College of Medicine Office of Research: Bridge Funding Program

Applications Due: Monday, June 22, 2026 at 10am

Applications submitted after the deadline will be accepted on a rolling basis, as funds allow.

The Bridge Funding Program has been enhanced to better support faculty navigating temporary gaps in funding. Additional funds are now available, and updated eligibility criteria have been introduced to broaden access, allowing more investigators to benefit from this program.

Background and Purpose

The Bridge Funding Program (BFP) was established by the College of Medicine (CoM) to provide short-term bridge or gap funding for established and productive CoM investigators who have held prior NIH or other peer-reviewed federal funding and face a temporary interruption in extramural support. The program is now additionally supported by the Office of the Vice President for Research. This expansion reflects broader institutional collaboration in advancing strategies to sustain research continuity.

Amid unpredictable shifts in federal research funding, the Bridge Funding Program is designed to mitigate disruptions and sustain research momentum. The goal of the program is to sustain meritorious research programs, retain essential research personnel, and preserve research momentum during funding gaps while investigators prepare a competitive resubmission or closely related new application.

Funding Priorities

This program is intended for College of Medicine investigators who have an active, established research program supported by prior NIH or other federal peer-reviewed funding and are experiencing or anticipating a temporary funding gap.

Eligibility

The BFP is a peer-reviewed competition open to UC-paid, full-time CoM faculty serving as Principal Investigators (PIs). Any future grant proposals supported by this funding are required to be submitted through the CoM Operations & Finance group as UC College of Medicine proposals.

In response to recent changes in NIH peer review practices, including review delays, revised review frameworks, the reduction in the number of applications discussed, and the new designation of Competitive Not Discussed outcomes, the BFP has updated its eligibility and review criteria to emphasize scientific merit, reviewer critique content, and likelihood of near-term funding, rather than reliance on score or discussion status alone.

Faculty who have received Bridge Funding (Short-Term Bridge Funds are excluded) within the past three fiscal years should provide a description of how these funds were used to support the research program, led to subsequent funding, and explain the need for additional support.

Eligible Prior Review Outcomes

Applications may be considered from investigators with scored but unfunded applications, as well as unscored Competitive Not Discussed (CND) or Not Discussed (ND) applications, provided that the reviewer critiques demonstrate enthusiasm for the application, clear strengths outweighing weaknesses, and a potential for funding upon revision or resubmission.

More information available here: https://www.med.uc.edu/education/research/internal-awards/bridge-funding-program

If you have any questions, please contact Brieanne Sheehan.

Enter your name (Last, First):

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E-mail address:

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Your department/division:

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Amount requested:

(limit of $75,000)

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Project Title:

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Have you received funding from this award mechanism in the past?

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Yes

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Application:
Please attach one .pdf document containing the following documents:

Cover Page: include the PI’s name, title, department, email, project title, and total amount requested.
NIH bio sketch (may use the previous or new NIH format) and Other Support
Abstract of the prior extramural application
Complete sponsor summary statement
Brief resubmission strategy narrative and description of the research plan for the period of requested funding. If applicable, include details of actual experiments that will be conducted and how these new experiments will address the concerns raised in the previous review. (limit to two pages)
Budget, with full budget justification for each item (including lab personnel, supply costs, animal costs, etc.).
Evidence of Active Research Program: Please include information on current/active grants (internal/external) and project dates, recent publications/preprints (last 24–36 months), active IRB/IACUC protocols (if applicable), and a plan for future submissions or funding.
Letter of support from the department chair (if applicable, describe departmental funds that will be used for support of the applicant’s research program).
If applicable, faculty who have received Bridge Funding (Short-Term Bridge Funds are excluded) within the past three fiscal years should provide a description of how these funds were used to support the research program, led to subsequent funding, and explain the need for additional support.

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