Pilot Project Funding

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The Pilot and Feasibility Project Program (P/F) is designed to provide Vanderbilt investigators the opportunity to explore nascent, meritorious hypotheses related to digestive diseases with the goal of acquiring external funding. The Vanderbilt Digestive Diseases Research Center plans to fund pilot projects annually.  

Awards will be made for one year for approximately $40,000. There will also be the opportunity next year to apply for a competitive renewal for a second year of funding. However, the proposal should be for only one year.

Type I 

New investigators without current or past NIH support as the Principal Investigator of an R01 or R01-equivalent project.

Type II

Established investigators in Digestive Diseases Research who will have no independent R01 or R01-equivalent grant support if they do not secure a substantial grant in the near future.

Type III

Established investigators from other areas of biomedical research who will apply their expertise to an area of need in Digestive Diseases Research.

Prior recipients of a Digestive Diseases Research Center Pilot and Feasibility award are eligible if the grant application is a collaborative effort with current VDDRC members. 

In addition, a Young Investigator award will be made on the basis of priority score, potential of the investigator for independent career development in digestive disease research, and letters of support. The Young Investigator will be awarded $25,000 annual salary support for a 12-month period. 

Letter of Intent (LOI)

  • The letter should explain the investigator's eligibility and fit within one of the three research base categories of the VDDRC and planned usage of VDDRC core laboratories.  
  • The LOI should be no more than one page and should briefly detail the background/rationale, aims and approach of the proposed application.   
  • Include your current updated NIH biosketch.
  • All interested applicants must submit a Letter of Intent by December 11, 2026.

The Letter of Intent (LOI) and application should be addressed to:

Keith T. Wilson, MD
Director of the VDDRC Pilot & Feasibility Program
Room 1030-C MRB-IV
Nashville, TN 37232-0252

Applications

Applications are due February 20, 2027 and reviews are performed in February/March for a June start date.

Applicants selected for consideration of funding will then be required to be available for an oral presentation of their project to the selection committee in April 2027. The start date of the awards will be June 1, 2027.

Detailed guidelines for submission are available here. 

For additional information please email Maria Eckhardt or Keith Wilson.