The purpose of the UH Drug Discovery Institute seed grant program is to catalyze multidisciplinary research teams with seed funds that would facilitate preparation and submission of competitive extramural drug discovery and development research proposals.

The seed funding grant program supports the University thrust for Drug Discovery and Development that the Vice President for Research and the Provost developed in consultation with the college deans, and which the Chancellor has endorsed. This seed grant program is also aiming at supporting the University 50-in-5 initiative and the UH Strategic Plan. Each application responding to this RFA should be submitted by an interdisciplinary research team with principal investigators from at least two different colleges, aiming at building university-wide capabilities in new drug discovery and development. In addressing the unmet needs of current academic drug discovery centers, the DDI will encourage applicants to utilize innovative, advanced technology/platform such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cutting-edge technologies to discover and develop new therapeutics for human diseases.

It is expected that data from funded seed grants will be used to support strong federal or state grant applications. Applicants should include a plan and timeline for external grant submission (see Reporting Requirements below). Subsequent applications should represent a substantial return on investment, with all the planned submissions through the Drug Discovery Institute.