Prize for Academic Collaboration and Excellence (PACE)

UMass Memorial Medical Group: Advancing Academic Excellence

At UMass Memorial Medical Group, we are dedicated to fostering academic achievement among our physicians. To support this commitment, we created the Prize for Academic Collaboration and Excellence (PACE), which provides funding for innovative research led by our Medical Group faculty.

Program Overview

The PACE Prize, funded by a $400,000 grant from UMass Memorial Medical Group and UMass Chan Medical School, is designed to:

  • Advance innovative, investigator-initiated research
  • Promote collaboration across Medical Group departments and with Basic Science faculty at UMass Chan Medical School
  • Highlight the Medical Group’s identity as a community of academic physicians committed to excellence in patient care, research, and education
     

Award Details

  • Funding: Up to $200,000 per project
  • Eligibility: Open to all areas of investigation. Successful projects are expected to attract future extramural funding. 
  • Use of Funds:
    • Trainee support, reagents, core services, and small equipment.
    • Up to 25% of the award can support PI salaries over two years.
    • Indirect costs are not permitted.
  • Award Availability: The number of awards will depend on the top five submissions selected.
     

Eligibility and Application Criteria

Research Goals:

  • Must involve an interdepartmental team of two or more Medical Group departments
  • Collaboration with Basic Science departments is strongly encouraged
     

Principal Investigator (PI) Requirements:

  • All PIs must be Medical Group faculty.
  • At least one PI must be an assistant or associate professor.
  • Multiple PIs (MPIs) or co-investigators from the Medical School are encouraged.
     

Project Preferences:

  • Investigators with limited prior external funding
  • Research with strong clinical translation potential
  • Proposals demonstrating promise for external funding and sustained impact
  • Projects utilizing resources from the UMass Center for Clinical and Translational Science (UMCCTS) will receive added consideration.
     

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals are reviewed based on:

  • Intellectual Merit: Research that enhances the impact of scholarship on improving human health, including enabling technologies
  • Collaboration: Transdisciplinary projects involving multiple departments, including Basic Science
  • Alignment to True North: Projects that align with institutional strategic priorities
  • Growth Opportunity: Potential to attract and secure external funding from diverse sources
     

Additional Information

The window for 2024 applications is now closed.

Questions? Contact Dr. Diane McKee or Dr. Max Rosen.

UMass Memorial Medical Group is proud to support academic physicians in achieving groundbreaking advancements that improve patient care and outcomes.

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