Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program

About this program

The New York State Department of Health’s Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program provides two-year awards totaling up to $3.445 million annually to New York State teaching hospitals to train physician clinical researchers, advance biomedical and community-related research, and build capacity for future federal funding. Proposed projects must focus on strategically important research themes without existing federal center funding and include plans for team-based fellow training and subsequent external support; abstracts were due July 11, 2024. Eligible teaching hospitals must designate a qualified project director who is a principal, co-primary, or co-investigator on a qualifying federal or PCORI grant within two years of the deadline, provide sponsor-mentors and substantial in-house training, and commit at least $100,000 annually in real matching funds. Each $100,000 in annual state support requires training at least one full-time fellow, and fellows must meet the program’s clinical research position requirements.