John G. Searle Innovator Awards

The John G. Searle Innovator Awards provide pilot funding for innovative, investigator-initiated research. Generously funded by the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust, they are designed to encourage translational research by funding well-designed projects that could be competitive for future larger grants from a federal or private agency. These awards provide financial support to the work of young investigators and seed new and innovative research at Rush to:

• Support high quality, interdisciplinary translational studies
• Break new ground or extend previous discoveries towards new directions
• Help develop new programmatic themes that provide growth potential for Rush’s research community

Funding amounts and availability

• This pilot funding program awards up to two grants of up to $50,000 each.
• The period of support is one year, with a possibility of a second year pending adequate progress.
• Faculty salary support is limited to 20%.
• No Cost Extensions (NCE) will not be allowed.

Eligible investigators

• Applicants can be early career or established investigators.

• The principal investigator of the proposal must hold an active faculty appointment at Rush University at the rank of assistant professor or higher. 
• There are no citizenship or residency requirements.

Criteria

• Proposals for translational research are preferred.
• Interdisciplinary proposals are encouraged.
• Applicants may submit only one application as a principal investigator/multiple PI per award cycle.

Study design and statistical analysis

Applicants for this RFP are strongly encouraged to develop a robust study design, data and statistical analysis, and tool development for the pilot proposal. This process could include the development of a budget that may include effort and associated costs for a statistician/bioinformatics analyst for the project.

How to apply

Submit your proposal using the online application form. The submission link will be emailed to PIs who submit an RSVP.

Your proposal should consist of 1 PDF file:

• A cover page, containing the following:
  • Grant proposal title
  • MPI's name, highest degree, position title, department/division, phone number, and email
  • Funding amount requesting
  • A statement of whether the proposal research overlaps in whole or part with any ongoing efforts or any submitted proposals
  • Conflict of Interest list for multiple PIs: Please list current RUSH collaborators with whom you have published or written grants in the past three years (no more than 1 page)
• Budget in NIH PHS398 forms
  • Allowable: Faculty salary support is limited to 20%, fringe benefits rate 22%, Rush non-faculty/student salary support, and publication costs
  • Not allowable: capital expenses, no indirect costs
• Biographical sketches in current NIH format for MPIs only
• Body of application
  • Formatting: 11-point Arial font with at least 1/2-inch margins
  • Project summary/abstract in layman’s terms (1 page)
  • Specific aims (1 page)
  • Research Strategy
    • Significance, innovation, and approach (6 pages)
    • Plan for Future Funding (1 page)
  • Literature Cited (no limit)
  • A form for the Department Chair/Division to acknowledge support of the application will be sent to the PI upon complete submission of the application. 

Review process

• A panel of non-competing researchers will review applications based on the new NIH simplified peer review framework.
• Applications that demonstrate potential for future funding will be prioritized.

Award Timeline

• Internal decision anticipated by December 2025.

• Anticipated funding period: February 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027.