Pilot and Feasibility Program

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PROJECT SUMMARY – Pilot and Feasibility Program The Pilot and Feasibility grant program at the Chicago Center for Diabetes Translation Research (CCDTR) supports new areas of inquiry in diabetes-related translation research, with a special focus on vulnerable populations. The main aim of P&F program is to provide funding for investigators to explore novel hypotheses and to obtain preliminary data in order to secure long-term support from conventional funding mechanisms. Funding from the P&F program has supported new investigators who are seeking to become fully independent scientists in diabetes translation research and established investigators who are seeking to initiate diabetes- related research. Since its inception in 2011, the CCDTR P&F program has received 20 applications and has awarded 11 grants. Thus far these pilot grants have led to 15 abstract presentations, 4 peer-reviewed publications, and 10 grant applications submitted, with subsequent funding of 6 grants from the NIDDK, NHBLI, and AHRQ. The P&F program has made a difference for many investigators and has launched the careers of several investigators in the fields of diabetes translational research. Our breadth of funding is demonstrated in the number of institutions and types of interventions funded. About 40% of grantees are from outside the University of Chicago. The grantees' areas of study have included assessments of sleep interventions to improve diabetic outcomes, improving care of patients with pre-end-stage kidney disease, community health worker interventions, mobile phone interventions on sedentary behavior, and outcomes of women with type 2 diabetes and breast cancer. Looking forward, we plan to continue our successful P&F program, which has been an integral part of the CCDTR in fostering collaboration and has led to important research findings, and further expand its scope. We are requesting continuing support at the level of $50,000 per year. The Dean of the Biological Sciences Division, Kenneth Polonsky, MD, will continue his support by providing $50,000 in matching funds per year towards the P&F program. This supplemental funding will allow us to grant four awards of $25,000 per year. We also plan to diversify the areas of translation research funded by encouraging applications that study diverse types of interventions (e.g. interventions to improve population health), the populations studied (e.g. Asian American populations and LGBTQ patients), and the fields of expertise of the grantees (e.g. environmental science, breadth of clinical specialties and subspecialties). The success of our P&F program to date is a reflection of the interdisciplinary nature of our center and the strong research base it provides. Through a renewal of the CCDTR, the P&F program will be able to continue to provide necessary funding support to a new generation of innovative and diverse diabetes translation researchers and increase their chances of securing long-term funding in the future.