Pilot Project Program

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 grant writing program within the Career Development Program of the Administrative Core. The Pilot Project award opportunities fall into four categories: (a) Mentored Scientist Transition Award (MSTA) which is our primary mechanism of funding ESI (new recruits, clinician scientists, research track faculty) who need protected time through salary support to establish their independent research programs; (b) an Opportunity Award open to all junior and senior faculty who propose an innovative EHS or Implementation Science 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 an EHS relevant grant application; and (d) a Focused Research Award to support research in the thematic areas of the Center: Air Pollution & Lung Health, Environmental Exposures & Cancer, Windows-of-Susceptibility and Environmental Neuroscience and cross-cutting themes in exposomics and the effects of extreme weather on health, and support research that may lead to 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 Translational Research Support Core (TRSC), the Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry Core (BMSC), or the Environmental Health Informatics Core (EHIC). Pilot projects are reviewed by expert faculty in the area of study and recommendations for funding are made to the Executive Committee for a final decision. At the end of the funding period, pilot project awardees are invited 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.