cap, technical staff, research supplies, equipment under limited circumstances, animal costs, subject compensation, subject transportation, inpatient and outpatient care, and statistical or computational services. Subawards to other institutions may be budgeted; signed subaward documents are not required at initial submission.
Published unallowable costs include tuition, fees and student health insurance; ancillary personnel such as mentors and administrative assistants; general office supplies and general-purpose equipment such as computers or laptops unless specifically requested and justified; professional dues; conference travel; publication and subscription costs; mailing; rent; and facilities and administrative or other indirect costs. No match or cost-share requirement is stated on the public SCTR Discovery Pilot materials reviewed by Atlas.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 78/100. This is a legitimate South Carolina clinical and translational research funding pathway with a clear healthcare mission, a near-term open cycle and flexibility for properly justified research costs.
N9+ Fit Score: 65/100, conditional. A properly designed MUSC-led research project could potentially evaluate remote physical examinations, guided examinations, vitals, remote assessment or telehealth-enabled clinical encounters using the Nonagon N9+. The public funding rules permit equipment only under limited circumstances, so N9+ hardware or platform costs must not be assumed allowable without project-specific justification and SCTR acceptance.
QC Healthcare Fit: 10/100. The program is research-led rather than a clinical staffing procurement. Any QC Healthcare role would need to be specifically justified within an eligible MUSC-led research protocol and budget.
Direct-vendor disposition: Dr. Miltie, LLC is not an eligible PI. This should be treated as an applicant-led MUSC opportunity. External collaborators or subaward roles may be possible only where the eligible MUSC PI, institutional rules and project budget legitimately support them.
Contacts
For InfoReady portal questions, SCTR lists Sydney Bollinger at bollinger@musc.edu. The SCTR Office of Science Development may be reached at sctr-sdo@musc.edu.
Next Action
Eligible MUSC investigators should confirm PI status, interdisciplinary-team composition, SPARC ID, project novelty and budget allowability, then prepare the required application materials and submit through InfoReady by the published deadline.
Official source: MUSC SCTR Pilot Funding Opportunities.