# Pilot Projects Program

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MED CTR · 2022 · $762,519

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY- PILOT PROJECTS PROGRAM. Central to realizing the MCCTR's purpose of
expanding Mississippi's capacity for clinical, translational, and community research is its Pilot Projects Program
(PPP). The PPP supports clinical, translational, and population research projects that will become the basis for
competitive extramural funding applications. During Phase I, key considerations in awarding support to early
stage investigators included the (1) likelihood of attracting extramural funding, (2) evidence of a path toward an
independent research career for the applicant, and (3) probability that the research program would lead to
improved management of obesity or obesity-related diseases. Additional considerations included support for
ethnic and gender diversity, promoting multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional research projects, and equitable
distribution of resources across the MCCTR partner institutions. During Phase II, the breadth of PPP's initiatives
will be expanded in several ways. First, the focus of our pilot project awards will be expanded to include health
conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular and renal disease, cancer, infectious diseases, and
maternal health, all of which are disproportionally prevalent in rural and economically disadvantaged areas of
our state. Second, the number of institutions of higher learning eligible to participate in open solicitation for
applications will be expanded to include Tougaloo College, University of Southern Mississippi, the University of
Mississippi Medical Center, and our new members, Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi
in Oxford. Third, a new funding program that provides up to $5,000 in seed money to support multi-institutional
collaboration and preliminary data collection for development of a subsequent proposal to the PPP and
elsewhere will be introduced. The PPP will solicit applications for funding two times per year to support
investigator-initiated clinical and translational research of priority health areas within Mississippi, including
community-engaged research addressing Mississippi's health disparities and access-to-care issues, with the
expectation of funding up to seven pilot projects per year. Applications for the seed grant program will be solicited
four times per year through an expedited application and review process. For all programs, studies addressing
health disparities and medically underserved populations with an emphasis on implementation will be prioritized.
The PPP and its related programs will lead to support for multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary 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 has the capacity to improve health outcomes and
address health disparities across Mississippi.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10472653
- **Project number:** 5U54GM115428-07
- **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:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $762,519
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-08-18 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10472653

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10472653, Pilot Projects Program (5U54GM115428-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10472653. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*