Institute for Advancing Medical Innovation Trailblazer Awards

The Institute for Advancing Medical Innovation (IAMI) Trailblazer Award provides grant funding and other support for clinical and translational research across a broad range of scientific disciplines. The objective of this pilot program is to support new and innovative ideas that will lead to externally funded awards. The Frontiers IAMI Trailblazer Award addresses this goal by providing funds to help investigators carry out early-stage project development of novel drugs, devices, and diagnostics. The overall intent is to acquire research results that are disseminated in impactful publications, support successful extramural funding applications, and yield products to be entered into our product development pipeline.

Up to two awards are given annually for up to $25,000 each. 

IAMI Research Focus Areas

Experimental Therapeutics Trials

Eligible research activities include a) clinical validation of a drug target; b) clinical pharmacology (e.g., drug metabolism, bioanalysis, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, pharmacogenomics, allometric scaling); c) clinical proof of concept of a novel therapeutic or a repurposed FDA-approved or abandoned drug. Eligible awardees must have demonstrated proof of principle in validated in vitro and/or in vivo preclinical models.

Drug and Medical Device Development

Eligible research activity includes high throughput screening; generation and optimization of small molecule lead candidates; discovery of macromolecule therapeutics; synthesis of sufficient quantities of active pharmaceutical ingredient required for animal testing; conduct of preclinical safety, pharmacokinetic and proof of principle studies in validated animal models of disease; formulation development (including analytical chemistry support); as well as creation of prototype medical devices as well as necessary device testing.

Biomarker Discovery and Validation

Eligible research activities include a) biospecimen collection; b) patient registry development; c) genetic, genomic, proteomic and metabolomic analysis of patient specimens, and d) analysis of patient specimens using established and investigational methods to discover and validate biomarkers of drug activity.

Entrepreneurship Activities Consistent with IAMI’s Mission

Eligible research activities defining the investment thesis for potential product development opportunities, including unmet medical need, proposed solution, market, competitive landscape, patent position and strategy, summary of existing data, product development and regulatory planning, marketing and licensing strategy, as well as support for obtaining key opinion leader input.

While not required, special consideration will be given to applications which address the CTSA priority of research into the needs of the rare disease community.

Application Materials

The deadline for letters of intent has passed for 2024. The 2025 RFA will be released in December, 2024. 

Previous Application Materials 

Research Plan Template

Request for Applications

Frontiers IAMI Trailblazer Awards support multidisciplinary translational research projects that address all diseases and include academic disciplines such as chemistry, molecular biology, medicine, pharmacy, allied health professions, nursing, veterinary medicine, and other areas that impact clinical and translational science.

Faculty investigators from all Frontiers institutions are invited to apply. All funding decisions and actual start dates for Trailblazer Awards are contingent upon receipt of the NCATS Notice of Award for Year 5 funding.

This opportunity is open to principal investigators who are members of Frontiers, eligible to receive federal funding and employed by any Frontiers partner institution.

• Children's Mercy Kansas City
• Kansas City University
• Kansas State University
• Saint Luke's  
• University of Kansas
• University of Kansas Medical Center (all campuses)
• The University of Kansas Health System
• University of Missouri-Kansas City

Principal Investigators (PIs) are allowed to apply for more than one funding mechanism but will only be awarded one award annually. Applicants may serve as PI on only one application but may be included as collaborators on any number of applications.

Applications are invited from multidisciplinary teams comprised of faculty investigators from Frontiers partner institutions.

Letter of Intent Deadline: To be announced in December 2024.

Full Application Deadline: To be announced in December 2024.

Any questions regarding Frontiers IAMI Trailblazer Awards should be directed to Carolyn Vivian, IAMI Navigator.