Friday Morning: Penn Medicine pauses pilot grants

Friday, March 7

Good morning, Penn.

Happy Friday, Penn! Congratulations on getting through all your midterms! Whether you’re traveling, going home, or staying on campus, I hope everyone has a fantastic spring break. Unfortunately, you won’t be seeing me or my fellow anchors in your inbox next week, but DP Daybreak will resume on March 17.

Penn’s Undergraduate Assembly released its 2025-26 funding allocations for student groups, and Penn’s International Student and Scholar Services issued a travel warning to international students from select countries.

But first, the Perelman School of Medicine announced a pause for institutionally funded pilot grants.

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Perelman School of Medicine pauses institutionally funded pilot grants

The Perelman School of Medicine has paused institutionally funded pilot grants amid federal funding cuts, according to a Feb. 28 email obtained by The Daily Pennsylvanian.

Pilot grants typically range between $25,000 and $200,000 and are designed to help researchers gain preliminary data to establish the importance of their field of inquiry before gaining additional, more substantive funding. Faculty say these grants often help junior faculty “get their careers launched” and support early-stage research.

In the email, Managing Director of Research Programs at Penn Medicine Bridget Dougherty attributed the pause to anticipated National Institutes of Health funding cuts and said that the pause would remain “until there is clarity about resources needed to manage gaps in NIH support over the next few months.” The pause comes after Penn ordered graduate programs to reduce and rescind graduate admissions – including a 35% cut for Penn Medicine Ph.D. programs.

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