GME Seed Grant

Resident engagement in scholarly activity fuels innovation and helps ensure that physicians of the future will possess the skills necessary to support continued improvement in health care and provide effective patient care. To encourage resident participation in scholarly activities, GME has designated funding for small research grants. Residents can apply for Seed Grants in amounts up to $2500; however, proposals for larger amounts may be considered depending on the number and quality of submissions received.

Two types of projects will be considered for funding:  (1) Research or (2) Quality Improvement.  

GME staff can review and offer feedback on a draft of any Seed Grant proposal prior to submission.  Please send to the GME Research Coordinator at ci3238@wayne.edu.

Eligibility

Applicants must be residents in a WSUGME-sponsored program, in good standing, with a definite commitment for another year of residency in this program.

Application Requirements

•  Applicants must complete the relevant grant application, for either a Research or a QI project (see links below), including specific budget details. Prospective applicants may wish to review this table as a guide to determining whether the project is Research or QI. 
• Applicants must provide documentation of IRB review (approval letter or statement of exemption or waiver); applications without such documentation will not be processed for final review without it
• Applicants must identify a designated faculty mentor for the project. The mentor should have research or QI experience and be knowledgeable in the specific field related to the project
• The applicant and her/his project mentor must agree upon a clear mentoring plan that supports the resident's successful completion of the project. Applicants will ensure that the faculty mentor sends an email approval of the proposed project and mentoring plan to GME (send to ci3238@wayne.edu)

Time Frame

The project timeline must be realistic; ideally, the resident should be able to complete the project within 1 year. In addition, documents for supplies and services (e.g., invoices, bills) should be sent to GME promptly so reimbursement can be initiated by the end of the fiscal year of the award. For example, for a 2025-26 Seed Grant, awardees should submit documents no later than Sept. 15, 2026.

Funding

If the proposal is approved, funds are not awarded to individuals; rather, awardees should send invoices, bills, etc. to the GME Office so we may initiate payment.  The funds should be used as outlined in the approved budget/proposal and will be monitored by the residency program administrator. Costs and unit numbers needed for the project should be determined ahead of time, since specific budget details are required for funding to be considered. Acceptable uses of funding include:  Contractual personnel, supplies, software, and/or equipment required to complete the project; printing costs; IT personnel costs for pulling reports from the EMR for QI projects; cell lines or other lab material costs for Research projects.  Note:  Funding cannot be used for travel, journal publication fees, or conference registration fees.

Deadlines for Application

The 2025-26 cycle is still open but limited funds remain. 

Links to application forms:

   Research Projects 

Quality Improvement Projects

Review and Notification Process

All qualifying proposals will be evaluated by GME staff and 1-2 faculty reviewer(s), and applicants will receive reviewer comments. Funding will be awarded based on scientific merit and appropriate justification of requested funds, in addition to the following criteria:

• Project employs novel and adequately developed concepts, approaches and/or methodologies
• Project provides sufficient background evidence, and describes a reasonable and appropriate timeline as well as a well-defined mentoring plan

Awardees will be contacted via email, and projects that are awarded funding will be showcased on the GME website, announced in the Residency Times newsletter, and promoted on WSUSOM social media outlets.

Dissemination of Findings

Residents are expected to disseminate the results of their scholarly activity project prior to graduation.  This can be accomplished via presentation at a conference, either as a poster (abstract) or oral presentation, or by publication of a manuscript in a peer-reviewed journal.