Pilot Projects Program

PROJECT SUMMARY- PILOT PROJECTS PROGRAM. Central to realizing the MCCTR’s purpose of expanding Mississippi’s capacity for clinical, translational, and community research is its Pilot Projects Program (PPP). The PPP supports clinical, translational, and population research projects that will become the basis for competitive extramural funding applications. During Phase I, key considerations in awarding support to early stage investigators included the (1) likelihood of attracting extramural funding, (2) evidence of a path toward an independent research career for the applicant, and (3) probability that the research program would lead to improved management of obesity or obesity-related diseases. Additional considerations included promoting multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional research projects and distribution of resources across the MCCTR partner institutions. During Phase II, the breadth of PPP’s initiatives will be expanded in several ways. First, the focus of our pilot project awards will be expanded to include health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular and renal disease, cancer, infectious diseases, and maternal health, all of which are disproportionally prevalent in rural and economically disadvantaged areas of our state. Second, the number of institutions of higher learning eligible to participate in open solicitation for applications will be expanded to include Tougaloo College, University of Southern Mississippi, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and our new members, Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi in Oxford. Third, a new funding program that provides up to $5,000 in seed money to support multi-institutional collaboration and preliminary data collection for development of a subsequent proposal to the PPP and elsewhere will be introduced. The PPP will solicit applications for funding two times per year to support investigator-initiated clinical and translational research of priority health areas within Mississippi, including community-engaged research addressing Mississippi’s chronic disease burden and access-to-care issues, with the expectation of funding up to seven pilot projects per year. Applications for the seed grant program will be solicited four times per year through an expedited application and review process. For all programs, studies addressing differences in chronic disease outcomes and medically underserved populations with an emphasis on implementation will be prioritized. The PPP and its related programs will lead to support for multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary collaborative research among investigators. Overall, this approach will lead to a broad-based, state-wide research platform that has the capacity to improve health outcomes and address differences in chronic disease outcomes across Mississippi.