Research Seed Funding

Grow Public Health Innovation

The UIC School of Public Health (SPH) seed funding program develops early-stage, cutting-edge research that contributes to the school’s mission to protect and improve the health and well-being of the people of the metropolitan Chicago area, the State of Illinois, the nation, and others throughout the world.

SPH annually awards seed grants to innovative research projects and early-career investigators. Seed funding allows SPH to support individual faculty research projects. Specifically, seed funding supports preliminary and formative research. These competitive awards fund one year of research and prepare awardees to secure future external funding, primarily from federal organizations, and  grow their research program at SPH.

Seed Funding Sparks Success

Leslie Williams headshot

Dr. Leslie Williams received SPH seed funding to conduct a trial of a social network-based HIV testing intervention. She and her team had two key research goals: (1) link previously undiagnosed cases of HIV to treatment; and (2) reduce HIV-related stigma among groups of peers.

$6.9 million secured

Data from seed-funded project helped secure $3.2 million over five years from the National Institute of Mental Health to conduct a larger trial in 32 communities in South Africa. Additionally, Dr. Williams secured $3.7 million over five years from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop interventions to reduce substance use-related stigma and prevent opioid overdose in Chicago, supported by data from seed-funded projects.

 

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Pillars of Seed Funding

  • Research Innovation

    Seed funding is an important investment in research development. It creates opportunities for small studies that generate compelling data to form the basis of more extensive external funding proposals. Importantly, these small-scale opportunities are a significant proof point for established researchers to develop new or emerging research areas.

  • Faculty Development

    Seed funding is an instrumental opportunity for new or junior faculty to test and credential their research programs. Seed funding also helps recruit and retain the brightest scholars in public health research since it is recognized by faculty as a critical mechanism to support faculty research innovation.

  • Student Engagement

    Students gain experience in research, under the direction of a faculty investigator, as most seed awards include wages for research assistants to work on research projects. Some projects also offer opportunities for students to travel internationally or connect with local communities.

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Funded Projects