# Pilot Project Program

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2021 · $324,917

## Abstract

PILOT PROJECTS : ABSTRACT
The Pilot Project Program is a key-component of the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology (CEET)
that builds capacity in environmental health sciences (EHS). The Pilot Project Program serves to support Early-
Stage Investigators (ESI) that are interested in pursuing EHS, and senior investigators who may be embarking
on EHS projects for the first-time. To assist in the pilot project application process, we run a grants-writing program
within the Career Development activities of the Administrative Core. The Pilot Projects available fall into four
categories: (a) Mentored Scientist Transition Award (MSTA) which is our primary mechanism of funding a ESI
(new recruits, clinician scientists, research track faculty) who need protected time through salary and research
support to establish their independent research programs; (b) an Opportunity Award open to all junior and senior
faculty who propose an innovative EHS project which is not ready for federal funding; (c) a “Rapid Response”
award to promote community engaged research or provide funds to a faculty member who urgently needs to
generate preliminary data for a EHS relevant grant application; and (d) Focus Research Awards to support
research in the thematic areas of the Center: Air pollution & Lung Health, Environmental Exposures & Cancer,
Windows-of-Susceptibility and Environmental Neuroscience with emphasis to support multi-investigator grant
applications. Applications receive high priority if they are likely to lead to extramural funding from NIEHS or
respond to a RFA on which NIEHS is a sponsor; and if they use one or more facility cores, the Integrative Health
Sciences Facility Core (IHSFC), the Translational Biomarker Core (TBC) and Exposure Biology Informatics Core
(EBIC). Pilot project awardees are invited back after 12 months of funding to present on their progress in the
CEET seminar series. Outcome metrics such as grant applications submitted, grants awarded, and publications
are updated on an annual basis to account for the significant lag-phase that can exist between the pilot project
award and these successful outcomes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10189592
- **Project number:** 5P30ES013508-16
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Rebecca A Simmons
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $324,917
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2006-04-01 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10189592

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10189592, Pilot Project Program (5P30ES013508-16). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10189592. Licensed CC0.

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