North and Central Texas Clinical and Translational Science Initiative Pilot Grant Award Program

The Department of Clinical Sciences is pleased to announce the Fall 2008 application cycle for the North and Central Texas Clinical and Translational Science Initiative (NCTCTSI)   Pilot Grant Award Program.  This program is intended to provide support for innovative clinical and translational research projects from investigators participating in the NCTCTSI.  This program is funded in part by the NIH UL1 RR014982.  The primary purpose of this program is to engender preliminary data for extramural grant submission.  Proposals will be reviewed by a rigorous peer-review process conducted by a committee of experienced researchers from all NCTCTSI participating institutions.  The program will track the success of the pilot award recipients to facilitate extramural funding.

The pilot grant award program will give preference to early-career investigators, such as fellows and junior faculty members (< 7 years since faculty appointment) to encourage novel research proposals by promising individuals in the stages of their careers where pilot awards may be most effective.  However, the program is not limited to early-career investigators, and anyone who meets the eligibility criteria (see NCTCTSI Pilot Grant Award RFA for specifics) may apply. 

Projects this mechanism will support:  The Pilot Grant Awards Program is intended to support hypothesis-driven research using a broad variety of designs and methods including, but not limited to the following subjects: mechanisms of human disease, clinical trials, diagnostic methodologies, novel therapeutics, epidemiology, outcomes, health services research, and population science.  The awards may support translational research that combines basic biomedical and clinical science as long as there is a direct connection to human biology or disease. For instance, applications that analyze the behavior of human cells in vitro or in experimental animals will be acceptable as long as the question being asked has direct relevance to human illness. Proposals to use human tissue only to elucidate basic biological mechanisms, on the other hand, will not be considered.

Pilot Grant Awards that support underserved populations and/or underrepresented fields of investigation are encouraged.