PIKO-II DEVELOPMENTAL AND MULTI-SITE COLLABORATIVE AWARD PROGRAM: CALL FOR SPECIFIC AIMS NOW OPEN!

Aloha!

The PIKO Center (NIH/NIGMS) is now accepting submissions for the Developmental and Multi-Site Collaborative Awards Call for Specific Aims. 

PIKO is seeking proposals for hypothesis-driven, clinical and translational research (CTR) projects that address physical, psychological and/or behavioral health concerns for populations in Hawai‘i. Clinical research is defined as research conducted with human subjects (i.e., patients or at-risk populations), and translational research is defined as the process of turning observations from laboratory, clinic, and/or community into interventions that improve health. These proposals should reflect community/academic partnerships within or across IDeA states (i.e., Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming). 

Details for each award type are described below.  Please review the attached announcement for full award details and eligibility.

Submission Deadline:  Friday, May 22, 2026 at 12 pm

Application Link: https://redcap.link/h8nmu15m

Developmental Award

Research Scope:  The two-year Developmental Award is designed to support investigators of all career stages with suitable scientific and administrative expertise to conduct exploratory research with the potential to lead to a larger NIH research project grant (R01, U01).  For more details please see attached Announcement.

Funding: 

• Developmental Awards will be funded for two years ($100,000 per year with no indirect costs), pending internal and study section review and final approval by the External Advisory Committee and funding agency (NIH/NIGMS)
• Year 2 funding is contingent on satisfactory progress toward research aims.
• Up to 3 Developmental Awards will be funded each round.

Multi-Site Award

Research Scope: Proposals considered responsive to this call will focus on CTR with populations in Hawai‘i bearing substantial health concerns and conditions. Further, proposals that occur across two or more islands across the State of Hawai‘i and/or across multiple IDeA states are considered responsive to this call. Clinical and/or translational research proposals focused on efficacy, effectiveness, implementation, adoption, and sustainability of health interventions are the primary focus of this call.  For more details, please see attached Announcement.

Funding

• One Multi-Site project will be funded for five years ($400,000 per year with no indirect costs), pending internal and study section review and approval by the External Advisory Committee and funding agency (NIH/NIGMS). Continued funding is contingent upon the satisfactory progress toward research aims.
• Year 1 will be an implementation year where project milestones will need to be achieved and approved by PIKO Leadership by the end of the year. Years 2-5 will focus on the execution of the Multi-Site project.

Applications are being solicited in anticipation of PIKO renewal funding.

IMPORTANT DATES:

Invitation to Call for Specific Aims for both Developmental and Multi-Site Awards	Monday, April 13, 2026
Instructional Webinars  via Zoom (Both Developmental and Multi-Site Awards will be covered)	Webinar #1:  Monday, April 20, 2026 (12 – 1pm)  Zoom Link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/88166574611  Meeting ID: 881 6657 4611     Webinar #2 (Community Partners only): Monday, April 27, 2026 (12 – 1pm)  Zoom Link: https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/87471065389  Meeting ID: 874 7106 5389
Deadline to Submit Call for Specific Aims	Friday, May 22, 2026 (12 pm)
Invitation to Submit Full Proposals	Monday, June 1, 2026

INQUIRIES:

We encourage inquiries concerning this funding announcement. Interested applicants may contact the following PIKO Health Research (HR) Core Leads:

Tumaini Coker, MD, MBA, HR Core Director (for Physician/Clinician Inquiries): tumaini.coker@hphmg.org

Scott Okamoto, PhD, HR Core Associate Core Director (for General Inquiries): okamotos@hawaii.edu

CALL FOR SPECIFIC AIMS