Frequently Asked Questions

Please refer to the UM-BILD Funding Process page for detailed criteria. In summary:

• Persons holding a faculty appointment at a UM-BILD partner institution are eligible to serve as Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-PI on a UM-BILD Pilot Grant.
• The appointment must be for a 0.51 FTE or greater position.
• The PI or Co-PI must have submitted a disclosure of intellectual property (IP) to the Technology Transfer Office of their university (the filing must have taken place by the due date of the Letter of Intent (LOI)).

There is no disease-specific requirement, but the project should be focused on the development of a therapeutic, therapeutic platform, diagnostic or biomarker, or a medical device. The goal of UM-BILD is to help applying teams develop a compelling clinical hypothesis and focus on gathering data that advances the hypothesis and discharges key translational risks.

Faculty can apply for an award of up to $75,000 in direct funding for one year of research. A second year of funding may be possible.

The following institutions are full partners in UM-BILD:

• University of Maryland, Baltimore
• University of Maryland, Baltimore County
• Morgan State University

This institution participates in UM-BILD, but a PI must be working with IP that is managed by the Technology Transfer Office at one of the full partner universities:

• University of Maryland, College Park

Faculty at these institutions may participate as PIs. Please contact UM-BILD for details:

• University of Baltimore
• Coppin State University
  

No. A PI or Co-PI is limited to the role of PI or Co-PI on one active UM-BILD application or grant at a time. PIs, Co-Investigators, and other team members may participate in other capacities in multiple concurrent applications and grants.

Yes. Collaborative proposals are welcomed, but not required.

No. A UM-BILD award should not be considered to be a supplement to an existing grant. Its milestones should not duplicate the milestones of another funded project, and should be directed towards commercializing the investigators’ technology.

No, the NIH does not permit UM-BILD or the other REACH Hubs to include employees of institutions located outside of the United States in Pilot Grant projects. Funds may not be budgeted for such purposes, and milestones or aims may not depend on such work (irrespective of budget issues).

Each application must have a single PI.  He or she is point of contact with UM-BILD and is responsible for the content of the Pilot Grant application. Upon award, responsibility extends to performance of the work, administration, budgeting, and reporting.

An application may have a single Co-PI. Eligibility for the Co-PI role is the same as for a PI. The Co-PI agrees to share the PI’s responsibilities and to oversee the grant in the PI’s absence.

Other team roles do not share the eligibility limitations and the responsibilities of the PI and Co-PI.  Their titles and duties will vary from application to application, and should be briefly stated in the “Teams” section on page 2 of the Formatted LOI.

Per NIH guidelines, a Co-Investigator (Co-I) is involved with the PI in the scientific development or execution of the project. They typically devote a specified percentage of time to the project and are considered ‘senior/key personnel.’

Pilot Grant applications should involve ideas that originate from within a UM-BILD partner university, making them potentially eligible for patenting or another protective mechanism (copyright, trade secret). Thus, the underlying technology (invention) must have been formally disclosed to the PI’s home university by the deadline for LOI submission.

Inventions that the UM-BILD partner university has declined to pursue, or that has been released back to the inventor(s), are not eligible for UM-BILD funding.

Technologies that are already optioned or licensed to a company are generally ineligible for UM-BILD funding. Please contact UM-BILD if the PI is an inventor, and the PI’s home university has licensed the technology to a spinoff company founded by the PI.

For the full application, please provide biosketches for the PI, the Co-PI, Co-Investigators, and any other key personnel.

UM-BILD funds two Pilot Grant cohorts per year, with the application periods generally opening in February and August. Typically, four Pilot Grants will be awarded per cohort. (Cohort 1 – projects commencing in September 2024 – includes eight rather than four Pilot Grants.)

Yes! UM-BILD and TEDCO's MII program are separately administered and have different sources of funding, but there is close alignment on objectives. Each year, the teams of four MII Technology Assessment grants from UM-BILD partner universities will be invited to participate in UM-BILD activities (educational events, seminars, and more).

You may apply for a UM-BILD Pilot Grant with overlapping specific aims as long as the other organization has not made a funding decision by the time that the UM-BILD application is submitted. If a positive UM-BILD funding decision precedes that of the other organization, UM-BILD will award the Pilot Grant. 

If a project is funded by another entity prior to the UM-BILD funding decision, the applicant is obliged to notify UM-BILD. To avoid “double dipping” (two sources of funding for a single specific aim) the UM-BILD application would likely need to be re-written and re-submitted in a subsequent funding round.

You may apply for a UM-BILD Pilot Grant and an MII Technology Assessment grant with overlapping specific aims, but neither organization can permit “double dipping.” In such cases, if both grants are approved, one will need to be declined.

However, teams may consider supporting a commercialization project through sequential applications – UM-BILD followed by MII, or vice versa. (Since the first grant will accomplish all or most of its goals, the aims of the second will be non-identical.)

Because UM-BILD is a REACH 3.0 Hub, the NIH sets certain conditions that must be satisfied.  The full application will entail submitting the following documents:

• A formatted full application, which includes text as submitted directly into text boxes, and figures with legends (PDF)
• References (PDF)
• Biosketches for key team members (compiled into a single PDF)
• A Gantt chart of milestones and sub-aims (PDF)
• A budget (a simple one-worksheet Excel document (.xlsx))
• A letter of authorization from the department chair or school dean (PDF)
• A letter of institutional compliance (PDF)
• Later in the application process, a document summarizing human subjects research and animal research will be solicited.

Yes.

The most frequently encountered issues are:

• The text of the formatted application’s PDF does not match the text entered into the web portal’s boxes.
• The application PDF does not include a figure (although the PI intended to include one).
• The investigator is early in pressing the web portal’s “Submit” button – before all desired edits and changes are made.

For applicants resubmitting a prior UM-BILD Pilot Grant application that was declined at the LOI stage:

• Submit a revised LOI that takes into account the criticisms proffered by reviewers, as well as any changes in circumstances.
• On page 2 of the Formatted LOI PDF, include a “Response to Reviewers” section. In 1,000 characters (~150 words), state reviewers’ main criticisms and summarize how you have addressed them in the resubmission.

For applicants resubmitting a prior UM-BILD Pilot Grant application that was declined after consideration of a full application:

• Submission of an LOI is not necessary.
• Submit a revised full application through that web portal by the deadline for full applications.
• In the Formatted Full Application PDF, include a “Response to Reviewers” page that lists the key criticisms of UM-BILD reviewers, and briefly explains how the revised application addresses them.

No. The application for a UM-BILD Pilot Grant is submitted directly to the UM-BILD web portal by the PI.

No, the policies of UM-BILD’s partner universities do not permit support over 100%.

Tuition fees are not permitted. If the graduate student is providing services essential to conduct of the project, the student's stipend cost and insurance may be included in the budget.