Celia Scott  Weatherhead School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine (WSPH) & Connolly  Alexander Institute for Data Science (CAIDS)
Igniting Innovation at the Intersection of Technology and Population Health
The WSPH and CAIDS invite faculty-led teams to submit proposals for seed grants supporting innovative, interdisciplinary research in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) with direct applications to public health. These grants aim to foster collaboration across schools, accelerate early-stage ideas, and position teams for external funding, while also targeting the meaningful engagement and mentoring of Tulane students.
Projects should leverage AI/ML methods to advance population health, health-systems performance, or health equity. Priority areas include (but are not limited to):
- Predictive modeling for infectious disease surveillance or chronic disease risk
- Climate change or environmental exposure analytics
- Precision public health interventions and decision support
- Ethical AI, bias mitigation, or data privacy in health contexts
- AI-enabled optimization of healthcare access or supply chains
- Lead eligibility: Full-time Tulane faculty
- Team composition: At least one investigator must hold a primary appointment in WSPH. Interdisciplinary teams (e.g., public health + computer science, medicine, engineering, social science) strongly encouraged.
- Proposal limit: One submission per lead PI per proposal cycle.
| Funding SOurce | Purpose | amount |
|---|---|---|
| WSPH Seed Grant funds | Direct project costs (see allowable costs below) | US  $2 000 – 30 ,000 |
| CAIDS Student RA pool | Hourly wages or stipends for undergraduate or graduate research assistants integrated into the project |
Projects may request RA support in addition to the $30 ,000 seed grant ceiling. RA expenses must be itemized separately under “CAIDS Research Assistant Funds”.
- Project Period: 12–18 months (earliest start: November 15, 2025).
- Allowable Costs: Research assistants or similar research personnel at Tulane, data purchase or collection, specialized software or modest equipment (<$5,000), participant incentives*, travel for collaboration or data collection, and dissemination activities.
- Exclusions: Faculty salaries, indirect costs, institutional overhead, and open access publication fees.
*Must follow specific WSPH procedures for participant incentives.
Submit a single PDF containing:
- Cover Page: Project title, PI/co-PI names, departments/units, contact info.
- Abstract (≤ 250 words) -
- Research Plan (3 pages max): objectives, methods, expected outcomes, external funding trajectory
- Budget + Justification: Itemized expenses with rationale. Clearly separate (a) WSPH Seed-Grant costs and (b) CAIDS RA costs. Please also specify any other current funding sources, including applications under review (which are viewed favorably).
- Collaboration & Student Engagement Plan (≤ 1 page): roles of each investigator and approach for recruiting, training, mentoring, and supervising student RAs.
- Abbreviated Biosketches/CVs (≤ 2 pages each)
- Optional: Letters of support
- Innovation and significance of the AI/ML approach for public health impact.
- Feasibility & rigor: design, timeline, and budget realism
- Interdisciplinary Collaboration: strength of interdisciplinary integration, especially WSPH involvement.
- Student engagement & capacity building: strength of RA mentoring plan
- Equity & inclusion: focus on underserved or disadvantaged populations
- Sustainability: Potential to attract external funding.
- CFP Release Date: September 1, 2025
- Submission Deadline: Friday, October 17, 2025 (11:59 PM CDT)
- Award Notification: early November
- Earliest Project Start: November 15, 2025
Email proposals to phutchin@tulane.edu with subject line:
“AI/ML Seed Grant – [PI Last Name]”.
File Naming Convention:
WSPH-AI_LastName_Title.pdf
Upon award, the PI’s home department requests a new account, and funds will be transferred into the newly established account. PI and their department are responsible for monitoring funds to ensure that spending aligns with the approved budget and the account is not overspent.
CAIDS RA allocations will be transferred separately after RA budgets are confirmed for the selected portfolio. Award letters will specify any CAIDS-funded RA support.
Unspent funds at the project's close will be returned to the primary fund (carryover is not permitted).
Awardees must submit a brief progress update at 9  months and a final report within 30  days of project end. They may also be asked to present findings and /or to deliver a short talk at WSPH/ CAIDS events. Research assistants will be invited to present this research at CAIDS events as well (e.g., research showcases, data visualization contests).
In addition, awardees may be asked to provide information about their research that could be used on Tulane websites, social media, or in other university communications (e.g., Tulane Today).
Contact
For questions, contact:
Paul Hutchinson, Professor, Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine (WSPH)
email: phutchin@tulane.edu
Joey Couvillon, Senior Program Manager, Connolly Alexander Institute for Data Science (CAIDS)
email: acouvil@tulane.edu
Spark Change. Build Partnerships. Advance Health Equity.
Tulane University is committed to fostering transdisciplinary solutions for global health challenges. We strongly encourage teams representing diverse perspectives and disciplines to apply.
