The Louisiana Center for Advancing Underrepresented Scientists Careers in Health, Nutrition, Obesity, and Disparities Research (LAUNCHED) is a comprehensive program designed to provide mentorship, training, and career development opportunities for underrepresented minority (URM) scientists in nutrition, obesity, diabetes, and related research. The LAUNCHED program is a collaboration among several institutions, including Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Southern University, Louisiana State University (LSU) A&M, Xavier University of Louisiana, Tulane University, and LSU Health New Orleans (LSUH-NO).        

In its first year, LAUNCHED will dedicate up to $160,000 to fund 2 to 4 pilot and feasibility (P&F) grants. Each grant is limited to a maximum budget of $50,000 and one year (no-cost extensions are possible if sufficient progress is made). Eligibility criteria include:

  1. Early career scientists (full-time post-doctoral fellows and Associate or Assistant Professors) from partner institutions.
    1. Partner institutions currently include Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Southern University, Louisiana State University A&M, Xavier University of Louisiana, Tulane University, and LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans. For more information about whether your institution may qualify as a partner, please contact launched@pbrc.edu.
  2. Scientists from underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups.
    1. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups include Blacks/African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, American Indian/Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders.
  3. Early career scientists who do not have current or previous NIH (or equivalent) independent research support, excluding fellowship or career development awards.
  4. Must have a PhD or MD or equivalent degree.
  5. There is no citizenship requirement but visiting scientists with whom the institution does not have a long-term collaborative relationship will not be considered.

Letters of Intent are due on October 31, 2022, and invitations to submit full applications will occur by November 15, 2022.  Full Applications are due on December 20, 2022, and awards will begin on February 1, 2023.

Please submit Letters of Intent at the following website: https://launchedfunding.pbrc.edu/.

The P&F Program is Directed by Corby Martin, PhD (Corby.Martin@pbrc.edu; 225-763-2585). If you have questions about the P&F application process, please contact launched@pbrc.edu and Cc Dr. Martin.