The Hepatorenal Fibrocystic Disease Core Center (HRFDCC) has a robust Pilot and Feasibility (P&F) Program that provides one to two years of support for outstanding and innovative research proposals related to hepatorenal fibrocystic diseases (HRFDs), with an emphasis on ARPKD. The mission of the HRFDCC P&F Program is: 1) to attract and support the development of junior scientists interested in HRFD-related research; 2) to enable established investigators from other fields to explore the feasibility of innovative concepts in HRFD; and 3) to entice investigators with existing expertise in the Center's thematic areas to apply their expertise to HRFD-related questions. The Center has been very successful in accomplishing all of these goals and has supported 16 projects over the past nine years. This included support for many physician-scientists and nine investigators that were new to the HRFD field. In agreement with the intent of the Center to serve a national research base and to develop junior faculty, most of the awardees were from outside the HRFDCC institutions (UAB/MUSC/CN) and were at the Assistant Professor rank. Our P&F awardees have been remarkably successful with 35 peer reviewed publications and $10.4 million (from $1.13 million investment in P&F awards) in follow-up direct support related to their P&F awards. Importantly, all but two of the P&F awardees remain active in HRFD research. Major added value of the HRFDCC P&F Program are the collaborative environment established with the UAB/UCSD O'Brien Center, the UAB Nephrology Research and Training Center (NRTC), the CTSA programs at UAB, MUSC, and CN, and the continued leverage of institutional resources to increase investment and training opportunities for the Pilot Program recipients. These joint efforts will allow support for a third P&F award utilizing institutional resources to the HRFDCC and the NRTC for a UAB investigator with a highly meritorious application focused on one of the Center's themes. In addition, the HRFDCC P&F Program is partnering with other P30 PKD Centers for joint mentorship, training, and professional development activities, to develop a national awards program, and for expanded access to resources and important services that will further increase P&F awardee success outcomes. Finally, the P&F Program will offer Vouchers to junior investigators with meritorious projects that did not quite rise to the level of funding in our P&F program (or through other funding agencies) for Core usage to facilitate novel resource or assay development or for preliminary data generation needed for successful grant resubmission. This will also enhance interactions between the Investigator Base and our Cores and promote innovative advances through generation of new models and establishment of new services that will benefit the whole HRFD research field.
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