Initially known as the Pediatric Research Institute, the Kaul Pediatric Research Institute (KPRI) was created by the Board of Trustees of Children’s of Alabama in 1989 to provide internal funding for junior faculty who were just beginning their academic careers. The initial funding came from proceeds (10%) of the Children’s Miracle Network telethon, with half committed to an endowment and the other half to support grants submitted by faculty or professionals working at Children’s of Alabama. The first grants were awarded in 1993. Following the donation of an initial $5 million from the Kaul Foundation to increase the endowment, the Board of Trustees changed the name of this program to the Kaul Pediatric Research Institute (KPRI).

 

Initially, four two-year grants of $20,000 per year were awarded. With the increase of the contributions to the KPRI and the growth of the endowment, multiple awards are made each year in the amount of $35,000 each for new investigators and $50,000 each for established investigators.

The program is competitive and peer-reviewed in an NIH format. Since 2008, $4,940,000 has been awarded for biomedical research. This represents 72 unique investigators receiving 82 awards, including 16 established investigator awards and 66 new investigator awards. KPRI recipients have received almost $60.7 million in funding. Of these 65 investigators, 53 remain at UAB.

The major goal of the KPRI grant program is to allow investigators to obtain data that will advantage applications for additional extramural funding. This will bring new knowledge to the care of children, leverage the investment of the KPRI, and allow projects to be competitive for the very best science on the national stage. A second, but important, goal is to ensure that a dedicated funding source is available to unique segments of the pediatric research and education.

Initially, four two-year grants of $20,000 per year were awarded. With the increase of the contributions to the KPRI and the growth of the endowment, multiple awards are made each year in the amount of $35,000 each for new investigators and $50,000 each for established investigators.

The program is competitive and peer-reviewed in an NIH format. Since 2008, $4,940,000 has been awarded for biomedical research. This represents 72 unique investigators receiving 82 awards, including 16 established investigator awards and 66 new investigator awards. KPRI recipients have received almost $60.7 million in funding. Of these 65 investigators, 53 remain at UAB.

The major goal of the KPRI grant program is to allow investigators to obtain data that will advantage applications for additional extramural funding. This will bring new knowledge to the care of children, leverage the investment of the KPRI, and allow projects to be competitive for the very best science on the national stage. A second, but important, goal is to ensure that a dedicated funding source is available to unique segments of the pediatric research and education.