Pilot Projects Program

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Summary The Clinical and Translational Infrastructure Network (CTR-IN) is a partnership of 13 institutions across 7 states to develop a culture of collaborative multidisciplinary clinical and translational health disparities research within and across western IDeA institutions to positively impact health in our communities. Support for CTR pilot projects is one of the key CTR-IN activities. The CTR-IN Pilot Projects Program (CP3, formerly known as CTPG [Clinical and Translational Pilot Grants]) has developed well-tested strategies for solicitation, merit review, and oversight of pilot grants. The success of CTR-IN pilot awardees is made possible through the close integration of CP3 funding for investigators with the biostatistical, mentorship and professional development support from the complementary CTR-IN Cores. To further grow the successful CP3, we have evolved our strategy to focus on health disparities research, and we have developed innovative strategies to support multisite collaborations and the building of multidisciplinary CTR teams. The CP3 funding strategies will enhance current CTR capacity in the region on several fronts. First, over the past 5 years a high proportion of investigators with CTR-IN pilot grant support have successfully obtained competitive extramural funding, yielding a positive return on investment that will continue to grow. We will continue to advance this objective by working in close collaboration with the new Community Engagement and Outreach (CEO) Core to identify populations at risk and health disparities of concern in our communities. Second, partnering across sites will build the necessary infrastructure to compete nationally for multisite clinical trials and related research. Our recent support of multisite collaborative pilot projects demonstrates both the demand for such projects among researchers and the proof of concept for initiating these more complex projects. Finally, supporting partnerships that bridge preclinical and clinical research will accelerate the delivery of solutions to patients and communities. Faculty at our partner institutions include a broad cohort of IDeA-supported basic science, preclinical investigators (e.g., INBRE, COBRE) and clinical investigators, yielding opportunities for building teams and leveraging core resources to advance research for greater benefit to patients and communities. Altogether, these strategies and anticipated outcomes will have an important impact on health in our communities.