Spark Awards
Spark Awards
The CTSI Spark Awards are designed to support preliminary research and generate essential data for new and ongoing projects. Spark Awards provide investigators with resources to advance their research, aiming to jump-start pilot studies and support future extramural grant applications or scientific initiatives.
Applications Now Open for 2026 - 2027!
CTSI will award Spark Awards to Ohio State and Nationwide Children's Hospital investigators worth up to $3,000. CTSI will award up to $5,000 for projects involving researchers from two different Ohio State colleges or a collaboration between Ohio State and Nationwide Children’s investigators.
Collaboration awards are also available for up to $5,000. These awards are available for projects involving researchers from two different Ohio State colleges, a collaboration between Ohio State and Nationwide Children’s investigators, or a collaboration with Ohio State University, Nationwide Children’s and the Ohio Primary Care Innovation Network(OPCIN)/Ohio Association of Community Health Centers (OACHC).
Scope of Projects
Proposals must encompass activities to support a future grant application or major scientific initiative, or provide additional support critical to the success of an existing project.
Award Amount
$3,000 - $5,000
Application Dates
Applications will be received through March 15, 2027, or until designated funds are exhausted.
For more information:
If you were looking for the CTSI voucher program, that program has been retired. While we acknowledge the value and contributions of the voucher program, we are excited to announce the Spark Awards, a new CTSI funding mechanism that will continue to support our research community.
Recent Spark Awardees
Matthew Wysong, DO, and Jenna Merandi, PharmD
Matthew Wysong, DO is a Pediatric Hospital Medicine Fellow in the Department of Pediatric Hospital Medicine and Jenna Merandi, PharmD is a Medication Safety Officer in the Department of Pharmacy.
Click Here to Read the Article
Paola Malerba, PhD
An Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University and Principal Investigator at the Center for Biobehavioral Health at the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
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Setty Magaña, MD
A Principal Investigator at the Center for Clinical and Translational Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
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Rosie Bauder, PhD, MPH
This plan was developed by stakeholders alongside the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation in response to the troubling rate of five suicide deaths per day statewide.
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Priyal Patel, DO
An Assistant Professor and Fellowship Director for Hospice and Palliative Medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine.
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Farah Brink, MD
An Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Core Faculty at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute.
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Elizabeth A. Holdsworth, PhD
An Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology. She applied for a Spark Award to support her project “Daily Milk Composition and Infant Growth.
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Gregory Knapik, PhD
An Associate Director of the Spine Research Institute and Research Professor in Integrated Systems Engineering. He applied for a Spark Award to support his project “The Spine Phenome Project: Enabling Technology for Personalized Medicine.
Click Here to Read the Article