Opportunity Overview
Advance RI-CTR has opened its 2026-2027 Health Research Core Call for Applications for clinical and translational research addressing health needs in Rhode Island and beyond. The call includes Pilot Project Awards, Developmental Project Awards, and Mentored Scholar Advancement Awards. Cross-institutional collaboration among Brown University, the University of Rhode Island, and affiliated healthcare systems is strongly encouraged.
Funding and Deadlines
Pilot Project Awards: up to $100,000 for 12 months. Developmental Project Awards: up to $100,000 per year for two years, or $200,000 total. Mentored Scholar Advancement Awards: up to 25 percent FTE support for the scholar, capped at $40,000 per year, plus up to 5 percent FTE support for the mentor, capped at $10,000.
Preliminary applications are due October 9, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET. Applicants without a Brown email address must request UFunds access by September 25, 2026. Invited full proposals are due December 14, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET.
Eligibility
Principal investigators must generally hold a PhD or MD in a health professional or research discipline, hold a Brown University or University of Rhode Island faculty appointment when the award begins except for the stated clinical fellow exception, and be affiliated with Brown University Health, Care New England, VA Providence, Brown University, or URI. Applicants may not have overlapping COBRE or other IDeA mechanism funding at project start and may not have significant scientific or budgetary overlap with other funded projects.
Program Requirements
All prospective applicants must complete the required consultation with the Research Design, Compliance, and Data Management Core. Projects involving community engagement must also consult with the Community Engagement and Outreach Core. Preliminary applications require academic details, award category selection, a structured one page research overview, references, and NIH biosketches. Invited full proposals use an abbreviated NIH PHS 398 format with a six page research plan, budget justification, support letters, lay summary, and applicable regulatory materials.
Technology and Dr. Miltie Relevance
N9+ Fit Score: 32/100 conditional. The program supports clinical and translational research, and certain investigator led studies could legitimately involve remote physical examination or connected clinical data collection. However, durable equipment costing $5,000 or more is not allowable under the current call, so a Nonagon N9+ role would need to be structured only where project specific allowability, budget treatment, regulatory requirements, and investigator need are verified.
QC Healthcare Fit: 25/100 conditional. Consortium and contractual costs may be included, but QC Healthcare is not itself an eligible principal investigator. Any role would need to be applicant led and clearly justified within an eligible Brown, URI, or partner healthcare research project.
Atlas Assessment
Atlas Opportunity Score: 84/100. This is a substantial, verified Rhode Island clinical and translational research opportunity with explicit healthcare access, mental health, substance use, maternal and child health, and chronic disease priorities. Dr. Miltie is not an eligible direct applicant. The appropriate Atlas path is to monitor qualified Brown, URI, and partner healthcare investigators and advance only a legitimate applicant led technology or clinical support role.
How to Apply
Applications are submitted through Brown University’s UFunds portal. Non Brown users must request portal access from advanceri@brown.edu by September 25, 2026.
Controlling source: Advance RI-CTR, Brown University, Health Research Core Awards. Verified September 13, 2026.