CHOIR Funding Opportunities

• The PI must be a full-time LUC faculty member, and maintain their full-time status for the full year of the grant

• Co-Investigators and other senior personnel may be faculty or staff 

• CHOIR Faculty Leads are not eligible to apply or serve as CO-PI 

• PIs or Co-PIs who have received a CHOIR or Health Equity grant award within the past three years are not eligible to serve as PI or Co-PI on a new grant application  

• Project funding may not exceed $50,000 

• Project will be limited to one (1) year in duration 

• Funds will not be granted for similar projects currently supported by other internal or external funding mechanisms at the campus or university level 

• Applicants who have already received funding for a project or research are not eligible to apply for a second grant for the same work

• Proposals focused on the development of teaching or academic programs are not eligible 

• Special consideration will be given to new applicants and junior faculty (CHOIR defines junior faculty as applicants who are within 10 years of their terminal degree)
• If awarded, an accounting unit will not be generated without applicable IRB, IACUC, IBC or Research Security/export control approvals.

• • Allowable Expenses:
    • Data collection, analysis, surveys  
      
    • Staff salaries. For example, research assistants, statisticians, student workers  
    • Supplies, fees, study incentives  
    • Travel expenses necessary to conduct the proposed work  
    • Equipment/computer support (purchase or repair) is generally discouraged, but may be approved on a case-by-case basis
  • Unallowable Expenses:
    • Faculty-Investigator salary coverage or reimbursement 
    • Student tuition coverage or reimbursement 
    • New staff hiring with grant funds
    • Graduate fee remission  
    • Student fringe benefits
    • Course release  

• Submission portal opens November 17, 2025

• Submissions are accepted continually until 11:59PM (central standard time) on February 2, 2026 

• Download the supporting documents from the Required Application Components section

• Follow the Guidelines and Instructions for content and page limits 

• Use the application form provided or your application will be rejected 

• Submit your application form and attachments as one PDF document through InfoReady.

• Funding decision will be announced live at Salon on March 26, 2026.

• The internal budget award template must be used, or the proposal will not be considered for funding
  
  
• The budget must be accurate, conservative, and carefully reflective of the work
  
  
• Proposals should be single-spaced and must include everything listed in the submission template
  
  
• A new LU or IPRS number must be obtained prior to submitting the proposal.  Please download the required templates from the links below

CHOIR Grant Award Templates
Health Equity Grant Award Templates

• Attend quarterly group meetings with all awardees 

• Grant recipients expected to clearly acknowledge the funder in any publication, presentations and communications regarding this research. Suggested acknowledgement language “This work was supported in part by the Center for Health Outcomes and Informatics Research (CHOIR) at the Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health, Loyola University Chicago. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of CHOIR, Parkinson, Loyola or its funders.”  

• Submit progress reports as follows: end of year Project Status, a Final Report within 30 days of project completion, and Return on Investment report(s) as requested.   

• Progress report data requested will include: external submissions, external awards, type of student workers, publications, presentations, media contacts, disclosures and patents.  

• If an awarded PI leaves Loyola, the award is not automatically transferred to a CO-PI. A new proposal must be drafted and approved by CHOIR Leadership. If your new proposal is not approved, CHOIR reserves the right to rescind unused funds.  

• All budget modifications must be submitted before March 31 and require CHOIR approval

• No-Cost Extensions are not granted  

• Unused funds will be returned to CHOIR 

• Can I apply for both awards?  

You can be considered for both awards simultaneously. You cannot submit the same project. If you are awarded both, you will need a very robust spending plan for the funds in the fiscal year. All funds must be spent by June 30, 2027. We find PIs are challenged to spend down the $50k award.  

• Are computers or equipment necessary for research okay to include?   

Yes. If approved, they need to be purchased and imaged by ITS and cannot exceed $5,000.

• I see the template for the proposal which indicates that the proposal needs to be 3 pages. Is this single or double spaced?  

The proposal template is longer than 3 pages.  However, the research plan should be 3 pages and single-spaced. 

• Where do I go to generate a new LU number or IPRS number?   

Visit the research channel on the LUHS portal to do this if you are in the health sciences campus and to Internal Proposal Transmittal and Approval Package (I-PTAP) if you are located in the lakeshore or water tower campus). Your departmental Grant Administrator should be able to provide assistance. 

• Do the awards cover faculty salary or student tuition?  

No. Only project staff salaries are covered.  

• How many grants will be awarded?  

The number of awards is contingent upon funding availability.  

• Can hourly students be hired and the salary included in the budget even though faculty salary and student tuition is not allowed?  

Yes, staff salaries are allowed in the budget and students working on the grant are regarded as staff. 

• Can community agency stipends be included?  

Yes, community agency stipends are allowed. It can be grouped under “other expenses.”  These stipends should be reasonable and based on the agency's contribution to the project.

• Are participant incentives allowable?   

Yes, this can be grouped under “other expenses”  

• Are budget modifications allowable?   

Yes. All budget modifications must be submitted before March 31 and require CHOIR approval. Budget modifications received after March 31 are not allowed and will not be approved. 

• Is my CV required to be in the FS 180 format?  

No, you can use any format. However, if you want to create an F180 CV, visit https://www.luc.edu/f180/  

• Does the CV need to be submitted for the PI or the entire team?   

The review committee would need CVs for the PI and Co-PI