One of the most important programs of our Texas Medical Center Digestive Diseases Center (called DDC) is the Pilot and Feasibility (P/F) Program. The goals of the P/F Program are to provide developmental funds to support (1) young investigators starting a career in gastrointestinal (GI) research, or (2) to foster the development of GI- related research by both junior faculty and established investigators in non-GI related fields in the Texas Medical Center. This is accomplished by supporting investigator-initiated scientific studies to develop preliminary data for new research projects. Novel approaches to studying GI-related areas complementing the scope of our Center are encouraged. Awards are made following a rigorous peer-review system that involves an initial evaluation for scientific merit by a Scientific Review Committee, including the DDC Internal Advisory Committee members and ad hoc scientists in the Texas Medical Center, and the External Advisors of our DDC. This core has a strong record of accomplishments. In the past 10 years, we have supported 68 P/F recipients, of whom 41 have gone on to receive $40,172,685 in external direct cost funding representing a 60% success rate and yielding a 23-fold return on investment (ROI) of DDC funds. We are requesting $100,000/year in years 16-20 to continue this PF program. This funding will be significantly enhanced each year by additional commitments from our three supporting Institutions, including $25,000 from The University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHSC), $25,000 from The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) and $115,000 from Baylor College of Medicine (BCM). All investigators whose P/F Applications are approved for funding have priority access to our Cores for 1 year, or for the duration of their award. From 2013-2016, we received between 17-26 applications for each round of awards. To be funded in 2017, and for this competitive renewal application, we received 41 letters of intent and 22 completed applications for review. The top 4 proposals are included in this competitive renewal application to illustrate the breadth and quality of the new GI research our DDC is able to stimulate and facilitate. The PF program has a Director and two Assistant Directors, representing the three institutions (BCM, UTHSC, MDACC), and a Scientific Review Committee. We have several formal processes for soliciting and reviewing PF Proposals. Considerations for review, ranking and funding of PF proposals include project novelty, feasibility, qualifications and productivity of applicants, relationship to our DDC theme, the likelihood that the project will lead to new knowledge and the acquisition of external funding, and use of our DDC cores. Our P/F Program, pediatric and adult-GI training programs that include career-development initiatives open to all DDC members help recruit new faculty and foster collaborative, multidisciplinary interactions among junior and senior DDC investigators.
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