Developmental Research Project Program

The WY-INBRE Developmental Research Project Program’s (DRPP) primary goal is to identify and support significant and innovative biomedical research at the University of Wyoming (UW) through a series of tiered funding opportunities. In addition, the DRPP actively oversees the mentoring of DRPP-supported faculty members and shares in the training of UW students working in DRPP-supported laboratories. The goals of the DRPP are closely aligned and integrated with those the Administrative Core (AC) and Data Science Core (DSC), along with WY-INBRE student programs and outreach activities within the Wyoming network. Funding allocations made by the DRPP are viewed as investments in UW’s faculty and their trainees, with expected outcomes that include published papers, public presentations, grant submissions and awards, and the expansion of a biomedical workforce. A long-standing philosophy of the DRPP has been to extend opportunities to the broadest possible pool of active biomedical researchers at UW through well-promoted funding announcements.

Research Project (RP) Grants

Intended to support early-stage investigators who show strong potential to compete for NIH R-type grants. These well-supported 2-year awards are expected to result in substantial research progress and multiple resulting publications beginning in the second year of the award. Prior to the award’s completion, investigators are also expected to be submitting well-crafted proposals to the NIH or other health-related agencies. PIs must commit 50% effort and awards are up to $125K/yr for two years.

Pilot Project - Type 1 (PP1) Grants

Available to early-stage investigators with clear potential but where RP-level funding would be considered premature. In addition, well-qualified early-stage or established PIs who are branching out into new areas of biomedical research will also be eligible for PP-1 grants.  Lastly, PP-1 funds may be used as a bridging mechanism to support productive PIs who may be between grants but have a demonstrated history of productivity and grantsmanship. Expected outcomes for PP-1 grants include the submission of at least one manuscript and at least one grant. PP-1 grants may be renewed for 1 year, which will depend on sufficient research progress and compliance with WY INBRE and DRPP program requirements. Awards are $30K/yr and require 25% PI effort.

Pilot Project - Type 2 (PP2) Grants

Intended for biomedical, research-active faculty at all career stages and places a stronger emphasis on the training and mentorship of graduate and/ or undergraduate students, although WY INBRE encourages student participation for all DRPP-funded research (as stated in PAR-23-100). As with PP-1 grants, PP-2 grants may be renewed for 1 year, which depends on student progress, productivity, and compliance. Awards are $35K/yr and require 15% PI effort.

 

 

 

2025–2026 Wyoming INBRE competition schedule:

It was more than a year ago that we submitted our INBRE-5 renewal proposal and we were pleased last October to learn that it had scored well. Admittedly, things took a while after that, but we received our Notice of Award this June and anticipate having funding for at least another 5 years. As always, we wanted to give people a heads up regarding our anticipated schedule of grant competitions for the coming fall and winter 2025/2026. Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact David Fay or Scott Seville.

Research Project (RP) Awards

  • <$125K/year – 2 years
  • Requires 50% effort
  • Early-stage investigators only – Focus on developing competitive biomedical research programs
  • Formal announcement: Tuesday 8/26/25
  • Letter of intent due: Wednesday 9/17/25, 5 PM
  • Notification of decision to proceed with full proposal: Before 9/26/25
  • Full invited proposals due: Monday 10/20/25, 5 PM
  • External reviews due: 12/1/24

Pilot Projects Type-1 (PP-1) Awards

  • $50K/year – 1 or 2 years
  • Requires 25% effort
  • Open to investigators at all stages – Focus on new areas and/or extensions of active research
  • Formal announcement: Monday 9/22/25
  • Letter of intent due: Monday 10/13/25, 5 PM
  • Notification of decision to proceed with full proposal: Before 10/24/25
  • Full invited proposals due: Monday 11/17/25, 5 PM
  • External reviews due: 12/15/25

Pilot Projects Type-2 (PP-2) Awards

  • $35K/year – 1 or 2 years
  • Requires 15% effort
  • Open to investigators at all stages – Focus on mentoring (e.g., PhD students)
  • Formal announcement: Monday 10/13/25
  • Full proposals due: Monday 11/24/25, 5 PM

Student Research Program (SRP) Wyoming CC-UW Collaborative Projects

  • $30K/year – 2 years
  • Formal announcement: Monday 12/1/25
  • Open to investigators at all stages – Focus on WY community college collaborations, student mentoring, and development of the CC-UW pipeline
  • Due: Friday 1/23/26, 5 PM

 

Please note that UW faculty receiving research funding from other NIGMS IDeA programs (COBRE, CTR-IN) are not eligible for INBRE research funding. In addition, faculty cannot receive simultaneous support for INBRE Research Projects (RPs) and Pilot Projects (PP-2 and PP-2). We especially encourage faculty members who have not previously received substantial INBRE support to apply.

Chalk Talks

Primary Investigators with active Pilot or Thematic awards give one Chalk Talk per year and attend all Chalk Talks as their schedules will allow. Former INBRE Pilot and Thematic awardees are welcome to attend to learn more about actively funded research efforts, such as Dr. Nicole Bedford's research on micturation (Chalk Talk diagram from February 2022 pictured below).

Whiteboard diagrams explaining the research of Dr. Nicole Bedford

Faculty Contact

David Fay, Ph.D.
INBRE Developmental Research Project Program Director
Professor of Molecular Biology 
davidfay@uwyo.edu