Clinical and Translational Science Institute
Advancing today’s discoveries to improve health for all.

2027 Clinical and Translational Science AI Innovation (CTS-AI) Award RFA

2027 Clinical and Translational Science AI Innovation Award RFA

Please read all of the Request For Application instructions below before submitting your application.

The Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) at The Ohio State University is accepting applications for the 2027 Clinical and Translational Science AI Innovation (CTS-AI) Award. The goal of this award is to fund a highly meritorious, interdisciplinary translational science project to develop novel AI tools that advance health for all. It is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences’ (NCATS) Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program.  

A CTS-AI translational science project may emphasize a particular research area, but it must generate innovation that overcomes longstanding challenges along the translational research pipeline. This includes scientific, operational, financial and administrative innovations that transform the way that research is done, making it faster, more efficient, and more impactful. 

Applicants are encouraged to align their proposed work with NCATS’ Translational Science Principles: 

  • Address unmet needs 
  • Produce generalizable solutions for common and persistent challenges 
  • Leverage creativity and innovation in research design, conduct, and facilitating factors, with the goal of increasing the impact of the research 
  • Leverage cross-disciplinary team science 
  • Enhance the efficiency and speed of translational research 
  • Utilize boundary-crossing partnerships 
  • Use bold and rigorous approaches (including FAIR data and reproducible findings) 

Eligibility Criteria

Personnnel

For pre-applications: 

  • MPIs must have Principal Investigator (PI) status with Ohio State or Nationwide Children’s Hospital. 
  • MPIs cannot have had a CTSI pilot award that activated on or after Aug. 1, 2025, or a CTS-AI Award that activated on or after Aug. 1, 2024. 

For pre-applications invited for full applications, before submitting their full applications: 

  • MPIs must be members of CTSI. Click here to join CTSI. 
  • All project personnel must complete all necessary research training for proposed projects involving human subjects (Responsible Code of Research, Human Subject Protection and Good Clinical Practice). 

Projects

  • CTS-AI proposals must include an innovative AI/data science approach/technology that drives translational science and should clearly identify the translational research challenges or barriers that it addresses. 
  • Pre-clinical projects are not eligible. 
  • Proposed work must be innovative, equitable and generalizable. 
  • Proposed work must be completed within two years. The NIH does not allow carryover or no cost extensions on these funds. Feasibility for completing the work within 24 months is an important review criterion. 

Application and Submission Information

This funding opportunity will utilize a two-stage application process:

Pre-Application (Required)

  • 2027 CTS-AI REDCap Application Form
    • Contact PI and Co-PI Information 
    • Other Co-Investigators 
    • Project Title  
    • Keywords 
    • Project Description 
    • Translational Science Statement 
    • Regulatory Considerations 
    • Budget (non-itemized) 
    • External Collaborators 
  • 1-Page Abstract of the proposed work that includes the translational science-directed research question, translational research challenge(s) addressed, significance, methods, and specific aims (PDF)
  • MPI NIH Biosketch(es) 

Pre-applications will be evaluated by CTS-AI Award co-directors for significance, innovation, and relevance to CTSI’s mission and selected pre-applicants will be invited to submit full applications. 

Full Applications

Full applications are by invitation only. 

  • A full application will be submitted through an online REDCap form by invitation only following successful completion of the pre-application

Application Review Information

The CTSI participates in a National Center for Translational Science Award External Reviewer Exchange Consortium to improve fairness in the scientific review process and better match applicants with feedback from experts in their respective fields. Trained patient and practitioner reviewers are also included in the grant review process. In submitting your application, you agree to allow access to your application to reviewers external to The Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital.  

Applications are reviewed by 1-2 scientific reviewers with subject matter expertise and 1 community reviewer, utilizing the NIH 9-point scale. They are then assessed in an NIH-style study section that considers reviewer feedback on significance, rigor and feasibility, and translational and overall impact; institutional context; and relevance to CTSI’s mission. 

Funding

Up to $125,000 per year in direct costs can be budgeted for a two-year period, for a maximum amount of $250,000. Carryover and no-cost extensions are not allowed, thus unspent funds become unavailable after 12 months. 

Use of funds: 

  • Salary support for faculty may be requested under the following guidelines: 
  • Assistant Professor 15% effort up to NIH CAP 
  • Associate professor 10% effort up to NIH CAP 
  • Full professor 5% effort up to NIH CAP 
  • Salary and fringe support are permitted for students, graduate students, clinical trainees, post-doctoral, and clinical fellows.  
  • Subcontracts are not allowed for personnel or services outside Ohio State or Nationwide Children’s Hospital. 
  • Travel funds are permitted if necessary to conduct the study (e.g., participant travel). International travel is not allowed. 
  • Equipment may be requested that is essential for the study and not otherwise available, but equipment expenditures greater than $3,000 are discouraged. 
  • Awards include in-kind support for disseminating validated methods across the regional and national CTSA networks for broader translational science impact. 

Additional Important Information

MANDATORY AWARDEE DEADLINES 

Projects selected for a CTSI award must obtain NCATS prior approval - which requires IRB approval or determination of non-human subject research - before funds can be released. The awarded team must meet with CTSI’s Regulatory Program Manager before March 15, 2027, and submit to IRB by March 31, 2027, or the offer for funding will be withdrawn.