RM-CRC 2026 Request for Applicants

The RM-CRC is pleased to announce research funding opportunities for cannabis research Pilot Projects.  This webpage includes a brief summary of the Pilot Project Award Program. Interested applicants can find full details and application instructions here: RM-CRC Pilot Project RFA 2026

There are two categories of Pilot Project Awards, summarized in the table below: 

Important Dates: 2026 Request for Applicants

Award Eligibility and Categories 

---

Eligibility Summary:

Applicants must have a full-time faculty appointment at the University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz and/or one or more of the following affiliate institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, Georgia State University, Emory University.

• An individual may be included as Key Personnel on only one Pilot Project application in an award year.
• Graduate students, undergraduate students, and PRAs are encouraged to participate in non-Key Personnel roles.
• All awarded projects which include human subjects research are subject to Institutional Review Board (IRB) policy.

Applicants who are submitting or listed as Key Personnel on Pilot Project applications must become affiliates of the RM-CRC in order to submit an application.

The RM-CRC Pilot Project Program seeks to fund at least 2 Pilot Project awards annually across two categories:

1. Pilot Project Award: The RM-CRC seeks to attract experienced investigators across diverse fields of expertise and medical subspecialties. Applicants for this pilot award are expected to have previous success in obtaining external funding for research projects, with an emphasis on broader research experience rather than a specific focus on cannabis-related studies.
2. Early Investigator Pilot Project Award: Early Investigator Pilot Project awards provide opportunities for junior faculty who have not yet received substantial extramural research funding.

Mentor/Co-I Required: Junior faculty who are instructors, senior instructors, or early assistant professors with limited research experience and no prior research funding must include a more senior faculty mentor (Associate Professor or above) as a Co-I on their pilot project application. Post-doctoral fellows may be eligible to apply for mentored Early Investigator Pilot Project Awards if they have a current junior faculty appointment OR a letter of institutional commitment of faculty appointment at an RM-CRC affiliated institution, if awarded. 

Mentor/Co-I Not Required: Junior faculty applicants who are assistant professors with previous research experience and/or who have received K or R21 awards but have not yet received an R01 or other higher level extramural research funding as principal investigator are not required to include a senior faculty mentor as a Co-I on their application.