# Pilot Projects Program

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MED CTR · 2020 · $598,920

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY. The Pilot Projects Program of the Mississippi Center for Clinical and Translational
Research (CCTR) will support clinical, translational, and population-based obesity-focused research projects
that will become the basis for competitive extramural funding applications. Key considerations in awarding
support will be the likelihood of attracting extramural funding, evidence of a path toward an independent
research career for the applicant, and the probability that the research program will lead to improved
management of obesity and its complications. The Program is also designed to promote multi-institutional and
multi-disciplinary collaboration, and to ensure equitable and productive distribution of research support across
the CCTR partner institutions—the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Tougaloo College, and the
University of Southern Mississippi. Pilot Projects support will be provided through three programs that are
complementary to programs in the CCTR Professional Development Core. Mentored junior faculty from the
three partnering institutions will receive assured research project support for up to four years to help each one
develop a successful research program with sustained extramural funding. Up to two attendees per year from
the two-week, residential CCTR Community Engaged Research (CEnR) Institute will be eligible for research
support. Institute attendees will include junior faculty from all major Mississippi universities, thus promoting the
career development of obesity-focused CEnR investigators across the state and increasing the number and
diversity of such investigators. An open solicitation for investigator-initiated clinical and translational research
proposals will occur twice annually, allowing promising obesity-focused investigators to identify themselves,
and supporting their development of preliminary data for successful funding applications. Studies addressing
health disparities and medically underserved populations will be prioritized. Targeting Pilot Project Awards
through these three programs and with these priorities is expected to lead to support for multi-institutional and
multi-disciplinary clinical, translational, and community engaged collaborative research among strong
investigators from diverse academic and cultural backgrounds. Overall, this approach will lead to a broad-
based, state-wide research platform that will succeed in addressing obesity, its complications, and related
health disparities across Mississippi.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10009383
- **Project number:** 5U54GM115428-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MED CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** Celso Enrique Gomez-Sanchez
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $598,920
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-08-18 → 2021-08-19

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10009383

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10009383, Pilot Projects Program (5U54GM115428-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10009383. Licensed CC0.

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