11 Pitt researchers earned support from the Competitive Medical Research Fund

The Competitive Medical Research Fund (CMRF) awarded grants to 11 University of Pittsburgh biomedical researchers. Supported by UPMC, CMRF primarily provides funding for junior independent scientists at Pitt to develop preliminary data, hypotheses and methods for competitive national grant applications.

Over the past five years, the success rate for applications has averaged more than 35%. Standard CMRF awards are $30,000, with potential funding up to $50,000.

Here are the 2024 award recipients:

• Ümit Akbey, assistant professor of structural biology in the School of Medicine
• Yomna Badawi, research assistant professor of neuroscience in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
• Yu-Chih Chen, assistant professor of computational and systems biology in the School of Medicine
• Joseph Church, assistant professor of surgery in the School of Medicine
• Peng Gao, assistant professor of environmental and occupational health in the School of Public Health
• Marcus Malek, assistant professor of surgery in the School of Medicine
• Maya Ragavan, assistant professor of pediatrics in the School of Medicine
• Deepika Vasudevan, assistant professor of cell biology in the School of Medicine
• Hua Zhang, assistant professor of hematology and oncology in the School of Medicine
• Haodi Wu, assistant professor in Pitt Med’s Vascular Medicine Institute
• Hamza Yazdani, research assistant professor of surgery in the School of Medicine

The experience of applying and receiving feedback from CMRF is valuable regardless of funding outcomes. The deadline to apply for the 2025 fiscal year awards is Friday, Jan. 12; funding will be granted July 1.