The Medical Alumni Innovative Teaching Fund (MAITF) is supported by the KU Medical Alumni Association to encourage major innovations in medical student teaching and evaluation by faculty members of the University of Kansas School of Medicine (KUSOM). The Office of Medical Education manages the proposal call, advises faculty on the development of proposals, oversees, reviews of proposals and provides notification of awards.

Potential funding per award is up to $25,000 for the one-year funding cycle (July 1, 2025-June 30, 2026). For awards that are not fully expended by June 30, 2026, awardees may request (in writing) a one-year no-cost extension to permit the use of funds through June 30, 2027. No further renewals are allowed. Up to 80% of the total requested award amount can be used to offset PI/Co-PI’s faculty salary if permitted, in conjunction with other funding/effort requirements and supported by the department chair. For example, if you request $25,000 total, you can allocate up to $20,000 for PI/Co-PI faculty FTE. 

The Data Use and Collection form must be submitted at the time of your MAITF application if your proposal includes collecting data from medical students and/or using existing data already collected by the KUSOM. As part of this process, any new surveys of students will be reviewed by the Office of Student Affairs and cannot be distributed without prior approval through the Office of Student Affairs.

Eligibility

• Principal Investigator(s) (PIs) must be (a) full-time faculty member(s) in the KU School of Medicine

Application with sample rubric

Application Submission Guidelines

Proposals must include:

• a complete yet concise description of the project in the required format
• line-item budget with complete budget justification/narrative
• biographical sketch from key project personnel (NIH format preferred)
• letter of support from the department chair(s)
• letter of support from associated project faculty (i.e. clinical skills lab director, clerkship director, etc.)

Proposals must be:

• no longer than five (5) single-spaced pages (excluding cover page, CVs, letters of support, and appendices)
• a minimum of 12-point font (excluding cover page, CVs, letters of support, and appendices)
• submitted in a single pdf to Kate Briseno no later than 11:59 p.m. on February 17, 2025.

Criteria for Selection

The primary assessment criterion is the clear articulation of a project that makes a substantial and valuable contribution to innovation in medical student teaching and evaluation. Considerations in the evaluation of projects include:

• potential for direct improvement in the education of KUSOM medical students on all campuses
• evidence of integrating current literature and best practices
• evidence of a sound theoretical or conceptual framework
• valid educational and scientific design
• consideration of potential problems and strategies to address them, including feasibility and sustainability
• short and long-term outcomes with valid measures and appropriate qualitative or statistical analysis
• reasonable and rational budget
• potential for presentation and publication

View past recipients

KUMC IRB/Human Subjects approval will be required for funded proposals

Inquiries should be addressed to:
Giulia Bonaminio, Ph.D., gbonamin@kumc.edu 
Cayla R. Teal, Ph.D., cteal@kumc.edu
Kate Briseno, kbriseno@kumc.edu