Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are the primary goals of The Charles E. Kaufman Foundation?
A: The Kaufman Foundation was established to fund groundbreaking and innovative research at Pennsylvania higher education institutions in the fields of biology, chemistry and physics. Priority is given to projects that have a high potential impact on the scientific community and show outstanding promise in their respective subfields. While a majority of recent projects have been fundamental in nature, there are an increasing number of clinical project submissions that have been considered.

Q: What is meant by “new initiative”?
A: A new initiative is a novel research idea on which investigators have not previously collaborated. Investigators can have previously worked together and/or published together, but the proposal must clearly demonstrate that collaboration for this proposal is in support of a new research initiative.

Q: How competitive are The Charles E. Kaufman Foundation awards?
A: On average, 5% of New Initiative LOIs and 8% of New Investigator LOIs are recommended for a Charles E. Kaufman Foundation award. If invited to submit a full proposal, an average of 27% of New Initiative and 37% of New Investigator full proposals are recommended for a Charles E. Kaufman Foundation award.
*Based on data from 2019 – 2024

Q: What is the general number of Letters of Intent (LOIs) received, and how many are invited to submit a full proposal?
A: The New Initiative program receives an average of 76 LOIs per year. On average, 18% of applicants received a full proposal invitation. The New Investigator program receives an average of 58 LOIs per year. On average, 21% of applicants received a full proposal invitation.
*Based on data from 2019 – 2024

Q: Is an investigator eligible to apply for a Charles E. Kaufman grant if they will be a permanent resident by the time the grant is awarded?
A: No. All investigators (PIs and Co-PIs) must be U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents by the date of the LOI deadline.

Q: Is an investigator eligible to apply for a Charles E. Kaufman grant if they begin a new position after the LOI deadline but before grants are awarded?
A: Yes. An investigator is eligible to apply if their tenure-track position begins before the start date of potential funding, which is Nov. 1. If their position starts by Nov. 1, but after the LOI deadline, they must describe this situation fully in the letter of intent and provide additional contact information for a faculty member who can confirm their status and position at the institution.

Q: Can the same applicant be a PI on a New Investigator LOI submission and a Co-PI on a New Initiative LOI submission?
A: Yes.

Q: Can the same applicant be a Co-PI on multiple New Initiative LOIs?
A: Yes.

Q: Can the same applicant be a PI on a New Initiative LOI and a Co-PI on another New Initiative LOI?
A: Yes.

Q: Can the same applicant be a PI on a New Investigator LOI and a PI on a New Initiative LOI?
A: No. An applicant may only apply as PI on one LOI.

Q: Can a PI or Co-PI be a clinical scientist or faculty from a medical school?
A: Yes. The Charles E. Kaufman Foundation has awarded grants to medical school faculty. However, it is important that the LOI clearly states how the proposal is based on fundamental science, not applied.

Q: The New Investigator guidelines state that applicants must have not yet competed successfully as a PI to receive substantial independent NIH funding. Are there other forms of exclusionary funding?
A: Yes. This criterion is meant to discourage applicants who are competitive for a NIH R01 or equivalent NSF/DoD/DoE/HHMI. Some examples of non-disqualifying grants investigators may have previously been awarded include NIH K99/R00, NIAID R56 Bridge, NSF BRC-BIO and NSF Engineering Research Initiation (ERI). This is not an exhaustive list, and we encourage applicants to reach out to The Charles E. Kaufman Foundation staff at kaufmanapps@pghfdn.org with questions about specific awards.

Q: The New Investigator program requires that PIs must not be more than 10 years out from receiving their Ph.D. Are there any cases for which an exemption may be considered?
A: Yes. Exemptions are handled on a case-by-case basis. Examples of extenuating circumstances that would be considered include: childbirth, family care responsibilities, medical concerns, disability, extended periods of clinical training, natural disasters and active-duty military service. To be considered for an exemption, please submit a rationale during the LOI stage to Michael Yonas at yonasm@pghfdn.org, copying kaufmanapps@pghfdn.org.

Q: Is a New Initiative LOI ineligible for consideration if one of the investigators has been funded through The Charles E. Kaufman Foundation before?
A: No. Multiple awardees of The Charles E. Kaufman Foundation have received 2 or more grants.

Q: Is an applicant eligible to apply for the New Initiative award if they've already received seed funding for this proposal from their institution?
A: It depends on the amount. We encourage any applicant with questions about seed funding to reach out to The Charles E. Kaufman Foundation staff at kaufmanapps@pghfdn.org.

Q: What is the review process like? 
A: The Charles E. Kaufman Foundation employs a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) with a variety of scientific disciplines to rigorously review applications at both the LOI and full proposal stages.

Letter of Intent (LOI) Stage- Applications are distributed amongst the SAB members to be read and scored separately. During the SAB review meeting, the merits of each competitive LOI are discussed by the entire SAB. Then, the most competitive LOI applicants are invited to submit a full project proposal. Due to the volume of submissions, feedback is not available at the LOI stage.

Full Proposal Stage - All SAB members read each proposal and provide individual scores. The SAB then convenes to discuss the merits of each proposal. The proposals are ranked to determine funding recommendation, which is ultimately approved by the Charles E. Kaufman Foundation Board of Directors. The SAB provides feedback for every full proposal, regardless of funding determination.

It is imperative at each stage that the applicant considers the variety of scientific disciplines of the SAB and prepares their application accordingly. Bias and conflicts of interest are thoroughly accounted for at both stages.

Q: What criteria are used to evaluate Letters of Intent?
A: LOIs are first screened for eligibility based on the guidelines for each grant program. Once past the eligibility check, LOIs are evaluated for the novelty of the science presented, the robustness of the methodology and the potential impact of the work on the scientific community at large. The clarity of the LOI for a non-expert scientific review audience is also considered. The Charles E. Kaufman Foundation prioritizes work that is curiosity-driven, addressing fundamental processes but in the context of their potential application for the betterment of humankind.

Q: Does it matter which institution serves as the primary site if investigators are from different institutions?
A: No. The Charles E. Kaufman Foundation only requires that the institution has the capacity to house the award and fulfill all legal expectations therein.

Q: For the New Initiative program, is there a preference for which investigator serves as the PI? Should they be more senior, have more research experience in the proposed area, etc.?
A: No. The Charles E. Kaufman Foundation only requires that the PI and their corresponding institution have the administrative capacity and skills to manage the grant.

Q: If an applicant makes an essential faculty connection after submitting an LOI, can this new collaborator be included as a co-investigator in the full proposal?
A: Depends - the invitation for a full proposal is based on the content of the LOI, so it is not permissible to replace one Co-PI with another between review stages. However, it is permissible to add an additional Co-PI to the full proposal if it is clearly communicated why this collaborator was not included at the LOI stage and how their contribution is essential to the research proposal.

Q: Do resubmissions of LOIs or full proposals get special consideration when reapplying? 
A: No. There is no priority given to resubmissions; rather, the SAB shows the same consideration to resubmissions as other applications. Full proposal resubmissions may benefit from feedback received on the prior full proposal submission, as all full proposal submissions receive commentary from the SAB, regardless of funding outcome.

Q: What is allowable in an IREG grant budget?
A: Allowable IREG budget components may include – but are not limited to – salaries of postdoctoral researchers and other research staff, stipends for graduate and undergraduate researchers, equipment, supplies, publication costs and travel to scientific meetings. Summer salary for investigators must not exceed 10% of the budget. Budget items not supported include indirect costs, institution overhead, tuition or student fees (ex: computer lab fees, transportation fees, graduate student activity fees), construction or renovation costs, consultants or academic-year salary for the principal investigator.

Q: What is allowable in a New Initiative or New Investigator grant budget?
A: Allowable NINIT/NINV budget components can include – but are not limited to – salaries of postdoctoral researchers and other research staff, stipends for graduate and undergraduate researchers, equipment, supplies, publication costs and travel to scientific meetings. Indirect costs must not exceed 10% of the budget. Budget items not supported include tuition or student fees (ex: computer lab fees, transportation fees, graduate student activity fees), construction or renovation costs, consultants or salary for the Principal or Co-Investigators.

Q: What is the difference in allowable budget components between New Initiative, New Investigator and IREG grants?
A: New Initiative and New Investigator grant budgets can include 10% for indirects, whereas IREG budgets can include 10% for PI summer salary. IREG budgets cannot include indirects or institutional overhead budget items. Tuition and student fees, capital improvements and consultant costs are never allowable budget items for any Charles E. Kaufman grants.

Q: What kind of capital expenses are not eligible for funding?
A: For the purposes of the New Investigator and New Initiative grants, if any equipment in question can be used for multiple projects, it is not appropriate for Charles E. Kaufman funding and should be considered an institutional capital expense. Equipment requests should be specific to the project reflected in the Letter of Intent (LOI). However, the IREG program has more lenient standards for capital expense funding as applications often come from institutions with limited scientific infrastructure. Generally, if the proposed grant budget is primarily to fund the purchase of equipment, it will not be considered favorably by The Charles E. Kaufman Foundation.

Q: What does it mean that competitive LOIs are written for an audience with scientific expertise over a broad range of disciplines?
A: The Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), who is employed by the Charles E. Kaufman Foundation to review LOIs and full proposals, is comprised of scientists with expertise in varying subfields of biology, chemistry and physics. Because the LOIs are reviewed by all SAB members, they must contain language that is comprehensible to scientists with expertise in different disciplines. Please craft your LOI for a more general (but still scientifically rigorous) audience.

Q: May I receive feedback on a previously submitted LOI?
A: No. Because of the large number of requests, the Charles E. Kaufman Foundation Scientific Advisory Board is unable to provide panel comments from the Letter of Intent stage.

Q: Does the LOI need to include information on current and pending funding from external sources?
A Yes. This information should be included in the cover letter of the LOI. If the proposed research in the LOI has content overlap with any awarded or pending funding, please articulate the ways in which the proposed research is distinct from already funded work.

Q: Can figures be included in the LOI?
A: Yes. An applicant should consider if figures are an effective use of space as research project descriptions are allocated one page at the LOI stage. Due to space restrictions, please limit the number of figures to one or two at most. If figures are included, please make it clear how they relate to the content of your LOI. While a figure may be effective in communicating a concept, it may also ultimately detract from the proposal.

Q: Can a pre-print paper be used as a publication referenced in the LOI?
A: Yes. Please note a pre-print paper as either [in preparation], [submitted, in peer review] or [accepted for publication], listing the journal and acceptance date.

Q: Do letters of support need to come from faculty in Pennsylvania?
A: No.