Pilot Project Program

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Pilot Project Program Abstract The Pilot Project Program is a key component of the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology (CEET) and is aimed at funding new directions in environmental health research. Emphasis is placed on funding studies by Young Investigators, studies that will develop new technologies or advances that may benefit other CEET investigators, studies that can generate pilot-data for multi-investigator initiatives, and studies that will take the CEET in new-directions. The Pilot Project Program has established a Mentored Scientist Transition Award (MSTA) which is the center's primary mechanism for funding Young Investigators in the Career Development Core so that they can gain independent grant funding. The Pilot Project Program also encourages applications that will seed patient and population-based research that will use the resources of the Integrative Health Sciences Facility Core (IHSFC) or the Translational Biomarker Core (TBC). A unique feature of the Pilot Project Program is to fund inter-EHS CC pilot projects when Center investigators and investigators from partnering Centers would benefit from each other in terms of complementary scientific expertise to address an important environmental health question. The aims of the Pilot project program are to: (i) support career development of Young Investigators in environmental health science through the Mentored Scientist Transition Award; (ii) attract established investigators into environmental health science; (iii) develop technologies that may benefit other CEET investigators; (iv) fund collaborative research that may lead to multi-investigator grant applications; (v) stimulate interdisciplinary research themes in environmental health science; (vi) fund community based research projects identified by COEC members; (vii) fund patient and population based exposure research that will utilize the IHSFC; and (viii) fund inter-EHS CC pilot projects to build teams across the Center Program. These aims are accomplished by funding pilot-projects in one of four categories: Mentored Scientist Transition Award; Opportunity Award (any faculty member with a relevant environmental health science question); Focused Awards (co-sponsored in the next cycle by institutional funds to support epigenetics and children's environmental health research); and inter-EHS CC pilots. In the last funding cycle we received 57 applications, funded 25 of which 15 went to Young Investigators which resulted in 17-fold return on investment in terms of grant support. We also funded two inter-EHS CC pilot projects.