BRIGHT Center for Biomedical Research Excellence

South Carolina Building Resilience through Innovative Interventions to promote Growth & Health after Trauma Center for Biomedical Research Excellence (BRIGHT Center) 

The BRIGHT Center aims to strengthen immediate and long-term capacity of early-stage investigators (ESIs) to conduct high-impact independent research with an emphasis on development and rigorous testing of innovative interventions and implementation strategies that aim to improve access to and quality of care among individuals affected by trauma. The Center will establish and grow a state of the art, highly impactful ‘one stop shop’ that leads to transformative advances in public health across SC and the traumatic stress field at large. 

One of the most pressing and significant public health crises currently facing the United States and beyond is the gaping need for exponential improvements in access and quality of healthcare for people affected by trauma. Stress that extends from traumatic events and chronic stressors, is a well-documented and consistent predictor of a wide range of mental health and physical health problems across the lifespan. The BRIGHT Center aims to close that gap by providing infrastructure that dramatically accelerates the growth in research. Through innovative multidisciplinary research programs, rigorous evaluation, and ongoing improvement strategies, The BRIGHT Center will produce high-impact research and other major grants that will extend from the impact of BRIGHT. 

Request For Applications: Year 3 Pilot Projects

The BRIGHT Center Pilot Project Program is excited to announce the release of the Year 3 (2027-2028) Request for Applications. 

The Pilot Program is a competitive program that utilizes an NIH-style review to fund Early Stage and New Investigators and other investigators entering trauma as a new area of research. Pilot studies that meet the NIH definition of a clinical trial will need to comply with all NIH clinical trial policies, including registering the clinical trial on ClinicalTrials.gov and regularly updating the project status. All pilot funds through this program must be spent in the United States. Pilot projects are intended to provide critical preliminary data that will be used to pursue competitive extramural grant awards and produce peer-reviewed publications.

Key Dates

• RFA Release Date: Wednesday, October 7, 2026
• Letter of Intent Due:  Friday, October 30 (5:00pm EST) - REQUIRED, *DEADLINE EXTENDED*
• Application Due Date: Wednesday, December 16, 2026 (5:00pm EST)
• Earliest Start Date: Thursday, July 1, 2027

Pilot Project Categories

Each pilot award application may request direct costs up to $50,000. Each award will have a 12-month duration.

• Early Stage/New Investigator - Provide mentored research experiences for investigators at MUSC or other SC institution that meet the definition of NIH ESI or New Investigators. These applications should propose a project mentor in a relevant field of trauma (as defined above), as well as a related mentoring plan.
• New Area of Research - Provide support for MUSC investigators at any career stage new to the field of trauma (or an aspect of the trauma field that differs from their prior trauma research). These applications should describe a PI’s current field of research and how their proposed pilot study reflects their entry into the trauma (or a different aspect of the field).

Complete details about the requirements and application process may be found in the full Request For Applications PDF.