Pilot and Exploratory Studies Core

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT (PESC) The Pilot/Exploratory Studies Core (PESC) will serve as the innovation core of the UTMB OAIC, contributing to the Center’s goals by developing new translational research streams relevant to the UTMB OAIC theme of reducing health disparities. Since its inception in 2000, the PESC has funded 86 pilot projects, supporting 23 investigators during the current funding period. The PESC has produced a remarkable number of new external grants, achieving a 56% success rate in completed pilot projects that generated additional external funding. We have invested in early-stage investigators (71% of awardees) as well as more established researchers who align with UTMB OAIC’s focus areas. In this renewal, the PESC will fund five projects annually, often cofunded by other UTMB Centers, Institutes, or Departments. We will award pilot projects to faculty at UTMB and our partner institutions, the Texas Southern University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (TSU) and the new University of Houston College of Medicine (UH). The specific aims of the PESC are to: (1) Enhance the research portfolio in UTMB OAIC thematic areas by funding innovative projects from investigators at UTMB, TSU, and UH to advance the science of aging and support careers in aging research; and (2) Administer a structured project oversight and mentorship program that supports investigators in completion of their projects and their career advancement in aging research, including obtaining future extramural funding. Key innovations in this renewal include expanding the portfolio of research we fund through strategic partnerships with TSU and UH and adding novel areas of study, such as investigating health differences and functional health outcomes in incarcerated older adults. The pilot projects slated for support in this renewal include investigating interventions for loneliness to reduce emergency department visits, measuring the incidence of acute cardiovascular events in incarcerated populations to inform management strategies, developing novel methods to study lipid accumulation in human muscle fibers to understand how obesity impacts function and independence, measuring the efficacy of cardiac rehabilitation on physical activity among women to improve post-discharge functioning and outcomes, and conducting a trial of an integrated education and wearable sensor intervention to improve medication adherence among older adults.