President's Research Fund (PRF)

The main goals of the President’s Research Fund are to incentivize new research of high scientific quality that is likely to secure extramural funding and to support existing research reviewed favorably by the NIH but not yet funded.

The RPC supports a single PRF cycle for the School of Medicine each year. For FY22, the due date for Cycle 19 applications is January 15, 2022, with a start date of May 1, 2022. The maximum award term is 13 months and grant extensions are not allowed.

Three types of applications are considered for funding:

  1. PRF01: Single PI application describing a NEW project with a high likelihood of extramural funding, preferably through the R01 or U01 mechanisms. Up to $50,000 may be requested for this award.
  2. PRF02: Multi-PI application describing a NEW project with a high likelihood of extramural funding, preferably through the P01 mechanism. Up to $100,000 may be requested for this award.
  3. PRF03: Existing R01 or U01 application, NEW or RENEWAL, that was scored but not funded by the NIH during the previous year. Up to $50,000 may be requested for this award.

Application Details

  • Cover Letter

    Applicants should include a cover letter that justifies submission of the PRF01 or PRF02 as a NEW research project. For PRF03 grants, applicants should include a copy of the original R01 or U01 grant proposal reviewed by the NIH, a copy of the summary statement, and a description, not to exceed 5 pages, of how criticisms raised by the NIH Study Section will be addressed in a revised application.

  • Application Submission

    Applications are submitted via the Openwater Portal. Click the icon to log in to myslu.slu.edu and click on the Openwater icon in the "Tools" tab. Use your SLU credentials to log in. You will be prompted to set up your profile the first time you log in. See the PRF Guidelines for full application details.

  • Application Review

    All applications will be reviewed by an Internal Study Section appointed by the RPC and chaired by the current chair of the RPC. Recommendations for funding and amounts awarded will be based on scientific merit and likelihood of extramural funding. These recommendations will be forwarded to the VP of Research for final approval.

  • PRF Guidelines

    Click the icon to download the full PRF guidelines for the current application cycle.

  • Questions?

    Questions about PRF applications and submissions should be directed to Sandra Cornell (977-8067; sandra.cornell@health.slu.edu).

Current and previous awardees can be viewed here: Awardees