CCTS COVID-19 Rapid Response Pilot Funding RFA

• To foster outstanding new clinical and translational research at UIC that directly addresses issues relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic by supporting rapid response research questions that can either help address urgent questions or lead to the development of preliminary data that can be used to launch new NIH or other externally-funded research proposals;
• To encourage interdisciplinary teams of investigators that span across Colleges and campus to develop collaborations or new research avenues;
• To promote interactions between basic (including engineering) and clinical scientists; and
• To support research collaborations with community partners and organizations.

We will consider a range of potential research ideas across the full translational spectrum. Potential research foci include:

• Host or individual factors (including existing conditions) that predispose individuals to acquire SARS-CoV-2 or to develop severe COVID-19 disease or that confer resistance to severe disease
• Factors that help understand health disparities in the prevalence and severity of COVID-19 disease
• Informatics solutions to identify, diagnosis or help treat cases
• Healthcare system responses and strategies to address barriers and facilitators in the treatment of high-risk populations
• Research on how potential overcrowding of emergency departments and health services may impact the treatment of other disorders and diseases (e.g., opioid overdoses; stroke; heart disease)
• Research to understand the broad impacts of COVID-19 (e.g., school closures, food insecurity, anxiety, social isolation) on development; substance use; other mental and physical health concerns
• Research to understand system- or organizational-level responses to identify, prevent, or mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in settings that serve vulnerable populations
• Research on impacts of COVID-19 and system responses on health care workforce
• Innovative engineering solutions to device, protective gear development
• Research on effective training programs for healthcare workforce
• Impact of health care delivery service changes (e.g., telehealth) on patient reported outcomes and providers; quality of care
• Drug development and repurposing of existing therapeutics and identifying promising targets
• Research on preventive practice interventions to increase adherence to recommendations
• Research on how social distancing affects health care outcomes
• Studies of predictive modeling of outcomes and processes
• Studies of short-term effects on COVID-19 on other health conditions

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