Pilot and Feasibility Studies

PILOT AND FEASIBILITY PROGRAM

The Boston Nutrition Obesity Research Center (BNORC), funded by the National Institutes of Health, NIDDK, is a consortium of institutions. The overall objective of BNORC is to facilitate and support the conduct of cutting edge basic and translational research in the fields of nutrition and obesity science in the Boston area with the long term goal of promoting optimal health throughout the lifespan. BNORC’s Pilot and Feasibility program provides funding on a competitive basis for new investigators who are transitioning to an independent line of research or established investigators with novel ideas in the area of nutrition and obesity research. This year BNORC will consider pilot and feasibility projects related to the following Center themes:

• Theme 1: Nutrient Metabolism in Health and Disease
• Theme 2: Brain Control of Feeding Behavior and Metabolism
• Theme 3: Environmental and Genetic Influences on Obesity and Related Chronic Diseases
• Theme 4: Multi-level, Lifecourse Approaches to Obesity- and Nutrition-Related Diseases

For more information about the themes, please see http://www.bnorc.org/themes.

P&F awards are made with the expectation that the preliminary research supported by the pilot will lead to applications for additional external funding. In support of these projects, P&F recipients are given priority access to the resources available from the four BNORC scientific core facilities:

• Adipose Biology and Nutrient Metabolism (at Boston Medical Center and Tufts University)
• Transgenic (at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center)
• Epidemiology and Genetics (at Harvard School of Public Health)
• Clinical and Community Research (at Tufts University and Massachusetts General Hospital)

Applicants should clearly identify which core(s) their project will utilize. Interaction with Core staff during the application phase is encouraged.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants fall into one of three categories, listed in order of priority for BNORC:

1. new investigators without current or past independent research support (e.g., NIH R01 grants). Recipients of T32, F32, K01, K08, K23, KL2, K99 or R03 funding are eligible for this category.


2. established, funded investigators with no previous work in obesity or nutrition-related areas who wish to apply their expertise to an obesity or nutrition-related problem,


3. established investigators in obesity or nutrition-related areas who wish to test the feasibility of a new or innovative idea that represents a significant departure from their funded research and which initiates a new collaboration with one or more other investigators active in obesity or nutrition-related research.

MD Fellows and senior postdoctoral trainees who are supported by an institutional training grant (T32) or who are recipients of an NRSA individual award (F32), are eligible for P&F awards if they are in their latter year(s) of training and have documented suitable expertise to design and carry out the proposed experiments as an independent, principal investigator. These applicants are required to have a formal mentor or mentoring committee, as well as a statement from their post-doctoral mentor that the research proposed represents an independent line of investigation that the mentee can build upon, and a defined mentoring plan, including plans for development of the career of the junior person and transition to independence. Applicants who are not U.S. citizens or permanent U.S. residents must have active visas permitting them to remain in the U.S. for the full period of the proposed research.

Budget

Applicants may request a maximum of $25,000 in direct costs per year for a total of two years ($50,000). Funding in Year 2 is contingent on progress made in Year 1 and will be evaluated by submission of an annual progress report. P&F awards do not include indirect costs and cannot be used to cover shortfalls in other NIH awards or to augment projects that have been previously funded.

Process

P&F awards are made based on scientific review of a letter of Intent and full applications (by invitation only). Faculty rank is not required of P&F applicants. Each investigator may receive no more than one P&F award during a five-year cycle.

How to Apply

The Letter of Intent Submission period is closed for this cycle. Full submission packets are due 1/31/13. If you've submitted a Letter for 2012/2013 and need further information about the Pilot and Feasibility Program, please see the above, check the BNORC P&F FAQ or contact Dr. Elizabeth Goodman (egoodman3@partners.org), Associate Director for the Pilot and Feasibility Program or Elizabeth Roderick (eroderic@bu.edu), Center Administrator (617 638 7111).