The Tullie and Rickey Families SPARK Awards for Innovations in Immunology 2024 Annual Report Introduction
Innovation comes at a cost. Without proof-of-concept to convince highly competitive granting agencies to fund a novel project, many bold ideas never come to fruition.This is especially challenging for early-career scientists who are still building their professional foundations. La Jolla Institute’s Tullie and Rickey Families SPARK Awards for Innovations in Immunology are designed to overcome these hurdles.
This philanthropically funded program offers $25,000 per award in seed funding to support projects that may not secure traditional grant funding due to their innovative or “risky” nature. The program’s goal is to help scientists generate enough preliminary data to support bold new approaches to diagnosing, treating, and potentially curing diseases that affect us today. This data is crucial for success in subsequent peer reviews, such as those conducted by the NIH, enabling researchers to attract additional funding to further their work and advance their careers.
In addition to funding cutting-edge research aimed at revolutionizing disease prevention and treatment, The Tullie and Rickey Families SPARK Awards program focuses on educating and promoting the professional development of the next generation of researchers. Finalists receive coaching on how to communicate their research to the public and present their ideas to funders. SPARK awardees also gain valuable experience in independently managing a research project. This experience is an important career milestone, as it helps young researchers develop critical skills in project planning, execution, and leadership, all of which are essential for their future success.
Each year, LJI receives numerous proposals from early-career investigators from its laboratories and core facilities, including postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, instructors, and research technicians. A panel reviews these proposals, narrowing the pool to finalists by ensuring that each project demonstrates scientific rigor, novelty, and potential significance to donors and stakeholders. These SPARK finalists then have the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a donor panel in the hopes of securing funding to pursue their projects.
We are incredibly grateful to all the donors, reviewers, volunteers, and scientists who empower our early-career investigators to take risks that bridge the gap between imagination and groundbreaking discoveries.
