Pilot Projects Program

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Pilot Projects Program Project Summary The Pilot Projects Program (PPP) administers funding mechanisms to develop and support the most promising and novel investigator-initiated clinical and translational research (CTR) projects. Our overarching goal is to provide the financial support, mentoring, and other resources that investigators need to generate preliminary data and successfully compete for extramural grant funding. The program is designed to further 4 key objectives: 1) to foster the development of successful CTR investigators, 2) to support and develop interdisciplinary CTR teams, 3) to develop innovative tools and technologies that will support remote conduct of CTR or improve health outcomes, and 4) support CTR that evaluates the diverse causes of health-related disparities in the region. The PPP supports these overall objectives through two specific aims: Specific Aim 1) administer a CTR Pilot Projects Program that facilitates innovative and collaborative CTR programs and Specific Aim 2) collaborate with the Cores and partner institutions to provide developmental CTR resources to expand the pool of CTR investigators and teams. To successfully meet these specific aims, the PPP supports interdisciplinary, team-based research that spans all GP IDeA- CTR partner institutions across the CTR spectrum. Building on lessons learned and successes over the past four years, the portfolio of offered PPP funding opportunities will be strategically expanded to include: 1) Team Development Pilots to provide initial funding to foster new team formation, 2) Team Research Pilots to provide funding to existing CTR teams, and 3) Tech Transfer Pilots to support translation of intellectual property into clinical and community applications. Resources from partner institutions will be leveraged to increase the number of available awards as well as fund specialty awards focused on specific diseases (e.g., cancer or cardiovascular disease). The Pilot Projects Program will collaborate with all Cores to advance CTR, including the Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) Core and Community Engagement and Outreach (CEO) Core on their pilot grant opportunities to strengthen the capacity for data science and trial design research as well as community-based CTR projects, and with the Professional Development (PDC) Core to expand training and mentoring for pilot grant recipients. In combination, these interdisciplinary, silo-spanning efforts will further strengthen the capacity for and success of CTR across all our partner institutions, reinforce local support for CTR-focused faculty, and encourage sustainable intramural and interinstitutional collaboration on CTR for improved health outcomes for Nebraska and across the Great Plains.