PILOT--PILOT AND FEASIBILITY STUDIES PROGRAM

University Of Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The Pilot and Feasibility (P and F) programs at the University of Chicago DRTC support new initiatives in diabetes related biomedical, epidemiological or behavioral research. The program is designed to provide limited support to develop preliminary data sufficient for funding of a research grant application or to test an innovative hypothesis which might have important implications or yield significant results for diabetes related research. Eligible investigators include new investigators without current or past NIH support as principal investigators, establish grant supported investigators who have not previously worked in diabetes related areas, or established investigators in diabetes related areas with a proposal for testing the feasibility of a new or innovative idea that is diabetes related and represents a clear and distinct departure from his/her ongoing research interests. The P and F programs at the University of Chicago provide a mechanism to foster the broad participation of investigators at various levels within the academic community and with highly varied training and experience in diabetes related research. During this cycle, 21 successful applications were funded from 10 different University Departments or Institutes. In the previous review, the P & F Program received an excellent/outstanding rating. The reviewers suggested that there was an inadequate award dollar amount to attract potential applicants. This has been changed and new proposals will be funded at a level of $40,000/year. Investigator notification has been improved utilizing an email-based system at the University of Chicago, Signals, to inform investigators of potential funding opportunities. This and the potential for an increased award size has resulted in a record number of 17 applications received during the latest funding cycle. Funding of P and F topics ranged from cellular and molecular mechanisms of insulin signaling to autoimmunity and type I diabetes to clinical research studies in PCOS as well as studies of socioeconomic aspects of diabetes prevention. The success of the program is highlighted by lhe fact that of the 83 investigators funded by our P & F Program over its 25 year history, 28 are currently members of our research base. Also, over these 25 years, 71% of those investigators who are still in academic positions continue to be involved in diabetes research. Ninety-three percent of all P & F recipients have had research funding relating to their P & F at one time. During this cycle, 21 new grants were awarded to 20 investigators, and 3 projects were completed from the previous cycle. Thus, 13 grants were completed, 7 grants are in year 1 and 4 grants in year 2 of funding. An impressive 11 investigators who completed the 13 proposals continue to perform active research on their P and F related topic.