Core Utilization Subsidy Program RFA
University of Louisville Center for Integrative Environmental Health Science (CIEHS)
Translational Research Support Core (TRSC)
Omics and Exposure Assessment Facility Core (OEFC)
CORE UTILIZATION SUBSIDY DUE DATE: August 7, 2026
Ready to go awards must be used prior to July 31, 2027
The UofL Center for Integrative Environmental Health Science (CIEHS) solicits applications to support clinical and translational environmental health science (EHS) research through the CIEHS P30 Environmental Health Sciences Core Center grant. Applications are encouraged which propose to utilize the clinical science, basic science, epidemiology and public health, or geospatial information science (GIS) services and resources offered by TRSC and University of Louisville Shared Research Facility Cores through the OEFC. For example, clinical resources include the Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) and Norton’s Children’s Research Institute as well as those needing IRB preparation assistance. It is expected that funding these EHS-centric studies will lead to Pilot Project Program or NIEHS grant submissions by the PI. For additional information regarding these resources, please contact Matt Cave (Navigator, Basic Science Resources), Jiapeng Huang (Navigator, Adult Clinical Science Resources), Sara Watson (Navigator, Pediatric Clinical Science Resources), Kira Taylor (epidemiology and public health), or Charlie Zhang (Navigator, GIS Resources) via the TRSC email service account (trsc01@louisville.edu). For additional information for OEFC support please contact Michael Merchant (proteomics), Melissa Smith (genomics), Lu Cai (metallomics), Xiang Zhang (metabolomics), or Venkatakrishna Jala (microbiome) via the OEFC email service account (oefc@louisville.edu).
Likewise, projects that support the CIEHS’s overall goal, propose to access other CIEHS Cores and/or Research Interest Groups (RIGs) and are consistent with the NIEHS translational research framework will be prioritized. The TRSC Core Utilization Subsidy Program (CUSP) encourages members of all traditionally underrepresented groups to apply and is open to all eligible UofL faculty regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age. The CUSP requires that the applicant utilize one or more of the CIEHS cores (TRSC and OEFC). If biostatistics or bioinformatics are involved with the application, the CIEHS BIFC must be used. CIEHS members may be the principal investigator (PI) on only one active award from CIEHS during any given fiscal year. Members who are PIs in a No Cost Extension (NCE) on a CIEHS award may submit a new CUSP application during the NCE.
Background: The Center for Integrative Environmental Health Sciences (CIEHS) explores complex interactions of environmental toxicants with the social domain and modified by life stage, genotype, and sex with a focus on industrial exposures common in rural small towns in chronic disease etiology consistent with NIEHS Strategic Plan (2025-2029) research areas of emphasis. The Louisville Regional Community (LRC), composed of Metropolitan Louisville and the counties of western Kentucky, is a unique mix of urban and rural environments both experiencing industrial and agricultural exposures that is a microcosm of the United States. The region is plagued by rates of chronic disease, all with environmental etiologies, that are among the highest in the nation. The CIEHS is uniquely positioned to build transdisciplinary teams to tackle these problems by virtue of the multidisciplinary expertise of its members and its geographic location. The CIEHS facilitates research and training focused on: (1) exposure to industrial chemicals (metals, VOCs, PCBs, vinyl chloride, etc.) present in the urban and rural KY environments, (2) social domain factors (diet, alcohol, socioeconomic stressors, obesity, etc.), and (3) modifications to response by life stage, genetics and sex in chronic adult disease development. Three Research Interest Groups are aligned with emerging NIEHS research interests and promote interdisciplinary collaborative environmental health research. The Biostatistics and Informatics Facility Core supports data science and computational biology. The Omics and Exposure Assessment Facility Core provides state of the art omics and exposures analyses Our unique community engagement focus is urban industrial exposures in a rural environment embodied by small towns in Kentucky. Our Community Engagement Core actively promotes community engaged research, matching CIEHS investigators with environmental health concerns of the LRC. The translational research vision is to integrate social domain and environmental factors with disease incidence using geographical information systems and epidemiological approaches to inform clinical research and intervention studies in cancer, cardiometabolic disease, diabetes and neurologic disease. The CIEHS bridges model and human systems across the larger ecosystem including pollution effects on wildlife in collaboration with our LRC partners. The strategic vision builds on previous success, further expanding, refining, and translating our research guided by the NIEHS Translational Research Framework to address environmental health problems in the LRC. The CIEHS builds the environmental health science workforce via a multifaceted Career Development Program for faculty and post-doctoral fellows, and training grants for post-doctoral fellows and both graduate and medical students. The CIEHS is organized into three multi-disciplinary research interest groups (Mechanistic and Translational Toxicology, Environmental Epidemiology & Population Health, and Precision Environmental Health and Exposome); a Translational Research Support Core (TRSC), a Community Engagement Core (CEC), and two facility cores (Biostatistics and Informatics Facility Core, “BIFC” and the Omics & Exposure Assessment Facility Core, “OEFC”). More information about the CIEHS may be found at https://centers.louisville.edu/integrativeenvironmentalhealth/. More information about NIEHS translational research framework may be found at https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/programs/translational/framework-details
TRSC Core Utilization Subsidy Applications will be accepted for this deadline. Priority is being given to proposals focusing on the following areas: A. Precision Environmental Health/Exposome, B. Mechanistic and Translational Toxicology or C. Environmental Epidemiology & Population Health. Due to limited funding, the awards will be prioritized based on CIEHS themes.
- Precision Environmental Health/Exposome:
- Addresses the individual variability associated with responses to environmental exposures
- Goal is to understand individual risk to prevent disease
- Integrates Genetics, Epigenetics and Omics Data
- Exposomics: measurements of multiple exposures and/or the health effects of multiple exposures
- Mechanistic and Translational Toxicology:
- Molecular mechanisms that underlie agent toxicity: how is gene expression impacted by exposures
- Data generation can be translated to human biology
- Utilizes innovative new approaches to study environmental exposures
- Environmental Epidemiology & Population Health:
- Environmental factors such as air and water quality are fundamental determinants of our health and well-being. Environmental factors can lead to disease and health outcome differences when the places where people live, work, learn, and play are burdened by social inequities.
- Heat-related illness; respiratory disease; heart disease; food- water-and vector-borne diseases; injury; premature death, mental health impacts, poor maternal and birth outcomes
- Chemical releases into environment, changes in air, water, food quality and quantity; population displacement; interruptions to health care; Infrastructure and supply chain disruption; economic impacts – more people living in poverty.
General Information and Types of Awards:
(1) Response to Reviewers (small) awards for up to $1,500 to cover the costs associated with research needed to finish out a project or address questions arising in manuscript revisions or grant resubmissions.
(2a) New Hypothesis Expansion/Direction (medium) awards for up to $5,000 to cover costs associated with critical exploratory research and proof-of-concept studies needed for hypothesis generation and grant (re-) submission.
(2b) IRB Preparation Assistance (medium) awards for up to $5,000 to cover costs associated with assistance in IRB preparation.
(3) Supporting the Base (large) awards (up to 25% total costs capped at a $10,000 maximum) will be provided to subsidize already funded EHS research (for example NIEHS).
Review Process: Applications are submitted through the InfoReady platform and then reviewed by the CUSP Review Panel (Drs. Merchant, Leblanc, and Cave) which makes funding recommendations to the CIEHS IAC. Note: Awards for human studies or animal studies will not be approved if IRB or IACUC protocols are pending.
An individual may be the PI on only one CUSP award from CIEHS in any fiscal year. Members who are PIs in a No Cost Extension (NCE) on a CIEHS award may submit a new CUSP application during the NCE. Awardees will be required to sign an award notice committing to the terms of the award, including required post-award reporting, citation of the grant (P30ES030283) in any publications, and participation in a CIEHS session at the subsequent annual Research!Louisville event.
Post-Award Administration of Core Utilization Subsidy Awards
Reporting: Ascertaining the impact of TRSC and OEFC Core Utilization Subsidy awards on UofL EHS research is vital for gauging the success of the program. To gather necessary information needed to measure success, all awardees (PIs) will be contacted 12-, 24- and 36-months post award. The goal will be to determine if and how the TRSC funds led to support and stimulation of EHS research by CIEHS members. We will be looking to gather information that includes but is not limited to: (a) listing of poster and oral presentations, (b) grant applications which included subsidized research results, (c) trainees that were directly involved with the research, (d) copies of the manuscripts (resubmitted/in-press/published), (e) grant applications (submitted/funded/renewed), (f) data sharing to the EHS research community and lastly a cover page addressing how the expended funds addressed the gap in the research.
Apply for a Core Utilization Subsidy Award
View the CIEHS Core Consultation Options
Program Contacts
For general information about the CIEHS TRSC Subsidy Award Program and the application process, contact: Matt Cave, MD, Director, TRSC, trsc01@louisville.edu
For information related to other CIEHS Cores and RIGs, contact the individual directors:
Omics and Exposure Assessment Facility Core (OEFC)
Michael Merchant, PhD
oefc@louisville.edu
Community Engagement Core (CEC)
Luz Huntington-Moskos, PhD, RN, CPN,FAAN
cecciehs@louisville.edu
Biostatistics and Informatics Facility Core (BIFC)
Juw Won Park, PhD and Maiying Kong, PhD
bifc@louisville.edu
Mechanistic and Translational Toxicology RIG
Lu Cai, MD, PhD
lu.cai@louisville.edu
Precision Environmental Health and Exposome RIG
Carolyn Klinge, PhD
carolyn.klinge@louisville.edu
Environmental Epidemiology & Population Health RIG
Greg Barnes, MD, PhD
gregory.barnes@louisville.edu