PILOT PROJECTS
The Hopkins Conte Digestive Diseases Basic and Translational Research Core Center (jhugicc.org/) was established in June of 2011 to advance fundamental and translational gastrointestinal research at Hopkins. The Core mission is to bring together GI investigators and encourage others in the community to enter this area of research. This is accomplished by:
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- Providing cutting-edge resources that are too expensive or labor-intensive to be maintained by most individual laboratories; and
- Generating an environment that supports the intellectual activities of Center members through seminars, symposia, and work-in-progress updates on GI-related research
- Funding Pilot/Feasibility projects
The Pilot/Feasibility Projects (P/FP) are key components of Core activities. The goal of this program is to provide seed money for projects, eventually leading to successful competition for funding at the national level. The P/FPs provide $10,000-$25,000, typically given each year to up to 4 investigators/projects. Alternatively, up to $50,000 can be awarded for collaborative projects between a new investigator and a more senior investigator (#2 under Eligibility below). There is no requirement for permanent residence status or US citizenship. Preference is given to young investigators (see criteria of eligibility below); funding is usually for one year. All recipients of P/FP project funding are required to submit a yearly update on their progress for 5 years and formal presentation of progress after the 2nd year.
Eligibility
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- New investigators, who have never held extramural NIH support other than a K or R03 award and have not been PIs on R, P, or U grants, are the preferred group for funding. Those with MD, PhD, or MD/PhD are eligible and applicants should be junior faculty or will be junior faculty at the start of this funding.
- New investigators (as in #1 above) can apply in collaboration with a more senior investigator as a co-principal investigator. These awards can be up to $50,000. These funds may be shared between the investigators, for example, if the senior PI contributes specialized reagents, access to unique instruments, or licensed software. A detailed budget is required for these applications, and a majority of the funds should be designated to the junior investigator.
- Established investigators who are interested in entering the GI field and initiate the GI-related projects.
- GI investigators who are starting a new, innovative project that represents a significant departure from their ongoing, funded research.
The order above (1=2>3>4) represents the priority for selecting projects for funding. Investigators may generally receive P/F support only once in any 5-year period. Consideration can be given for a second year upon submission of a formal application, which must include a progress report.
We especially welcome applications from underrepresented minorities, women, and individuals with disabilities.
REQUIREMENTS OF PILOT PROJECTS
- The proposed research must be related to a GI topic.
- The project proposes to use one or more Center Cores resources/services. Information about Cores can be found here.
- The P/FPs awardees are expected to participate and present their research at a Center’s work-in-progress meeting. Junior investigators are required to meet with a committee after six months of funding, to review progress.
- Our center is judged on how many R or P grants result from the pilot projects. Priority for funding will be in part based on the potential to lead to such funding.
PROPOSAL DETAILS
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- Applications are submitted electronically (by e-mail) by (TBA) to Ms. Esther Choi (echoi34@jhmi.edu). Only fully completed applications that follow the format described below will be considered.
- The $10,000-$25,000, or up to $50,000 for collaborative projects, for one year can be used to cover expenses for salary (technician, postdoctoral fellow, NOT faculty), supplies, animals.
- Format:
- Cover page (Please use the form), which includes title, abstract up to 250 words (can be Arial 10), and pending/approved IACUC/IRB protocols.
- NIH Biosketch of applicant and mentor (if applicable).
- Applicant’s other support (salary source, etc).
- Budget and Justification for funds requested.
- Specific Aims, Background, Preliminary Results, Research Plan, Future Directions: total 3 pages, font size Arial 11.
- Plans to apply for extramural funding: topic and time frame: 1 page
- References: 1 page.
- Letter from PI, mentor(s), Department Chair or Division Chief stating how this project will allow you to advance independence and further your career, with emphasis on establishing independence.
REVIEW PROCESS
The Center’s External Scientific Advisory Committee will review the proposals based on the eligibility criteria. An interview may be offered.
For additional information please contact Ms. Esther Choi (echoi34@jhmi.edu), Dr. J. Hamilton (jpahamilton@jhmi.edu), and/or Dr. J. Pluznick (jpluznick@jhmi.edu).
DDRC Year 11 P/F Projects have been awarded. We will announce when the next round will be offered.
HISTORY OF P30 PILOT AND FEASIBILITY PROGRAM OUTCOMES
| P&F # | PI (sex, dept.) | Dates/Amount of P&F Award (direct costs) | Pilot Project Title (Core Focus Area) | P&F Category | A* | P | Applications / Grants and Current academic position if changed | Pending/ Funded | Project Period | Still in DD Research? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ayman Koteish, MD Male, Med | 2011-2012 ($20,000) | EMT and hepatic fibrogenesis (Basic Pathophysiology) | 1 | 1 | 4 | R21 application x2; ABIMR application Now Director of Hepatology/Liver Transplantation, Florida Hospital Center. | Yes | ||
| 2 | Florin Selaru, MD Male, Med | 2011-2012 ($20,000) | MicroRNAs in Cholangiocarcinoma (Basic Pathophysiology) | 1 | 3 | 20 | K08DK090154; R01EB017742; Patent | K08; R01 funded (PI) | 7/1/11-6/30/10 | Yes |
| 3 | Shaoguang Wu, MD Female, Onc | 2011-2012 ($20,000) | REG III gene expressing ETBF (Basic Pathophysiology) | 1 | 0 | 0 | Yes | |||
| 4 | James Hamilton, MD Male, Med | Epigenetic regulation in hepatocellular carcinoma (Basic Pathophysiology) | Epigenetic regulation in hepatocellular carcinoma (Basic Pathophysiology) | 1 | 3 | P/F led to collaboration with S. Lutsenko and new research direction leading to R01 (DK117396) application x3; patent | R01 funded (MPI) | 5/1/18-4/30/23 | Yes | |
| 5 | Mariana Lazo, MD, PhD Female, Med | 2012-2013 ($25,000) | Liver microRNAs and NASH (Translational Research) | 1 | 1 | 5 | R01; R21; Nexus Award (JHU Award); Now at Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health | R01 funded; Nexus Award Funded | 9/1/16-7/31/22; 2017 | Yes |
| 6 | Sandra Gabelli, PhD Female, Med/CMM | 2012-2013 ($25,000) | NHE3 Structure (Basic Physiology) | 2 | 1 | 0 | Yes | |||
| 7 | Nicholas Zachos, PhD Male, Med | 2012-2013 ($25,000) | Human Enteroid as a Model of Host-Pathogen Interactions (Basic Pathohysiology) | 1 | 2 | 5 | U01; R24; P01; TEDCO; Gates Grand Challenge; | U01 funded (Co-I); R24 funded (Co-I); P01 funded (Co-I); TEDCO funded (PI); Gates Grand Challenge (Co-PI) | 9/1/14-8/31/19; 7/1/14-6/30/22; 7/1/16-6/30/26; 7/1/14-4/30/15; 6/1/14-4/30/16 | Yes |
| 8 | Pamela Guerrerio, MD, PhD++ Female, Peds | 2013-2014 ($25,000) | Mendelian Disorder and Eosinophilic GI Diseases (Translational Research) | 1 | 1 | Now Chief, Food Allergy Research Unit at the NIH | Yes | |||
| 9 | Kathleen Burns, MD, PhD+++ (with H. Kazazian, Ph.D) Female, Path/Onc | 2013-2014 ($25,000) | Retrotransposons and GI Cancers (Basic Pathophysiology) | 1a | 0 | 2 | R01 GM099875 Now Chief, Oncologic Pathology, Dana Farber Cancer Inst. | R01 Funded and refunded | 7/1/13-3/21/20 | Yes |
| 10 | Jennifer Pluznick, PhD++++ Female, Physiology | 2013-2014 ($25,000) | Gut Microbiota and Hypertension (Basic Pathophysiology) | 1 | 2 | 2 | R01DK107726; R01HL128512; AHA | R01s funded; AHA funded | 12/1/15-11/30/21; 4/1/16-03/31/21; 1/1/15-12/31/16 | Yes |
| 11 | Arnab Gupta, PhD Female, Physiology | 2013-2014 ($25,000) | Trafficking of Cu ATPases (Basic Physiology) | 1 | 1 | 5 | Wellcome Trust DBT Now a Fellow, IISER Kolkata, India | Wellcome Trust-India Alliance; Ramanujan Fellowship; MRC Grant | 2016-2021; 2015-2020; 2020-2023 | Yes |
| 12 | Shaoyong Yu, MD, PhD Male, Med | 2014-2015 ($10,000) | OCT and Eosinophilic Esophagitis (Translational research) | 1 | 0 | 2 | R01 DK110366 (M-PI); R01 DK126673 | R01s funded | 8/25/18-7/31/21; 9/21/20-8/31/23 | Yes |
| 13 | Ines A Silva, PhD+++++ Female Ped Onc | 2014-2015 ($10,000) | Intestinal Regeneration in GVH (Translational research) | 1 | 0 | 0 | Now at U Michigan | No | ||
| 14 | Hai-Quan Mao, PhD++++++ Male, Engineering | Enteroid Platforms (Basic Physiology) | Enteroid Platforms (Basic Physiology) | 2 | 0 | 1 | Associate Director, Institute for Nanobiotechnology | No | ||
| 15 | Florin Selaru, MD Male, Med | 2014-2015 ($25,000) | Microgrippers in GI Disease (Translational Research) | 1 | 0 | 4 | R01EB017742 | R01 funded and renewed | 10/02/14–9/31/22 | Yes |
| 16 | Takanari Inoue, PhD Male, Cell Biology | 2014-2015 ($20,000) | Developing rapidly inducible techniques to reveal molecular identity of polarized epithelial cells (Basic Physiology) | 2 | 0 | 0 | R01GM123130 | R01 funded | 9/1/18-8/31/23 | No |
| 17 | Hari Easwaran, PhD Male, Onc | 2015-2016 ($25,000) | Tet-inducible CRISPR/CAS9 and Human Enteroids (Translational research) | 1 | 1 | 0 | R01CA230995 R01 CA229240 (Co-I) | R01s funded | 9/1/18-8/31/23; 7/1/19-6/30/24 | Yes |
| 18 | Yoon-Young Jang, MD, PhD Female, Onc | 2015-2016 II ($25,000) | Stem cell derived mini-livers (Basic Physiology) | 1 | 0 | 5 | R03 HD0912264; AASLD RSA | R03 funded; AASLD funded | 7/1/18-6/30/20; 7/1/19-6/30-19 | Yes |
| 19 | Hannah Pierson, PhD Female, Physiology | 2015-2016 II ($25,000) | Enteroids and ATP7B (Basic Pathophysiology) | 1 | 0 | 1 | Now Senior Scientist, Matrix ART, Calgary | Yes | ||
| 20 | Julie In, PhD Female, Med | 2016-2017 ($25,000) | EspP Damage and Recovery in Human Colonoids (Basic Pathophysiology) | 1 | 0 | 4 | K01 DK106323; DOD Research Award; AGA CSA Application; Now at University of New Mexico | K funded; | 4/1/16-1/31/23 | Yes |
| 21 | Amy Kim, MD Female, Med | 2016-2017 ($25,000) | Circulating DNA as Predictor of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Outcomes (Translational research) | 1 | 0 | 3 | R44 HG008700 (co-I) U01 CA230690 (co-I) K08CA237624 DOD Award-PRCRP-USAMRAA : W81XWH-20-1-0605 CA191036 | R44 funded; U01 funded; K funded; DOD funded | 9/25/18-8/31/20; 8/31/18-8/30/23; 04/01/20-03/30/25 | Yes |
| 22 | Joanna Melia, MD Female, Med | 2016-2017 ($25,000) | SLC39A8 in the intestinal inflammatory milieu (Translational Research) | 1 | 0 | 3 | K08DK114478; CCF multicenter Acute Colitis Study; AGA Elsevier Award | K Funded; CCF Funded; AGA Funded | 07/01/19-04/30/24; 01/01/18-12/31/19; 07/01/20-06/30/21 | Yes |
| 23 | Nicholas Zachos, PhD Male, Med | 2016-2017 ($25,000) | Rotavirus in Human Enteroids (Translational Research) | 1 | 3 | 11 | R01 application x2 | See also #7 | Yes | |
| 24 | Jennifer Foulke-Abel, PhD Female, Med | 2017-2018 ($25,000) | Cholera Toxin and Cell Cycle Arrest (Basic Pathophysiology) | 1 | 1 | 1 | K01DK113043; P01AI1125181 | K01 funded; P01 funded | 3/17-2/22 07/01/21-06/30/26 | Yes |
| 25 | Gabsang Lee, DVM, PhD Male, Neuro | 2017-2018 ($15,000) | iPSC Reconstruction of Neuro-Enteroid Model (Basic Physiology) | 2 | 0 | 1 | R21 planned | Yes | ||
| 26 | Tasha Larman, MD+++++++ (with Rong Li , Ph.D) Female, Path | 2016-2017 ($25,000) | Niche Factor Independent Growth of Colonoids (Basic Pathophysiology) | 1a | 0 | 1 | K08 application; Mark Foundation for Cancer Research | Mark Foundation funded | 3/1/19-2/28/20 | Yes |
| 27 | Lingling Xian, MD, PhD Female, Med | 2017-2018 ($20,000) | HMGA1 in Goblet Cell Differentiation and Regeneration (Basic Pathophysiology) | 1 | 1 | 1 | R01CA232741 (Co-I) | R01 funded | 07/24/18-06/30/23 | Yes |
| 28 | Shadi Yarandi, MD Female, Med | 2017-2018 ($20,000) | Antibiotics, GI Motility and ENS Expression (Basic Pathophysiology) | 1 | 1 | 1 | K08 application; AGA CSA application 2019 | No | ||
| 29 | Clare Lee, MD Female, Med | 2018-2019 ($30,000) | Vagus-Enteroids and Bile Acids and Microbiome and Glucose Metabolism (Translational Research) | 1 | 0 | 0 | Now at Eskanazi Health, Indiana | No | ||
| 30 | Subhash Kulkarni, PhD Male, Med | 2018-2019 ($25,000) | Vagus-Enteroids and Organ on Chip (Basic Physiology) | 1 | 0 | 0 | R21 application fall 2019; R01AG066768 | R01 funded | 1/15/21-12/31/25 | Yes |
| 31 | Mark Lazarev, MD+++++++ (with A. Meeks, PhD) Male, Med | 2018-2019 ($25,000) | Serrated Polys and IBD and Cancer (Translational research) | 1a | 0 | 1 | Yes | |||
| 32 | Janet Markle, PhD Female, Med | 2018-2019 ($25,000) | Discovering genes and mechanisms of severe inflammatory bowel disease in children (Translational research) | 1 | 0 | 0 | Now at Vanderbilt University SOM | Yes | ||
| 33 | G William Wong, PhD Male, Physiology | 2019-2020 ($25,000) | CTRP4, in inflammatory bowel disease (Basic Pathophysiology) | 2 | 0 | 0 | Yes | |||
| 34 | Huimin (Helen) Yu, MD, PhD Female, Med | 2019-2020 II ($25,000) | IBD Colonoids and Inflammation (Translational research) | 1 | 1 | 0 | Discovery Fund Challenge Award (JHU) | Yes | ||
| 35 | Zhaozhu Qiu, PhD Male, Physiology | 2019-2020 II ($25,000) | Physiologic Functions of Novel Cl Channels (Basic Physiology) | 2 | 0 | 1 | Yes | |||
| 36 | Varsha Singh, PhD Female, Med | 2020-2021 ($25,000) | Defective Goblet cell function in Ulcerative colitis patients (Translational Research) | 1 | 1 | 0 | Goblet cells in UC; CCF | Yes | ||
| 37 | Archana Venkataraman, PhD Female, Elec eng | 2020-2021 ($15,000) | AI for Neuro-GI: Developing an AI-Driven Software to Construct and Analyze the First Large-Scale Network Map of the Enteric Nervous System (Basic Physiology) | 1 | 0 | 0 | Yes | |||
| 38 | Deok-Ho Kim, PhD Male, Bio Med Eng | 2020-2021 ($25,000) | A Microfluidic Intestine-on-a-Chip for Dynamic Analysis of Gut Immune System Interactions (Basic Physiology) | 2 | 0 | 0 | Yes | |||
| 39 | Joanna Melia, MD Female, Med | 2021-2022 ($25,000) | Aberrant N-glycosylation in Crohn’s disease (Translational Research) | 1 | 0 | 0 | Yes | |||
| 40 | Jennifer Foulke-Abel, PhD Female, Med | 2021-2022 ($20,000) | Bacterial factors mediating innate immune responses to enterotoxigenic E. coli infection (Basic Pathophysiology) | 1 | 1 | 0 | Yes | |||
| 41 | Ken Hui, MD, PhD Male, Med | 2021-2022 ($20,000) | Anatomic and Molecular Characterization of Tac1-Expressing Neurons in the Murine Nodose Ganglion (Basic Physiology) | 1 | 1 | 0 | Yes | |||
| 42 | Tatsuya Yamada, PhD Male, Cell Bio | 2021-2022 ($25,000) | Role of Megamitochondria in Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (Translational Research) | 1 | 0 | 0 | Yes |
A* Abstracts only included if no full manuscript on topic
P/F Category: 35 Category I; 7 Category 2; 0 Category 3 (Thru yr 11; includes category 1 and 1a)
Core Focus Areas/Themes represented: Basic Physiology, 11; Basic Pathophysiology, 16; Translational research, 15.
+ Active in pharmaceutical sponsored research related to liver transplantation and liver disease
++ Used progress in Pilot Project to obtain tenured position at NIH NIAID, 2015
+++ Former head of JHU MD-Ph.D program
++++ Best example of person whose career was advanced by the P/F
+++++ Left institution in middle of Pilot Project program
++++++ Money returned because he accepted major leadership position in Biomedical Engineering Dept., JHU
+++++++ Young scientist as PI with senior scientist as collaborator and mentor (category 1a)