Opportunity Overview
The South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research Institute (SCTR) Translational Science Challenge (TSC) — 2026–27 supports pilot projects designed to overcome longstanding barriers in the translational research process and improve research efficiency, rigor, quality, and downstream impact.
Funding and Deadline
The current SCTR Pilot Funding page states that TSC awards provide $25,000 in direct costs for one year. One-page concept proposals are due October 9, 2026 at 5:00 p.m.. The public page does not state a timezone, so Atlas does not infer one. Invited full applications are due January 8, 2027, with recommendation for funding notification on February 5, 2027 and an earliest possible start of April 1, 2027.
Atlas identified an official-date inconsistency: a May 4, 2026 MUSC news article lists the next-cycle concept deadline as October 10, 2026, while the current SCTR Pilot Funding page, which actively lists the opportunity as open, states October 9, 2026. Atlas treats the current funding page as controlling unless SCTR issues a later amendment.
Purpose and Fit
This mechanism is translational science rather than a conventional clinical-study grant. Competitive concepts should identify a generalizable scientific or operational barrier in the translational research pipeline and propose an interdisciplinary approach aligned with Translational Science Principles.
Concept Proposal and Full Application Requirements
The required concept proposal consists of a one-page Specific Aims document that includes an Impact Statement of up to 250 characters. Submission is through InfoReady and requires a SPARCRequest ID.
SCTR selects responsive concepts for invitation to the full-application stage. The published full-application materials include Specific Aims, a Research Strategy and Impact Statement of up to six pages, Literature Cited when applicable, early-stage-investigator requirements when applicable, a one-page Timeline, NIH biosketches, a detailed PHS 398 Budget and Budget Justification, a Data Management and Sharing Plan, and a Progress Report for PIs with prior SCTR awards. A BERD biostatistical consultation is required for invited full applications.
Allowable and Unallowable Costs
SCTR’s current pilot guidance lists allowable research costs including appropriately justified personnel, research supplies, equipment under limited circumstances, participant compensation and transportation, in- and outpatient care, statistical and computational services, and potential subawards. Unallowable costs include student tuition, fees and health insurance, ancillary personnel such as mentors and administrative assistants, general office supplies, general-purpose equipment unless specifically justified, dues, conference travel, publication and subscription costs, mailing, rent, and facilities and administrative or indirect costs.
The current SCTR page does not state a mandatory match or cost-share requirement for this mechanism. TSC is identified in SPARC as federally funded through NCATS/SCTR.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 76/100. This is a current, healthcare-relevant South Carolina research opportunity with a clear deadline, a defined $25,000 award and a pathway for interdisciplinary pilot work. The narrower translational-science focus means fit depends strongly on the problem being framed as a research-process barrier rather than simply testing a product.
N9+ Fit Score: 45/100, conditional. A defensible N9+ role would require an MUSC-led project that studies a generalizable barrier or innovation in remote examination, decentralized research, data capture, research workflow, rural participation, or telehealth-enabled translational research. The award should not be framed as a routine device purchase or product demonstration, and equipment costs are allowable only under limited, justified circumstances.
QC Healthcare Fit: 5/100. This mechanism is research-process focused rather than a staffing or clinical-services procurement. Any QC Healthcare role would need to be specifically justified within an eligible MUSC-led research protocol and budget.
Direct-vendor disposition: Do not treat this as a Dr. Miltie direct submission. The opportunity is designed for MUSC-led investigators and interdisciplinary research teams.
Eligible Applicant Context
The current public page states that SCTR pilot opportunities require interdisciplinary collaboration. The page’s explicit PI eligibility language is written for the Discovery mechanism, while a prior TSC application-instructions document required the PI to hold a primary MUSC faculty appointment. Atlas therefore requires applicants to confirm the current TSC-specific PI eligibility in InfoReady or with SCTR before submission rather than assuming the prior-cycle rule is unchanged.
Claire MacGeorge, M.D., MSCR, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Medical Director of MUSC’s school-based telehealth clinics, is a realistic subject-matter lead for a remote-care or school-telehealth translational-science concept, subject to current TSC eligibility and project-specific requirements. MUSC publicly lists her email as macgeorg@musc.edu.
Contacts
SCTR lists Sydney Bollinger at bollinger@musc.edu for InfoReady and concept-development questions. The SCTR Office of Science Development may be reached at sctr-sdo@musc.edu.
Next Action
Potential MUSC applicants should confirm current TSC PI eligibility and deadline details in InfoReady, obtain a SPARCRequest ID, and develop a one-page Specific Aims concept that clearly addresses a generalizable translational-science barrier.
Official source: MUSC SCTR Pilot Funding.