The voucher program is intended for UNC researchers with a primary or joint appointment to the UNC School of Medicine and their trainees to apply for up to $10,000 in funding to be spent at one or more SOM core facilities which invoice for services. This is specifically intended for NEW method development or PILOT DATA for currently unfunded projects that ALSO meets one of the following criteria:
- Establishes the applicant as a new customer of at least one core facility
- Creates a multi-core pipeline
- Allows a customer of a core facility to use a new technique or methodology within a core they have previously used in other capacities (this is at the discretion of the core director)
- Applicant has been impacted by a recent grant termination (last 6 months) or a programmatic change at the NIH or other federal agencies, and is collecting pilot data to target new federal funding opportunities or new internal collaborations (see special note in Application Instructions)
Applicants (who may be PIs or trainees) will be required to meet with and have the written approval of the core directors for core facilities they intend to use at the time of submission and must plan to fully spend out their funds by June 30, 2026. Carry-over of funds is not guaranteed, and applicants should be aware that the technical feasibility to complete the study within the proposed timeframe will be an important factor in award decisions.
Cores which can be used are limited to those administered by the School of Medicine or who serve a majority-SOM customer base. To request an eligibility review of a non-SOM core, please e-mail kara_clissold@med.unc.edu.
Please find the full RFA and list of eligible cores attached and all information, including necessary documentation, a submission form template to aid in organizing the application, core director/applicant signature forms, and submission instructions, can be found on the ORT/CFAC Voucher Program‘s Website: https://www.med.unc.edu/corefacilities/core–voucher–program/
Applications for the Voucher Program are now open for submission and will be due September 22, 2025 at 11:59 pm
Please direct any questions about this program to Kara Clissold in the SOM Office of Research Technologies at kara_clissold@med.unc.edu