Western New York BloodCare (WNYBC) was founded as the Hemophilia Center of Western New York (WNY) in 1969 and is now the region’s premier Hemophilia Treatment Center.  We specialize in state-of-the-art diagnostic, clinical, and pharmaceutical services, as well as research, advocacy, education and community outreach — all to provide the most comprehensive, compassionate, and complete care possible. We are proud to have served patients and their families across WNY’s eight counties for more than 50 years.

 

• Mission: To foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing, harness local expertise to make meaningful, impactful, and intentional use of funding to support basic, translational, clinical, health equity, outcomes, and public health research at a local, regional, and national level.
• Vision: To improve health outcomes and prevent complications of hemophilia and other complex hemostatic and thrombotic disorders, by creating an interdisciplinary program of research, integrated interprofessional training and clinical care for all.

 

This program has been established by the WNYBC Research and Training Initiative (RTI) to promote, nurture, and amplify scientific discovery and innovation in Western New York and the region (HRSA Region II). The WNYBC Discovery and Innovation Award will support basic, translational, and/or clinical research projects that will improve health outcomes, health equity, and/or prevent complications of hemophilia and/or hemostatic or thrombotic disorders, including:

(a) joint disease

(b) inhibitor formation

(c) Hepatitis C and/or HIV disease

(d) perinatal hemostasis

(e) complications of bleeding disorders

(f) new technologies for diagnosis/therapeutics

(g) novel therapeutics

(h) women with bleeding disorders

(i) von Willebrand disease

(j) thrombophilia

(k) models of care as it pertains to bleeding and clotting disorders, and other diagnoses as designated by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA).

Eligibility: The program invites proposals from higher education institutions (public/state controlled, private), and non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations that have a history and track record of serving the community of bleeding and clotting disorders. Principal Investigators/Program Directors (PI/PDs) who may apply are any individuals with the skills, knowledge, required resources, and who can apply through their organization.  There is no age requirement, however, applicant must have an MD, PhD, or equivalent; clearly state they have both independent research projects and independent resources; and have preliminary results/and or publications from their independent laboratory. This Award is open to candidates conducting research at a U.S. based not-for-profit institutions by the start date of the award. Priority is given to applicants within HRSA Region II.

 

Grant amount: Budget must not exceed $150,000/year, for up to three years (totaling $450,000). Up to two grants will be awarded annually.

 

WNYBC AI Use

• Grants and applications are considered confidential. Therefore, WNYBC will not analyze any submissions using any AI tool. We may use AI to summarize reviewer comments; however, individual grants will not be put into any AI models.
• All submission reviews and readings will be done by WNYBC staff and peer reviewers.

Additional Information

• AI is a public forum, and your ideas are not confidential if using AI. Please enter any proprietary or confidential information into AI tools with caution and in compliance with your institution’s privacy rules. It is recommended to turn off settings “sharing” or “adding to the model” to avoid disclosing confidential information.
• The accuracy of submissions and legal ownership of Intellectual Property (IP) are the responsibility of the applicant. Applicants must ensure they own the rights to all IP they have disclosed in AI.

 

**THIS RFA ENTAILS A TWO-STEP PROCESS**

Letter of Intent (LOI) Guidelines: A Letter of Intent is required in advance of full application submission and must include the following:

1. Primary Investigator’s name, title, position, and institution
2. Lay summary (75 words)—some of our reviewers are patients and patient advocates
3. Abstract summary (75 words)
4. Abstract (2000 words)
5. NIH-style Biosketch

All five documents must be combined into one PDF and emailed to mwiseman@wnybloodcare.org  with the subject line:

Last name, first name: 2026 Discovery and Innovation Award LOI

 

The LOI submission deadline is Friday, May 1, 2026.

*** In fairness to all there will be no exceptions to this deadline. ***

 

A team of advisors will review LOIs to determine the strength of each submitted proposal and alignment with the WNYBloodCare mission. You will receive notification in June 2026 indicating if you have been selected to advance to the next stage of application. Approved applicants will then be invited to submit a full application.

 

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Investigators who are invited to submit full applications requesting support through this program will have their proposals reviewed by the Research Committee of WNYBC RTI on an annual basis. Priority will be given to applications that:

1. Have a high likelihood for success in terms of significant impact on individuals with Hemophilia and/or hemostatic and thrombotic disorders;
2. Provide training opportunities for physician scientists and biomedical researchers;
3. Promote diversity and include collaborative efforts with a Hemophilia Treatment Center.

 

The administrative overhead should not exceed 10% of requested funds. The PI salary request should be for less than 5% effort. The funds should not be requested for capital improvement, payment of rents, construction, or paying monthly bills. By accepting support from this program, PIs will commit to present at an annual symposium organized by the RTI and submit six-month progress reports. This symposium will be an outreach to leading experts in hemostatic/thrombotic disorders and patients and their families. PIs also agree to acknowledge the financial support in their meeting presentations and publications. The duration of the proposal is for three years contingent upon meeting progress metrics (reviewed by Research Committee) such as publications in leading peer-reviewed journals and presentation at national and international conferences (i.e., Thrombosis and Hemostasis Society of North America, ASH). In select cases, revisions of applications responding to critiques will be permitted.

 

Timeline for Research grant process:

• Call for Proposals sent out: April 1, 2026
• LOI due: May 1, 2026
• Invitations to submit full proposal by June 1 2026
• Full Application due: July 15, 2026
• Review of the proposals: September 2026
• Decisions/approval: Fall 2026
• Award Letters: Late Fall 2026
• Grant start date: January 1, 2027
  • 6 month Progress Report due July 1, 2027
  • 1 year Report due: January 7, 2028
  • 5 year Progress Report due July 1, 2028
  • 2 year report (for multi-year awards): Jan 12, 2029
  • 5 year Progress Report due July 1, 2029
  • 3 year report (for multi-year awards): Jan 11, 2030

 

General guidelines:

Document Format: Arial or Calibri font, size 11; single or 1.5” spacing, 0.5 inch margins all around.

Submission Guidelines:

1. Cover Page
   1. Title of Project
   2. Institution
   3. Principal Investigator
   4. Contact information for Primary contact
   5. A brief paragraph describing how this research will have a significant impact on improving health outcomes and/or preventing complications for individuals with Hemophilia and/or hemostatic and thrombotic disorders.
2. Lay summary (75 words)—some of our reviewers are patients and patient advocates
3. Lab focus of Research
4. Proposal of specific program for which finds are being requested
   1. Introduction (2 pages)
   2. Specific aims (1 page)
   3. Discovery and Innovation: Describe more fully how this research will have a significant impact on individuals with Hemophilia and/or hemostatic and thrombotic disorders; provide training opportunities for physician scientists and biomedical researchers; and promote diversity and collaborative efforts with a Hemophilia Treatment Center (1 page)
   4. Project Plan (2-4 pages)
   5. Timeline (1 page)
5. Project budget and amount being requested from WNYBC
   1. Funds may be used for salary, supplies, equipment, or technical assistance.
   2. What other funding sources are currently in place for this project? What other funding sources are being pursued? If this funding request will supplement  a proposal already in consideration or awarded by any other sponsor, give details on that funding including abstract and a paragraph discussing how the proposed request will not overlap with other sponsored funding.
6. Attach a biosketch (NIH format) for key personnel and optional for additional personnel.
7. Letter of reference from institution.
8. Optionally, you may include reports, and/or papers related to your topic of submission.
9. Statement about any potential biohazards describing the safeguards used to prevent such hazards to the investigator, other personnel and or any other individuals
   1. WNYBC assumes no responsibility or liability for any such biohazards and shall be held harmless from the results of the use of any such biohazard material
10. To aid with the Review Process, please supply the names and contact information for up to three (3) potential reviewers, and (optional) the names of up to three (3) people you would prefer not review your submission.
11. Combine into one PDF in the order listed above (with your name and contact information as a footer on all pages) and email to mwiseman@wnybloodcare.org. All materials must be received in a single document, in a single email by July 15, 2026, 11:59pm.

Questions?  Check our FAQs   

 

Required Acknowledgements:  Western New York Blood Care must be acknowledged when presenting data from any WNYBC funded project including oral presentations, poster presentations, journal manuscripts, and publications.

 

Compliance:  The Research Committee will track funded projects to assure compliance with IRB/IACUC requirements.

 

Review Panel:  The Review Panel includes Scientific Reviewers who are members of the WNYBC Advisory Board.  These individuals hold expertise, both medical and scientific, in the field of blood disorders and will conduct a thorough review process to determine the merits of each submission.

 

Please direct further questions to mwiseman@wnybloodcare.org