It’s a classic Catch-22. What comes first, the research or the funding? How can a research organization convince funders that they should invest in its ideas? Or more to the point, how does the University of Kansas Medical Center secure a bigger piece of the biomedical research pie?

When that question is put to Paul Terranova, PhD, vice chancellor for research at KU Medical Center and president of KUMC’s Research Institute, he replies simply, “Wow the funders with your proposals. You want funders to know that your ideas are so innovative and so important that they MUST be funded.”

Edward Ellerbeck, MD, chair of KU Medical Center’s Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, agrees, citing the example of a recent $3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to a KU Medical Center researcher for a smoking cessation project. The researcher was awarded the grant despite the fact that the NCI routinely reviews and rejects hundreds of similar proprosals.

“The data showed that our unique, multi-intervention approach was three times more effective than other stop-smoking programs, and the NCI reviewers were impressed,” says Ellerbeck.

Both Ellerbeck and Terranova agree that the pressure to dazzle funders is mounting. One reason is that interest in biomedical research has soared in recent years, which has led to more competition among researchers. At the same time, research funding from the National Institutes for Health (NIH) and other major government agencies has been flat or declining. Because the competition for research dollars is fierce, funders frequently are forced to reject good research projects in favor of those that appear to be great.

Despite these challenges, KU Medical Center has been gaining, rather than losing, ground in the race for research funding. Last year, KUMC received an unprecedented $82 million in grants for research projects - primarily from NIH, private foundations and other federal and state agencies. That’s $21 million, or 34 percent more, than KUMC was awarded just four years earlier.

“Funders increasingly recognize the high-quality work being performed by our researchers,” Terranova says.

The Research Institute internally funds several initiatives designed to help KU Medical Center recruit and support researchers who either already have, or eventually will develop, the ability to attract substantial research grants. An important recruiting tool is its startup research package, which supports the research of promising junior faculty for up to five years and relieves some of the financial pressure to find grant money to support their work.

The Research Institute also maintains a funding pool for pilot and bridge grants of $30,000 to $50,000. Pilot grants give less-experienced junior faculty the time and resources to collect the preliminary data required to qualify for formal funding. For example, a $35,000 pilot study of the bacteria that causes Lyme disease led to a $1.8 million NIH research grant. The Research Institute’s funding pool is also a vital source of temporary bridge grants needed to maintain a research project’s momentum between funding cycles.

Terranova’s mantra to researchers seeking funding is: never give up. “Take advantage of our programs and services to improve your proposal and refine your data,” he adds. “That’s what you have to do if you want funders to show you the money.” +