Purpose

The purpose of this Pilot program is to provide seed money for research that has not yet reached the stage of maturity necessary for funding by traditional NIH mechanisms such as RO1s and PO1s. Such research ideas should be considered innovative and may potentially be high risk. These applications are funded for one or two years and have a maximum funding limit of $65,000 per year. Research areas deemed relevant to the scope of this program include, but are not limited to: 

  • Development of new gene therapy vectors for CF.
  • Study of inflammatory responses to vector delivery of CF affected organs.
  • Assessment of host cell/vector interactions and the mechanisms of transduction to CF affected cell types.
  • Cystic fibrosis related diabetes and pancreatitis.
  • CF hepatic, gallbladder, and intestinal disease.
  • Identification of stem cells targets for gene therapy and cell therapy applications in CF.
  • Development of surrogate endpoints for assessing gene transfer and complementation in vivo.
  • Pathophysiology of CF in any affected organ, except the lung.
  • Development of animal models to test CF gene therapies in vivo.

Eligibility

Eligibility for Pilot and Feasibility project grants is not limited to Center Members. Rather it applies to all members of the scientific community at UI, and to researchers at other institutions who collaborate with Center Members. Applicants must be a US citizen or have a permanent visa. This program is open to:

  1.  New investigators who have never had, and do not currently have, extramural support for their CF-focused research program within the NIDDK mission.
  2.  Established investigators who are currently performing research outside the area of CF or gene therapy but wish to apply their expertise to a problem relevant to the goals of the Center’s research mission.
  3.  Established investigators who are currently performing CF or CF-relevant gene therapy research but wish to investigate a novel idea that falls within the Center’s focus and represents a significant departure from currently funded research.