UAB NORC Pilot and Feasibility Program

The goal of the Pilot & Feasibility and Named New Investigator (P&F-NNI) Program in the UAB
Nutrition and Obesity Research Center (NORC) is to foster an environment for the development
and testing of new research ideas in nutrition- and obesity-related research. These new concepts
may not just come from within the current NORC community, but also from non-NORC
investigators across schools throughout UAB’s campus who bring new ideas and hypotheses and
eventually become NORC members. Selection of projects to be funded by NORC is a two-step
process. In the first step, the opportunity for funding is advertised using all possible mechanisms
(on the NORC website; flyers throughout campus; in the UAB eReporter [an electronic newspaper
distributed to the entire campus community]; and email dissemination through Deans, Chairs, and
Directors of University-wide Research Centers, including the Center for Clinical and Translational
Science [CCTS; i.e., UAB’s CTSA]). Emphasis is placed on funding junior investigators, but senior
investigators who have not previously been funded for nutrition- and obesity-related research are
also eligible to apply. Submitted abstracts (approximately 500 words) are reviewed by the P&F
Program directors and the NORC senior leadership to identify which are most meritorious and
which would utilize NORC Cores. Those who have submitted the top-rated abstracts are then
invited to submit a full application. Once received, these applications are reviewed and scored
extramurally (using the NIH review scoring scheme) by experts in the field. The scores and the
written reviews are then considered by the P&F Program directors and the senior NORC
leadership. P&F Program awardees not only receive funding, but also mentoring, administrative
support, and grantsmanship advice to maximize the possibility of subsequent extramural funding
of the projects. In doing so, the P&F Program directors provide oversight and monitoring to ensure
that any administrative or science-related barriers are overcome. In the unlikely event that a
project encounters insurmountable difficulty, the project may be terminated. Ultimately awardees
are required to present the results of their study at the NORC Scientific Seminar. In conclusion,
the P&F-NNI Program is focused on enabling paradigm shifts in the field of nutrition and obesity
research leading to new and more effective strategies for the prevention and/or treatment of
nutrition-related disorders, most especially obesity.

Grant Number: 5P30DK056336-24
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: STEPHEN BARNES