Pilot Project Program

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PILOT PROJECTS : ABSTRACT The Pilot Project Program is a key-component of the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology (CEET) that builds capacity in environmental health sciences (EHS). The Pilot Project Program serves to support Early- Stage Investigators (ESI) that are interested in pursuing EHS, and senior investigators who may be embarking on EHS projects for the first-time. To assist in the pilot project application process, we run a grants-writing program within the Career Development activities of the Administrative Core. The Pilot Projects available fall into four categories: (a) Mentored Scientist Transition Award (MSTA) which is our primary mechanism of funding a ESI (new recruits, clinician scientists, research track faculty) who need protected time through salary and research support to establish their independent research programs; (b) an Opportunity Award open to all junior and senior faculty who propose an innovative EHS project which is not ready for federal funding; (c) a “Rapid Response” award to promote community engaged research or provide funds to a faculty member who urgently needs to generate preliminary data for a EHS relevant grant application; and (d) Focus Research Awards to support research in the thematic areas of the Center: Air pollution & Lung Health, Environmental Exposures & Cancer, Windows-of-Susceptibility and Environmental Neuroscience with emphasis to support multi-investigator grant applications. Applications receive high priority if they are likely to lead to extramural funding from NIEHS or respond to a RFA on which NIEHS is a sponsor; and if they use one or more facility cores, the Integrative Health Sciences Facility Core (IHSFC), the Translational Biomarker Core (TBC) and Exposure Biology Informatics Core (EBIC). Pilot project awardees are invited back after 12 months of funding to present on their progress in the CEET seminar series. Outcome metrics such as grant applications submitted, grants awarded, and publications are updated on an annual basis to account for the significant lag-phase that can exist between the pilot project award and these successful outcomes.