Virginia Kaufman Pain Research Challenge

Virginia Kaufman Pain Research Challenge logo in white

Virginia Kaufman Pain Research Challenge

The Virginia Kaufman Pain Research Challenge, funded by the Virginia Kaufman Endowment Fund, seeks innovative solutions for pain, welcoming applications addressing physical or mental pain.

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What's your solution to ease the burden of pain?

Pain is a major public health problem, and tackling it involves collaboration and creativity. The Virginia Kaufman Pain Research Challenge is a funding program to move innovative solutions for pain one step closer to impacting the lives of our community.

The program welcomes applications from teams that address either physical or mental aspects of pain. This can includes the dynamics of pain, causes and alleviation of pain, and/or treatments to prevent or mitigate pain.

The Pain Research Challenge is sponsored by the Virginia Kaufman Endowment Fund, named after the prominent Pittsburgh advertising executive’s generous donation to the University of Pittsburgh.

Let's take Pain out of the picture banner featuring faces of several people depicting pain

Award Details:

Awards of $75,000 from the Virginia Kaufman Endowment Fund will cover direct costs for a 12-month project led by a Pitt faculty member. Award periods begin following all regulatory and administrative approvals. Awardees will also receive in-kind CTSI project management support for the duration of their award period.

Eligibility:

Scope: Projects must address a specific problem in the area of pain (acute or chronic, mental or physical pain). Projects that address mechanisms, diagnostics, and/or modalities of pain are acceptable. An emphasis will be placed on proposals that have a clearly-developed Path to Impact plan.

Team: The Principal Investigator (PI) must be a University of Pittsburgh faculty member; postdoctoral trainees and non-faculty level trainees in clinical training programs are not eligible to serve as PI. Study teams are encouraged to include cross-disciplinary collaborations, including co-Investigators from other institutions or partnerships with non-academic industry or community partners.

How It Works

Application: Round 1 Letter of Intent is due on InfoReady by Friday, March 13, 2026, by 11:59 p.m.

2026 Awardees Announced: Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at Pitt Center for Research event

Earliest Award Start Date: June 1, 2026

Application Materials:

Letter of Intent
Narrated PPT Guide

Project Proposal

  • Problem: Does the proposal identify a critical barrier in the field? Is the project description clearly defined?
  • Solution: Does the proposed solution address the described problem? Is the solution clearly defined?
  • Communication: Does the proposal tell a clear, concise, and compelling story?

Project Plan:

  • Milestones: Does the project plan fit the scope of this 12-month, $50,000 award to ease the burden of pain?
  • Team: Does the team reflect the range of expertise necessary to complete the project milestone?

Project Innovation

  • Novelty: How unique is the proposed solution from the status quo? Does the solution shift current clinical or research paradigms to address an unmet need?
  • Path to Impact: Is there a clear and reasonable implementation plan for this solution to improve the health of individuals and/or communities?
  • Overall Project Impact: After successful development, will this solution clearly address the critical barrier in individual health, society, and/or biomedical knowledge?

Path to Impact:

  • We welcome applications from early-stage solutions – this section asks you to identify the project’s current stage of development along the Path to Impact continuum and define the macro-level steps needed to make an impact on the health of individuals, communities, and/or biomedical knowledge. For more developed solutions, align your application’s milestones with the immediate next steps of the Path to Impact continuum.

Intellectual Property:

  • Before you share your ideas with outside parties or present your work publicly (conferences, publications, or media), we encourage you to submit an Invention Disclosure to the Innovation Institute. Please email us at pain@pitt.edu if you would like to initiate intellectual property discussions or draft an Invention Disclosure.

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Whether you’re refining a proposal or exploring a new project, we’re here to help bring your vision to life. 

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