Study Design and Grant Proposal Development

the research design and data coordinating center (rddc)

Study Design and Grant Proposal Development

The RDDC supports study design and grant applications for all clinical and translational work. For additional assistance regarding these services, please submit a service request.

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The RDDC team can help investigators set up studies by refining objectives into testable hypotheses, choosing study designs, developing data analysis plans, and performing power analyses and sample size calculations.

The team also has extensive experience in clinical trial design, clinical trial data management, bioinformatics, microbiome data analysis, qualitative research, and privacy-preserved data sharing.  This service is primarily a joint effort between the Department of Biostatistics, the Departments of Epidemiology, and the Department of Health Outcomes and Policy in association with the CTSI.

The RDDC welcomes the opportunity to forge long-term collaborative arrangements with clinical and translational researchers where ultimately, we can contribute to collaborative research and develop new methodologies if needed.  If data management services are also needed for your study, our study design and data management teams will work in conjunction with you to ensure that your study is compliant and compatible with your analytic needs.


Grant Proposals

While the RDDC will provide free support for proposal development, the PI’s grant must include an appropriate budget for the study design, data management, and statistical data analysis.  Faculty appointed to grants at 10% FTE or higher will have major participation in the analyses.  Faculty appointed below 10% FTE will have oversight of the RDDC or PI’s Master’s-level biostatistician.

The suggested role assignment by FTE is as follows:

  • 30%+ PI or Co-PI
  • 10%-20% Co-Investigator
  • 5%-9% Consultant

Important Information

  1. For grant submissions, be sure to contact the RDDC at least four weeks before your planned internal submission to the Division of Sponsored Research (usually six weeks before the due date at the agency). In exceptional circumstances, where this deadline cannot be met, we shall evaluate our participation on a case by case basis.
  2. For investigator-initiated CTSI protocols: Unless your project has faculty support from one of the following – Department of Biostatistics, Department of Epidemiology, Department of Statistics, or Department of Health Outcomes and Policy – you must contact the RDDC prior to submitting your protocol to the CTSI for review and ultimate submission to the Scientific Advisory Committee.

Office Hours and Studio Sessions

Regular Office Hours are held every Tuesday from 9 – 11 AM via a Zoom virtual meeting room. In-person meetings are also available upon request. Please email Dr. Wei Xue, wxue@cog.ufl.edu, to receive the Zoom meeting information or schedule an appointment.

The RDDC also holds studios where up to 10 researchers can join RDDC members for an individualized discussion about upcoming research projects. Upon request, studios can be held on the third Wednesday of each month. Please email the RDDC mailbox, rddc@ctsi.ufl.edu, for more information or to schedule an appointment.


Have any questions?

Contact Us

Phone: (352) 294-5732 | Fax: (352) 294-5770