Pilot Projects Program

The overall objective of the Pilot Project Program is to further solidify and enrich the pilot project program’s
success achieved during Phase I and II of the COBRE by selecting talented mentees and highly experienced
mentors with matching expertise and by providing a competent and effective administrative structure to
guarantee good management, integration, and oversight of our pilot project program. This will be achieved by
our team of COBRE director, program coordinators, senior mentors, core leaders, other steering committee
members, and external advisory committee members. The success of their efforts will be assisted by our
COBRE program administrator. This team of investigators and administrators provides a carefully designed
framework to support and nurture our pilot project awardees and to ensure responsible conduct and scientific
rigor and reproducibility of their research, as they are coached in their development as independent
researchers. This supportive environment is created by providing the clear and rigorous selection process of
awardees and mentors, by ensuring the formative and summative evaluation of the progress of the selected
faculty, by instituting internal and external oversight of the pilot project program, and by the overt
communication of the expectations placed upon both the awardees and mentors. Notably, the Phase III pilot
project program will capitalize on the cutting-edge technologies provided by our scientific core. This shift in
emphasis is designed to enhance the impact of the research and contribute considerably to the sustainability of
our center. Thus, we will: (1) Provide administrative structure and technical resources to assure programmatic
growth and success of the pilot projects awardees that are selected through a rigorous plan specifically
developed for the Phase III COBRE. (2) Provide experienced mentors, mentoring and evaluation plans, and
programmatic and external oversight to ensure the success of pilot project awardees in obtaining independent
funding and in conducting scientifically rigorous and reproducible research. (3) Enhance local and national
career development opportunities to facilitate and guide pilot project awardees in their growth as independent
investigators, and at the same time enriching the research environment for all COBRE participants. These
measures will solidify our center by training dedicated scientists and by establishing long-term, mutually
beneficial interactions between researchers and the scientific core. These foci of contact will likely attract
additional investigators because of our efforts to foster internal and external alliances through continuing
mechanisms such as our seminar series, aging interest group meetings, and career development clubs that
are designed to attract COBRE and non-COBRE investigators, keep them engaged, and to encourage
collaborations.

Grant Number: 5P30GM145498-04
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: Victoria Belancio