Applications are now being accepted for Fiscal Year 2025. While applications are accepted year-round, faculty who will need funding during the year are encouraged to apply during this initial round. Applications must be submitted online at https://orit.research.bcm.edu/R5T80IF3WH2/BridgeToIndependence/. The deadline for this application round is Monday, April 15, 2024 at 05:00 PM.
BCM is pleased to announce the Bridge to Independence Program. Bridge to Independence provides bridge funding of up to $100,000 for junior faculty members who have expended their seed but not yet obtained independent funding. The program will provide awards for up to twelve months’ duration to faculty who fulfill the following eligibility criteria.
  • Applicants must be full-time BCM faculty members who received College seed funding. Note that BCM Junior Faculty Seed awards are not considered College seed.
  • Applicants must have expended their College seed package by the start of the requested funding period.
  • Applicants must include a letter of recommendation from their academic unit head.
  • Applicants must provide evidence that they are actively applying for external funding.
  • Applicants may not receive overlapping Bridge to Independence and/or Interim Funding awards.
  • Applicants may reapply for Bridge to Independence once but must describe details and results of funding previously received.

It is the purpose of Bridge to Independence to help junior faculty achieve research funding independence. A maximum of $100,000 may be requested to support faculty, graduate students, technicians, postdoctoral fellows, and to purchase supplies. Although faculty salaries are permitted, applicants should first work with their departments to cover salary from departmental resources when possible. Travel, subcontracts, and equipment are not permitted expenses.

Award funds will be transferred monthly in equal allotments into a new designated type one (unrestricted) account, and funds transferred within a fiscal year must be expended by the end of that fiscal year (June 30). Requests that cross fiscal years will have the funding split between both years. Funding will cease when an externally funded independent research award begins, or at the end of the approved funding period, whichever comes first.

Applications submitted in this portal are for the upcoming fiscal year and will be reviewed after RFA deadline posted on this site (such as for the start of the new fiscal year). Applications will be reviewed by BCM faculty members of the Advisory Committee for Interim Research Support. The Committee's recommendations will be forwarded to the Senior Vice President for Research, who will prioritize the available funding. No written critique will be provided to the applicant.

Documents must be uploaded separately.

Applications should be submitted online at: https://orit.research.bcm.edu/R5T80IF3WH2/BridgeToIndependence/Default.aspx

Application materials must include:
  • Cover Page – This page is part of the online application.
  • Investigator's Statement – A statement from the applicant with an explicit rationale for support, including the investigator’s efforts to date to obtain independent funding. One paragraph must assess the potential for impactful science from this application. Another paragraph must assess the potential for NIH or equivalent funding. This section of the application has a three-page limit, single-spaced, 11 point Arial font with ½” margins.
  • Other Support – A list of all current and completed sources of funds available to the applicant, prepared according to NIH guidelines for information on "Other Support." Also include a list of personnel presently in the laboratory and the source(s) of their salary support. This should include support from departmental sources.
  • Budget – A detailed budget explaining how funds will be spent (modeled after the first-year budget page of an NIH application). Include a detailed justification for each requested budget item. Applicants who demonstrate reasoned minimal budgets will be given greater consideration for funding.
  • Biosketch - The investigator's updated NIH biosketch. Sample Biosketch, Biosketch MS Word format.
  • Letter of Endorsement and Commitment – A letter from the academic unit head supporting the applicant which describes the scientific contributions anticipated from the applicant and how these will support the mission of BCM. The letter should also describe departmental support given the applicant, including the level of departmental funding committed, or an explanation for why departmental support is not provided.
  • Grants Applications and Reviews – A list of applications submitted for external independent research funding. The list should include the award name, sponsor name, project title, and requested award amount/dates. Include a copy of reviews/summary statements when available.
  • Prior Bridge Funding Outcomes – Summary of prior bridge funding efforts and awards. Prior Bridge Funding Outcomes Template
For more information about this program, please contact Intramural Funding and Awards at awards@bcm.edu.