Pilot grants from the Black Family Stem Cell Institute, the Mount Sinai Skin Biology and Diseases Resource-based Center (SBDRC), and the Department of Dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are available on an annual basis to support research projects in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine and skin biology and disease.
- Research Grants (up to $40K) are intended for principal investigators meeting any of the following criteria:
- New principal investigators (less than five years from appointment as Assistant Professor) who have not had R01, P01 or equivalent funding
- Established basic research or clinical investigators outside the field of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine and/or skin biology and disease who wish to apply their expertise to these areas
- Researchers with proposals that involve interdisciplinary collaborations
- Transition to Independence Minigrants (up to $15K) are available to:
- Post-doctoral research fellows with at least one year of post-doctoral research training
- Instructors with at least one year of research training
- Dermatology residents engaged in research
Applications should include the following elements:
- Research Strategy (one page): include title, name and affiliations, significance or the project, innovation, and approach
- Figures (one page)
- Bibliography and References Cited (one page)
- For transition to independence grants, please add one letter of support from the postdoctoral mentor stating how the grant will support a unique line of research separate from PI of the laboratory
- Budget using the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Budget Page PHS398/FP5 and budget justification
- NIH Biosketch
- Other support
- Vertebrate animals and human subjects information in NIH format
Enrichment Programs
2025 Pilot Grant Recipients
Research Grant
Jerry Chipuk, PhD, Professor of Oncological Sciences and Dermatology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
"The ATF5-dependent Mitochondrial Unfolded Protein Response Regulates UVA-Induced Dermal Inflammation"
Transition to Independent Grants
Nobuya Abe, MD/PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. Hongzhen Hu's lab, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
"Pathogenic neurometabolism for skin Merkel cell-sensory nerve complex in chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus (CKD-aP)"
Raghava Sunkara, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. Michael Rendl's lab, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
"Uncovering the plasticity of hair follicle dermal stem cells (hfDSCs) towards functional wound repair"
Rintaro Shibuya, MD/PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. Brian Kim's lab, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
"The Role of KLK7 in Dry Skin Itch"
View our 2024 Pilot Grant Awardees