One of the most important functions of a Digestive Diseases Research Core Center (called DDC) is the opportunity to provide developmental funds to support innovative new research ideas and investigators new to GI research. We have allotted the maximum amount allowable in our budget to find Pilot and Feasibility (P/F) awards. We are hopeful that this amount will increase in future years, as we plan to direct some revenue generated through the charge-back system in the Basic Science and Clinical Cores into the P/F Program, and will request supplemental support of this program from our component institutions and outside resources (which currently is the source of support for our ongoing P/F program). Research proposals requesting P/F funding for this Center application were evaluated for scientific merit by the DDC Internal Advisory Committee and ad hoc reviewers in the Texas Medical Center. In the future, these projects will be reviewed by a Scientific Review Committee including the External Advisors. Institutional commitments to our new Center will allow a minimum of three projects to be funded during the period that this revised DDC application is in review. Thirteen proposals were received from investigators who competed for our second round of P/F funding; the top 4 applications from the first two rounds of P/F requests are included in this revised applications to illustrate the breadth and quality of the new GI research our Center will be able to stimulate and facilitate. With Institutional support in 1998, we funded 4/19 applications from our first round of P/F funding. Considerations for ranking of proposals include project novelty, the potential for clinical and basic science interactions, and the likelihood that the project will lead to new knowledge and the acquisition of external funding. Once our DDC is funded by the NIH, we anticipate we will be able to support 4-7 P/F projects annually. All investigators whose P/F Applications are approved for funding even if they are not funded due to limited resources, will have free access to our Cores for one year or for the duration of the award. The purpose of P/F Program within the component institutions on the TMC and UTMB campuses is to foster the development of GI-related research by both junior faculty and established investigators in non-GI related fields. This is accomplished by supporting investigators-initiated P/F studies, and interdisciplinary collaborative projects, and by identifying programmatic areas viewed as emerging research opportunities. This program will also help in faculty recruitment.
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