# Core 4: Pilot Project Core

> **NIH NIH P50** · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $139,725

## Abstract

Project Summary – Pilot Projects
The goals of this Pilot Project Core of the VCU Alcohol Research Center are to: 1) manage the progress and
quality control for our two designated initial pilot projects, 2) solicit and evaluate future pilot grant proposals to
further expand the scientific breadth of VCU-ARC, 3) encourage pilot grant awardees to submit proposals for
independent funding and 4) support training opportunities for students and postdoctoral fellows within
laboratories of funded pilot projects. Drs. Bjork and Edwards are experts in motivational and internalizing
factors that influence risk for human alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and will be the Lead and co-investigator of
Pilot Project 1, entitled “The role of neurocognition in polygenic risk for alcohol use disorder and comorbidities”.
They have proposed a novel study to integrate data on the neurocognitive performance of individuals with
severe AUD and uncover the genetic relationships leading to AUD risk. Their pilot will interface with the
longitudinal genetic studies proposed in Projects 4 and 5 (Dick and Webb) and may inform analyses in Core 3
(Bacanu). Furthermore, if successful, Pilot Project 1's work will provide solid preliminary data for future funding
applications assessing the neurocognitive and genetic contributions to risk for AUD. The second targeted pilot
will be conducted by Dr. Joel Schlosburg, an expert neuropharmacologist with expertise in drug and alcohol
use disorders, and is entitled "Dissection of the acute and dependent responses to ethanol in rats lacking fatty
acid amide hydrolase”. Pilot Project 2 will use a newly established FAAH knockout rat on an outbred
background to test the role of FAAH on ethanol sensitivity, intake and preference. This pilot will expand the
knowledge of the impact of potential future FAAH inhibitor development for use in clinical trials, with at least
three separate such inhibitors in various phases and endpoints. These studies may also be the first to
demonstrate whether NAPE-PLD is the primary synthetic enzyme supplying fatty acid amide substrates to
FAAH. We will solicit other proposals in year 2 and fund the two best of them in years 3-4, then solicit
proposals again in year 4 to fund one in year 5. The pilot program is an important component of the VCU-ARC
that will enable us to attract new and innovative researchers to interact with Center investigators and expand
high quality alcohol research at VCU.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10429950
- **Project number:** 5P50AA022537-08
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** MICHAEL F MILES
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $139,725
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-08-05 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10429950

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10429950, Core 4: Pilot Project Core (5P50AA022537-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10429950. Licensed CC0.

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