# Pilot and Exploratory Studies Core

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2024 · $197,389

## Abstract

Abstract 
The goal of the Pilot and Exploratory Studies Core (PESC) is to provide support for studies that will develop 
and test new research ideas of high relevance to the Center’s overall theme: improve understanding of how 
metabolic factors and inflammation interact with age-related diseases and comorbidities to determine key health 
outcomes related to mobility and functional status. The PESC will thus fund pilot research studies over a wide 
range of disciplines, from basic, pre-clinical, clinical patient-oriented research through behavioral and health 
services research. Each submitted proposal will first receive an evaluation for scientific merit by at least three 
external reviewers and then be further evaluated by OAIC leaders for relevance to the Center objectives. The 
PESC has made 155 pilot grants since its inception in 1989, mostly to junior faculty, many of whom have now 
established themselves as productive independent researchers in geriatric medicine and cognate disciplines. 
Five projects have been selected for 2020-2021 (Year 1 of the competing renewal), including: 1) Type 2 
Diabetes Self-Management in Older African American Men: A Peer Leader Pilot Intervention; 2) Evaluate de- 
escalation of biologic bDMARDs (biologic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs) among older adults with 
Rheumatoid Arthritis; 3) Home-delivered meals to prevent recurrent hepatic encephalopathy: The 
BRAINFOOD randomized controlled trial; 4) Pathway to De-escalation: Characterizing antibiotic prescribing 
cascade for older adults. 5) Age-associated alterations in protein translation dynamics. The PESC will be 
directed by Drs. Lona Mody and Daniel Goldstein. They will work closely with the Research Education Core 
(REC) and all the Resource Cores (RCs) to support implementation of innovative and promising projects 
proposed by junior scientists, or more senior investigators new to aging research, increasing the likelihood that 
projects will lead to externally supported research in aging.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10884419
- **Project number:** 5P30AG024824-20
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Lona Mody
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $197,389
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2004-09-30 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10884419

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10884419, Pilot and Exploratory Studies Core (5P30AG024824-20). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-29 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10884419. Licensed CC0.

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