The Global Health Office of Pediatrics at Emory (GHOPE) is happy to announce the GHOPE Seed Grant for 2026. This award is designed to support pilot research, quality improvement initiatives, or programmatic work focused on global child health that support sustainable partnerships. 

Potential applicants should submit their full application by April 15, 2026 to globalpediatrics@emory.edu and cc chris.rees@emory.edu. All applicants will be notified of decisions by May 31, 2026. The award period begins in the Summer of 2026. 

Project Period: July 1, 2026-June 30, 2027

Eligibility

  • The principal investigator must have a primary faculty appointment in the Emory School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics or Pediatric Institute, or be on the professional staff of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (Children’s)
  • Co-principal investigator(s) must be a partner affiliated with a low- or middle-income country or an underserved area in the United States.
  • Though not a requirement, preference will be given to applications that include opportunities for trainee (i.e., medical student, resident, or fellow in training) involvement. 

Requirements: The principal investigators must:

  • Submit a project report within 2 months of the end of the project period.
  • Present the results of the project at a local symposium.

Guiding Principles of GHOPE Seed Grant Awards

  • Focused on global child health defined as child health in underserved areas including low- and middle-income countries or in settings and among populations in the United States that are historically underserved
  • Promote strategic alliance and/or sustained partnership between GHOPE and partner organizations
  • Have the potential to secure extramural funding during/following the award period for the GHOPE Seed Grant Award
  • Promote a respectful partnership through mutuality in planning, implementation, and evaluation
  • Be endorsed by partner organization

What types of projects may be supported by these grants?

All proposals must include appropriate, specific, measurable performance goals and targets and be feasible within the identified timeframe and budget. Any of the following project types will be considered:

  • Research (outcomes, translational, epidemiologic, and behavioral)
  • Health policy development and implementation
  • Health promotion or education
  • Health systems strengthening and capacity building
  • Program evaluation
  • Quality Improvement

 

What are allowable expenses?

  • Travel & communication for project
  • Data collection
  • Data analyses using biostats core
  • Planning and start-up activities
  • Equipment or material costs
  • Publication fees (not covered by Emory Open Access Fund)
  • May include a maximum of $3,000 for conference-related travel expenses

What are unallowable expenses?

  • Resident or fellow salary
  • Faculty effort (should be in-kind within budget and approved by division director)
  • Emory/Children's staff time is discouraged unless necessary (please include strong justification in proposal.)
  • Indirect costs should not be included.

What happens to funds not spent by the project end date?

  • All funds not spent by the project end date are returned to GHOPE.

What happens if I cannot complete my project by the project end date?

  • All awardees may request one 12-month no cost extension (NCE) of the project period. Strong justification is required, and the request must be submitted by written request to globalpediatrics@emory.edu and cc chris.rees@emory.edu at least 60 days prior to the original project end date.

See the list of prior awardees below:

Toward Expanding Uptake of Maternal Vaccination in Ethiopia: A Systems-Based Approach to Understanding Catalysts and Catches of Maternal Immunization
Lisa Cranmer, MD, MPH & Elizabeth Quincer, MD

STIGMA: Decreasing Stigma During Healthcare Transition Through an Iteratively Designed Group-Based Social Media Motivational Interviewing Intervention for Adolescents Living with HIV in South Africa
Brian Zanoni, MD, MPH & Madeleine Goldstein, DO

Heavy Metal Toxicity and Community Risk Perceptions in Pediatric Populations after the Brumadinho Mining Disaster in Brazil
Rebecca Philipsborn, MD, MPA & Kristine Sufcak, MD

A mixed methods approach to identify strategies to increase human papillomavirus vaccination  uptake among Tanzanian adolescent girls

Rewa Choudhary, MD

Program Questions
Chris A. Rees, MD, MPH
Director, Global Health Office of Pediatrics
Assistant Professor, Departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine 

chris.rees@emory.edu

Application Components

Applications must be submitted with PDF files for each of the following items. All documents must be single-spaced, Arial 11 font, with 1" margins:

  • NIH-style biosketches for Emory principal investigator and co-principal investigator from partner site
    • No need to include an NIH biosketch for trainees, but the CV of the trainee should be included
  • Abstract that includes the specific aims (maximum 350 words - no references)
  • Main proposal (Maximum 3 pages total. References do not count against the page limit)
    • Title
    • Specific Aims
    • Background to provide context for the proposed work
      • Include prior work by the proposed team as well as research gaps that will be addressed by the proposed work
    • Methods/experimental design/project description
    • Impact and relevance to global child health
    • Description of the end-product that will communicate the results of the project (e.g. presenting an abstract at a regional or national meeting in your field, a manuscript or a grant application to further the research project)
    • Sustainability plan
    • Project timeline

Applications also must include:

  • Detailed line item budget in an Excel template and detailed budget justification
  • Letter of support from the partner organization
  • Letter of support from division director committing to support of the proposed project and support of any in kind effort
  • Plans for IRB approval (including approvals at partner study sites if applicable) or letter of determination that this project is non-human studies research.
    • If you are unsure whether your project is human subjects research, we recommend that you request an official determination from the IRB.


In addition, if your budget includes the Pediatric Biostatistics Core, it is strongly recommended that you consult with the core prior to preparing your budget to get an official estimate of the time needed to complete your project. Additionally, co-investigators from the Pediatric Biostatistics Core are strongly encouraged. 

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