To ensure the best application experience, please review the 2027 TRC4 Grant Funding Program Overview in full before beginning your submission. Important updates have been made for the 2027 funding cycle.
Deadlines: LOIs Open: 12/1/2026 & LOIs Due: 1/5/2027; Full Proposal Due: 3/31/2027
Established in November 2022, the Trauma Research and Combat Casualty Care Collaborative (TRC4) is a research entity singularly focused on addressing the critical need for improved trauma care in the United States. The TRC4 involves an initial collaborative partnership between the University of Texas System and the Department of Defense and serves as a unique collaborative entity seeking to catalyze transformative research efforts into trauma care.
Mission: To harness the power of the University of Texas System to transform trauma care both on the battlefield and in the civilian sector.
Vision: To fund transformative inter-institutional collaborative basic, clinical, and translational research that can be rapidly translated to improve trauma care throughout the state of Texas, and ultimately nationally and internationally.
TRC4 funds groundbreaking trauma research, product development, and preventative measures through various grants and initiatives. By fostering a collaborative environment and investing in innovative projects, TRC4 aims to enhance the capabilities of trauma care, ultimately leading to improved outcomes.
Funding Mechanisms:
• Mechanism 1: Early Career Mentored Research Awards (5 years post-terminal degree or post-graduate clinical training completed. Ex: Clinical training was completed in May 2024, so you are eligible for ECMR until May 2029): Awards up to $200,000 total costs for research that is innovative and in the early stages of idea development or is an untested theory that addresses an important problem associated with trauma. Preliminary data are not required.
• Mechanism 2: Proof of Concept Research Awards: Awards up to $100,000 total costs for research that is innovative, high-risk/high-reward and in the early stages of idea development or is an untested theory that addresses an important problem associated with trauma. Preliminary data are not required.
• Mechanism 3: Preclinical and Translational Research Awards: Awards up to $500,000 total costs for research that is supported by substantial preliminary or published data. Clinical trials are not allowed under this funding opportunity.
• Mechanism 4: Clinical Research Awards: Awards up to $500,000 total costs for research supported by substantial preliminary or published data. Clinical trials are allowed under this funding opportunity.
Program Focus Areas: Applications must address at least one of the following research areas of interest (in no particular order):
Research Areas of Interest: Applications must address at least one of the following research areas of interest (in no particular order):
Eligibility: The Principal Investigator (PI) must have a primary appointment at an institution within The University of Texas System. For the Early Career Mentored Research Award only, the PI must be within five (5) years post-terminal degree or post-graduate clinical training completed (Ex: Clinical training was completed in May 2024, so you are eligible for ECMR until May 2029), and a mentor must be identified as part of the research (as Co-PI within the application).
Partnerships between research universities in the UT System are encouraged, with the intent of helping newer programs gain the experience and data needed for subsequent extramural grant applications.
Period of Performance: The Period of Performance for all mechanisms is anticipated to be October 1, 2027 – June 30, 2029. Budgets should be prepared using the template provided for the entire duration of the project. Total cost figures are inclusive of direct and indirect costs. The Period of performance timeframe will be dependent on receipt of funding from the UT System Board of Regents and the Texas Legislature.
Use of Funds: Funds may be used for project-specific research costs, including but not limited to: equipment, supplies, services, institutional core facility usage costs, and personnel support for individuals working directly on the project, including the Principal Investigator (PI), Co-Investigators, the faculty mentor (Early Career Mentored Research Awards only), support staff, students and postdocs. Student tuition costs are allowable to the extent allowed by institutional policy. Travel costs should be limited and included only if such travel provides a direct benefit to the project. Consulting costs should be limited and only included under exceptional circumstances.
Collaborations are encouraged and may take several different forms depending on the nature of the partnership, level of involvement, and responsibilities of the collaborating entity. Below is a list of common collaboration types and their general requirements:
Subaward: A third-party organization performs a substantive portion of the sponsored research project and is responsible for programmatic decisions, scientific contributions, and achieving specific project objectives.
Contractor / Vendor (Fee-for-Service): An external entity provides a specific good or service in support of the project without contributing intellectual input or participating in the research design, direction, or overall scientific objectives.
Consultant: An individual or organization provides specialized expertise, advice, or guidance to support the research project but does not perform a significant portion of the research activities or have responsibility for achieving project outcomes.
For collaborations with external entities, including non-UT institutions, industry partners, or government organizations, invoices will be managed by the lead department at the UT institution responsible for the project. Collaboration arrangements may be categorized differently by each participating institution, which may result in varying account setup requirements and additional processing time. Invoices submitted to TRC4 will only be accepted from the awarded UT institutions. (UTSA Health and Academic campuses will follow their established internal processes for managing collaborative agreements and payments.)
For collaborations involving other University of Texas System institutions, one institution will serve as the lead institution and will identify the collaborating UT institution(s) as subawardees within the application and budget (listed as UT System Subawards). However, the TRC4 program will issue separate direct awards to each institution for its respective portion of the funding.
Please note that TRC4 timelines are firm, and deadlines are non-negotiable. All collaborative arrangements will follow a cost-reimbursable payment model and require additional administrative processing time among the participating institutions. These timelines should be considered when developing project plans, establishing agreements, and determining project start dates.
Unallowable expenses include: entertainment expenses, alcohol, bad debts, and stipend payments to supplement a federal or non-federal fellowship. Lastly, TRC4 funding cannot be utilized for cost sharing or matching. For any costs to be charged directly to a TRC4 award, the expense must be allowable, allocable, reasonable and applied consistently
Facilities & Administrative (F&A) or Indirect Costs up to a maximum of 10% of total direct costs (excluding subawards) are allowable. In other words, each institution may receive 10% indirect costs on its own total direct costs only; prime recipients may not receive indirect costs on any portion of its subaward total costs. Indirect costs are included within any total cost limitations as stated in award guidance.
Submission, Terms, and Conditions
All applications (both letters of intent and full proposals) must be submitted through the Survey Monkey Apply platform (https://apply-uthscsa.smapply.io/) under the Principal Investigator’s account. The funding opportunity at that site is listed as: 2027 TRC4 Grant Program. There is a limit of three (3) applications per Principal Investigator/Applicant. Please note that similar topics/applications will be reviewed by the same panel.
A required letter of intent (LOI) must be submitted by Tuesday, January 5, 2027 at 11:59 pm Central Time and should include the title of the project, name and title of principal investigator (PI) and a brief summary of the project. Note that the LOI is required for planning purposes and will serve as a screening tool for proposal submission.
The deadline for receipt of the full application is Wednesday, March 31, 2027 at 11:59 pm Central Time. If you have any questions, please contact TRC4.
Funding: Funding decisions will be based on scientific merit, as well as programmatic considerations, such as breadth and depth of the overall research portfolio, interactions among partners, community involvement, and balance among program areas and disciplines.
Award Management: The PI will make all arrangements for the conduct of proposed research projects and assumes responsibility for conducting the research projects and supervising the work of all associate investigators and project team members. All communications regarding the funded grant will be routed to the UT Principal Investigator.
All TRC4 awards will be awarded on a cost reimbursable basis. All project expenses must be incurred no later than June 30, 2029 and final invoices must be received no later than July 31, 2029. Extensions on expenditure and invoicing deadlines will not be possible. When subawards are included, be sure to set appropriate deadlines for subaward invoicing so that the prime recipient’s total costs can be captured within the final invoice.
Interim progress reports are due at five (5) – six (6) month intervals for the duration of the period of performance. Each report is due thirty (30) days following the period of the report, as follows:
• Interim Report due March 31, 2028; reporting period through February 2028
• Interim Report due August 31, 2028; reporting period through July 2028
• Interim Report due January 31, 2029; reporting period through December 2028
• Final Report due July 31, 2029; reporting period through June 2029
Institutional Approval: Applicants, PI’s, Subawardees, etc, are required to work with their institution’s Office of Sponsored Programs or equivalent if institutional endorsement is required to be obtained on TRC4 applications prior to submission through the application receipt system.
All institutional approvals, including IRB, IACUC, IBC and COI, must be obtained upon award execution and maintained at the applicant’s institution. The expectation is that institutional approvals (INCLUDING IRB, IACUC, IBC and COI as applicable) will be obtained and the project initiated/funds disbursed within 30 days of award. If a different timeline is anticipated, you must explicitly address this in the application.
All Letters of Intent (LOIs) and full application components must be submitted by the specified deadlines and adhere to the requirements outlined within the overviews or instructions. Failure to comply with any of the listed requirements or deadlines will result in the rejection of the application.
Questions: For questions on the RFA or programmatic issues, please contact: TRC4 Director of Research Operations, Christina Spencer, at spencerc3@uthscsa.edu