Pilot and Feasibility Program

Abstract - Pilot and Feasibility Program The objective of the Pilot and Feasibility (P&F) program is to serve the University of Washington's Cystic Fibrosis Research Translation Center's (CFRTC) mission of advancing cystic fibrosis (CF) research to improve the health of people with CF. The P&F program will contribute to this mission by recruiting young scientists, established investigators who have not previously worked in CF, and accomplished CF researchers who are pursuing novel and high-risk ideas that represent a clear departure from their established work. Aim 1. To recruit outstanding early stage and established investigators to CF research in NIDDK interest areas. We will engage promising investigators via personal outreach; interactions with academic and research leaders; and our CF-focused seminars, research meetings, and annual retreat. Aim 2. To manage the P&F program to maximize the scientific and programmatic impact of funded projects. We will help pilot PIs craft high-impact proposals that have the potential to advance understanding and treatment of CF, and help them gain access to local and national resources and collaborators to maximize the value of their work. We will organize rigorous scientific review for pilot study proposals that include multiple internal and external experts and uses the NIH scoring system. Funding will be based on scientific merit, the project’s relationship to the CFRTC mission, links to the Cores, and projects' integration with the collaborative groups of NIDDK-focused researchers our center has developed. We will oversee the scientific progress, productivity, and finances of P&F projects.