Charles and Margaret Roberts Fund

Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Roberts, patients and longtime friends of the late physician, George W. Stuppy, MD, directed a generous bequest to establish the Charles J. and Margaret Roberts Fund for Preventive Medicine. This trust is held at the Northern Trust. Each year since the 10th anniversary of Margaret Roberts’s death, the Roberts Fund provides Rush with four percent of the principal (totaling $186,049) as valued as of the date of the bequest. This represents a discretionary payment for the advancement of disease prevention initiatives. 

Funding amounts and availability 

• This pilot funding program awards one grant of $186,000 or two grants of $90,000 each. For this funding cycle, we are funding two grants of $90,000 each. 
• The period of support is one year.
• Faculty salary support is limited to 20%.
• No Cost Extensions (NCE) will not be allowed. 

Eligible Investigators

• Applicants can be early career or established investigators.
• At least one investigator in the proposal must be an active Rush University faculty member at the assistant professor level or above.
• Early investigators, women, and members of groups underrepresented in research are encouraged to apply. There are no citizenship or residency requirements. 

Criteria

• Proposals must be for patient oriented clinical or community health focused research. Interdisciplinary proposals are encouraged.
• Applicants may submit only one application as a principal investigator/multiple PIs per award cycle. 

How to apply 

Please submit your proposal using the online application form. The submission link will be emailed to PIs who submit an RSVP. 

Your proposal should consist of 1 PDF file: 

• A cover page, containing the following: 
  • Grant proposal title
  • MPIs names, highest degree, position title, department/division, phone number, and email
  • Funding amount requesting
  • A statement of whether the proposal research overlaps in whole or part with any ongoing efforts or any submitted proposals
• Budget in NIH PHS398 forms
  • Allowable: up to 20% effort for PIs, publication costs 
  • Not allowable: capital expenses 
• Biographical sketches in current NIH format for PI only   
• Body of application
  • Formatting: 11-point Arial font with at least 1/2-inch margins
  • Project summary/abstract in layman’s terms (no more than 1 page)
  • Specific aims (1 page)
  • Research Strategy: Significance, innovation, and approach (2 pages)
  • Literature Cited (1 page)
  • Plan for Future Funding (1/2 page)
  • A letter of support from the PI’s Department Chair/Division 

Review Process 

• Following peer review, applications that demonstrate potential for future funding will be prioritized. 

Award Timeline

• Internal decision by November 21, 2024
• Final approval from The Charles and Margaret Roberts Foundation and release of grant funds in early 2025