2026 NUCATS Institute Research Project Awards

The Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS) announces this Request for Applications (RFA) for the 2026 NUCATS Translational Science Research Project Awards. 

To ensure a timely and effective proposal review process, prospective applicants are asked to express Intent to Apply by Monday, February 23 via this form here. This information will be used solely for planning purposes, including determining the appropriate scale and disciplinary expertise of the review panel, given the accelerated review timeline. Although submission of Intent to Apply is non-binding and does not obligate submission of a full proposal, timely submission is essential to our ability to conduct an effective review process. 

 
NUCATS Focus

The NUCATS Translational Science Research Project Awards program invites proposals for highly innovative, multidisciplinary pilot projects that advance Translational Science (TS). Details on what qualifies as a TS proposal can be found under “Proposal Eligibility” below.  

 

This year’s focus is: Transforming Health Care Delivery: Innovations for Reach, Access, and Patient Connection 

 

Despite significant advances in evidence-based care, too many innovations fail to reach the people who need them most. The gap is not limited to effective interventions, but also to the way care is designed, delivered, and communicated. Current systems often rely on rigid formats, clinical language, and complex access pathways that assume time, resources, and health literacy that many individuals do not have. As a result, healthcare innovations tend to disproportionately benefit those who actively seek care and face fewer barriers, while individuals with the greatest needs struggle to access services—whether evidence-based practices are available or not. 

 

This initiative seeks proposals that reimagine how care is designed, offered, accessed, communicated, and delivered and evaluated for impact, with a focus on reach, scalability, and real-world feasibility. We are particularly interested in innovations that improve interventions and how they are delivered, supporting both patients and providers, while addressing gaps in how evidence-based care is identified, communicated, linked, and sustained in practice. 

 

Approaches of interest move beyond traditional care delivery models and may include stepped care, flexible and low-burden formats, and strategies that meet people where they are. Examples include single-session or brief interventions; peer- or lay-provider-delivered supports; digital or text-based tools (e.g., apps, websites, chatbots); navigation or linkage supports; workflow redesign; or other delivery innovations that improve access, uptake, adherence, and continuity of care. Proposals may also focus on equipping clinicians and care teams with better tools, pathways, and communication strategies to help patients understand their options and engage with appropriate services. Proposals addressing earlier stages of translation, such as development of interventions that are home-based, at the point of care, and/or long acting (or otherwise minimizing clinical visits), are also of interest. In any domain, generalizability and scalability to different conditions or settings would be a strength. Each of these aspects contributes to advancing acceleration of translation, in alignment with NUCATS’ role as directed by the funder. 

 

An additional topic of interest is building clear, culturally-attuned communication pathways that help individuals understand what services exist, whether they are relevant, and how to access them and make informed healthcare decisions. Proposals should prioritize plain-language communication, simplified pathways, and proactive connection to the right level of care at the right time. Strengthening human connection within care is also critical: when patients and their care partners feel disconnected from clinicians, care teams, or systems, even well-designed interventions may fail to reach those who could benefit most. 

 

While proposals may address a wide range of clinical areas and populations, applications that explore these care delivery challenges in areas with pronounced issues of access, coordination, and communication will be particularly encouraged. Some examples of settings with such issues are rehabilitation and populations with other special needs (such as transplantation, cancer, HIV and its comorbidities). Applications focused on other clinical domains and populations are equally encouraged. 

 

Multi-disciplinary collaboration across teams, departments, and schools at Northwestern is strongly encouraged, particularly where partnerships bring together clinical, research, operational, community, and/or patient-advocacy perspectives to break down “silos.” By making care more adaptable, accessible, impactful, culturally responsive, and understandable—for both patients and clinicians—this initiative aims to accelerate the reach of innovation and ensure that evidence-based care benefits a broader and more diverse population. 

 

We intend to fund up to two awards at $200,000 total direct costs over two years.  

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