Pilot Project Program

SHERC’s Investigator Development Core (IDC) supports the development of early-stage investigators (ESIs) and underrepresented (UR) faculty from racially, ethnically and other marginalized communities or disadvantaged backgrounds in basic biomedical, behavioral, and/or clinical sciences with a focus on translational research, team science, and mentoring.

The Pilot Project Program (PPP) was established under the IDC to provide support and mentoring to ESIs and UR faculty in health equity research, with the objective of generating preliminary data that will increase investigators’ competitiveness for NIH and other external health and health equity-related research funding. The PPP provides seed funding for ESIs and UR scholars to establish strong and successful programs of research in health equity and supports the development of team science and translational research skills.

PPP Accomplishments

Since 2017, the PPP funded 28 pilot projects, engaging project leads across 4 colleges representing 11 academic units, and two Centers (Pathogen and Microbiome Institute & Center for Community Health and Engaged Research). At the last reporting period, PPP lead investigators had received 58 new grants worth more than $21M, including 16 NIH awards totaling more than $11.4M, and the first K01 and K99-R00 awarded in the history of NAU. PPP investigators have published 96 peer-reviewed SHERC citing publications. At the end of funding cycle 1, 95% (19/20) of the PPP projects obtained external funding after the pilot award, focused on clinical, biomedical, or social-behavioral work.

Pilot Project Program Funding Opportunities

The 2024-2025 call for proposals is now open!

Letters of Intent (LOI) are due no later than Monday, November 4, 2024, at 11:59pm. For program information, including complete instructions for LOI submission, see the Call for Proposals PDF document under Resources.

Eligibility

SHERC’s PPP welcomes applications of investigators who are at the rank of Assistant Professor (tenure eligible), Assistant Research Professor, Assistant Clinical Professor, Assistant Teaching Professor, Assistant Professor of Practice, Lecturer or Postdoctoral Scholar (faculty at the Associate or Full Professor rank are not eligible).

Pilot Project Program Research Foci

Proposed PPP projects must focus on biomedical, behavioral, or clinical research, with priority given to exemplary projects that (1) address health equity of diseases/conditions that impact racially, ethnically, and other marginalized communities or health disparity-impacted populations, and (2) apply principles of team science (e.g. interdisciplinary, multi-disciplinary) and translational research.

Funding

Projects will be funded for $50,000 per year for 2 years. A maximum of 3 proposals will be funded (per grant year).

For further information, please complete our contact form.

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