Pilot Grants Program
Augusto Ochoa, MD
Core Director
LSUH New Orleans
M. "Tonette" Krousel-Wood, MD, MSPH
Core Co-Director
Tulane University
Peter Katzmarzyk, PhD
Core Co-Director
Pennington Biomedical
Contact this core
About This Core
The Pilot Grants Program (PGP) supports pilot, feasibility and collaborative research studies of significance and impact that allow investigators to compete for future extramural NIH R01 funding. The overall goal of the PGP is to increase the number of junior investigators trained in clinical and translational research and working with well-established teams of senior scientists developing innovative research programs to address the chronic disease burden in Louisiana. This is of particular significance to our region given the major health disparities. This core is led out of LSU Health New Orleans.
The PGP provides direct and significant financial support for pilot projects, enables these projects to utilize the expertise and resources of other cores, facilitates in-kind support across collaborating institutions, and fosters education and training that enhances each awardee’s long-term success as an independent translational investigator. In addition, the PGP provides support for smaller grants that provide training and grant development opportunities.
Core Programs
The call for pilot projects is typically released once per year, and favors collaborative project applications from junior investigators with a mentoring component. Each award may be up to $50,000/year in direct costs. Projects should address biological, epidemiological, or clinical issues related to specific diseases that have a high prevalence among the population of Louisiana, including, but not limited to, obesity, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and HIV/AIDS.
Special calls for projects can be made in addition to or instead of the routine rounds (i.e. multi-institutional projects, senior-junior project teams, targeted disease states, etc.).
The number of pilots awarded per year varies depending on the availability of funds. All pilot awards go through a competitive review process based on NIH criteria.
Junior investigators interested in learning about clinical trials can apply for funds to visit an experienced clinical trial mentor and their collaborating biostatistical and data management coordinating centers at their respective institutions. This will allow them to become familiar with the activities of a clinical trialist and gain awareness of the complexities of proposing, obtaining approval, and implementing a novel investigator-initiated trial. These Clinical Trial Scholars may then have increased ability to implement new trials at the LA CaTS institution they serve. We believe this will allow junior clinicians to solidify their commitment to clinical trials and expand their professional network for future collaborations in multi-institutional clinical trials.
Awards are up to $5,000 in direct costs and are available on a rolling basis until the maximum number of awards have been met.The Visiting Scholars Program provides support to develop researchers who have a high likelihood of subsequently competing successfully for independent funding from the NIH or a comparable agency. The objective is to link junior investigators with mentors to assist their development in the field. It is specifically intended for investigators to learn new techniques and acquire different skills and expertise by interacting with experts outside LA CaTS institutions.
Awards are up to $5,000 in direct costs and are available on a rolling basis until the maximum number of awards have been met.
The GDA Program provides support for both junior and senior faculty to collaborate on planning and preparation for submission of interdisciplinary and innovative grant applications. This is an opportunity for investigators interested in developing multi-disciplinary scientific teams to prepare competitive grant proposals to the NIH and other funding agencies.
Awards are up to $5,000 in direct costs and are available on a rolling basis until the maximum number of awards have been met.Specific Aims
- Solicit, review, and recommend funding for LA CaTS Pilot Project grant awards.
- Build inter-institutional teams of investigators.
- Provide opportunities for early-stage investigators and clinicians to engage in new
research training opportunities.