TO:              School of Medicine Faculty

FROM:       Katherine L. Nathanson, MD and Scott D. Halpern, MD, PhD 

                     Co-Chairs, PSOM Limited Applications Selection Committee

SUBJECT:  W.W. Smith Charitable Trust Research Awards:  Cancer, Heart Disease,                      and AIDS

DATE:       April 15, 2021

The W. W. Smith Charitable Trust funds all types of basic medical research in the areas of heart disease, cancer and AIDS. “The philosophy of the Trust has been not to replicate governmental funding organizations, but identify and fund projects that are unique and meritorious. The Trust tries to select promising researchers that have the potential to attract the National Institutes of Health, or other large funding organizations after the Trusts support. There is a strong commitment to encourage new or less recognized investigators to apply for funding”.

Each school within the University may nominate one applicant for each of the three research categories: Heart disease, Cancer or AIDS; the Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) will determine the final candidates to represent the University.  Faculty with a primary appointment at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) must apply through CHOP. 

The Trust does not specify the amount of the award but states that funding is usually in the $100,000 - $125,000 range for a period of 1 year. (Previous UPenn grantees have received funding in the $100,000 range)

The website for the W.W. Smith Charitable Trust has a limited amount of information related to the award program. (http://www.wwsmithcharitabletrust.org/medical.html)

PSOM Internal Review Process:

To be considered as a PSOM candidate, faculty must submit the following information:

• Cover page: Name of applicant, academic rank, department, school, email address, phone number, proposal title
• Proposal  title must specify whether proposal is for AIDS, Cancer  or Heart research award
• A letter of recommendation from candidate’s department chair/division chief
• A brief description of the proposed research (no longer than two pages)  including specific aims, the significance of the research, the importance of the research by relating the specific aims to longer term objectives, and description of the preliminary studies and experimental design. References are not included in the 2 page limit.
• NIH Biosketch including current and pending funding with award amounts

Application materials should be submitted in a single pdf file using 12 inch font and 1 inch margins in the following order: cover page, letter of recommendation, research proposal, and Biosketch.

Applications should be sent to Connie Weinstein at clw@pennmedicine.upenn.edu. The subject line of email should be W.W. Smith_Research category_ Applicant’s name (e.g. W.W. Smith_Cancer _ Jane Doe). Early submissions are always appreciated. The submission date is 9:00AM Friday, May 7, 2021. Questions can be directed to Connie at clw@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.