Applications are being accepted for the CHLN 2026 Call for Proposals!

 2026 Call for Proposals

Center for Children’s Healthy Lifestyles & Nutrition

University of Kansas Medical Center/Children’s Mercy Kansas City

Purpose

The Center for Children’s Healthy Lifestyles & Nutrition, a joint effort of the University of Kansas Medical Center and Children’s Mercy Kansas City, is pleased to announce a pilot research grant program to support innovative pilot research that: 1) is related to pediatric healthy lifestyles, 2) promotes cross-site partnerships between KUMC and CMH, and 3) has a high probability of leading to extramural grant funding. We are particularly interested in proposals that advance our work in the areas of childhood nutrition and behavior, special needs weight management, stress and obesity/healthy lifestyles, social determinants of health, implementation science, and multigenerational behavior change but are open to any topic in the general area of pediatric healthy lifestyles. Applicants can be from any CHLN affiliate institution but must be a member of the Center for Children’s Healthy Lifestyles & Nutrition (www.chlnkc.org) or become a member if their proposal is selected for funding. Projects may be clinical, basic science, translational or have any type of scientific approach. Grants may be for a maximum of $33,000, and the maximum project duration is one year. Proposals will be reviewed by a panel of scientists for scientific merit and feasibility, and only top proposals selected for funding. See checklist for scoring criteria for more information. For the 2026 cycle we have funds for one $33,000 pilot grant.

Dates

If you plan to submit a proposal, please email your non-binding letter of intent to adonnelly@kumc.edu by December 1, 2025 at 5pm. Complete applications are due on January 12, 2026 by 5:00pm. No projects will be accepted after this deadline. The funded projects will be announced on February 23, 2026 with a start and end date of March 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027. Any monies unspent by the final deadline will be retained by the Center.

Letter of Intent (LOI)

A letter of intent is recommended. Letters should state the name of the applicant, the name of mentors/collaborators, the title of the project and a brief paragraph about the topic of the proposal. This will allow the Center grant proposal reviewer team to plan for the incoming submissions. Information submitted for these LOIs is not binding (meaning you are not obligated to submit a full proposal and you can change your title or the focus of the project without any consequence at all).

Use of funds

Monies may be spent on faculty salary, research assistants, supplies, equipment, and travel in direct support of the project (e.g. home visits to patients for data collection). Indirect costs are not allowed. Monies may not be spent on books or travel to professional meetings. The funds are not transferable and any equipment purchased with these funds will be retained by the Center.

Protection of Research Time

Applicants are expected to reasonably calculate the % time it will require to complete their projects and include this amount of salary in their grant budget (if appropriate). Applicants must also have their Division Chief/Center Director sign off stating that they agree to help applicants set aside this specified amount of time. This information MUST be included in the Division Chief/Center Director letter of support or via email to the CHLN Director. In addition to being funded by grant dollars, this time may also be released from each faculty member’s administrative, teaching, and/or research time if any is provided by the department. As stated above, projects will be judged based upon their feasibility, and if sufficient investigator time is not protected, this may lower the scoring of the application.

Future Grants

It is expected that the knowledge gained from these pilot grants will lead directly not only to presentation and publication, but also directly to future grant funding. This should be clearly outlined in section D of the proposal.

Submission of Proposals

Applications should include:

1.    A four-page document outlining the Aims and Research Strategy, with a detailed timeline.

2.    A separate document outlining Plans for Obtaining External Funding (1 page maximum), including how the data gathered from the current grant will lead directly to future funding, to whom you will apply for funds, how you will make the time to complete the application, and the anticipated deadline for submission.

3.    A current NIH biosketch for the PI (any form allowed).

4.    Support of Division Chief/Department Chair (email is allowable).

5.    A separate budget document (1 page maximum) that describes funds to be spent, including whether funds are to be spent at KUMC, CMH, or outside sources.

Reporting

It is mandatory for all grant recipients to deliver at least one progress report in person at a noon research seminar in the second half of their granting period. These reports should include information on accomplishments as well as barriers encountered. If your schedule prohibits you from providing these updates, please do not apply for these grant funds. The committee should also be notified of any presentations, publications or future grants that result from these funds.