# Pilot Feasibility Program

> **NIH NIH P30** · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · 2024 · $160,000

## Abstract

PILOT FEASIBILITY PROGRAM PROJECT SUMMARY
One of the most important programs of our Texas Medical Center Digestive Diseases Center (DDC) is the Pilot
and Feasibility (P/F) Program. The goals of the P/F Program are to provide pilot funds to (1) support young
investigators starting a career in digestive disease (DD) research and (2) foster the development of DD-related
research by both junior and established investigators in non-DD related fields in the Texas Medical Center. These
goals are accomplished by supporting investigator-initiated scientific studies to generate preliminary data for new
research projects. Novel approaches for studying DD-related topics that complement the DDC’s goals are
encouraged. Awards are granted following a rigorous peer-review process that involves an evaluation for
scientific merit by a Scientific Review Committee, which includes DDC Internal Advisory Committee members,
ad hoc scientists from the Texas Medical Center, and DDC External Advisory Committee members.
We are requesting $100,000/year to continue the P/F Program. This funding is significantly enhanced by
additional annual commitments from our three partner institutions, including $25,000 from The University of
Texas Health Science Center (UTHSC), $25,000 from The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
(MDACC) and $115,000 from Baylor College of Medicine (BCM). All P/F awardees have priority access to our
Cores for 1 year or for the duration of their award.
The P/F Program has a strong record of accomplishments. In the past 10 years, we have supported 71 P/F
recipients, 36 of whom have collectively been awarded $49,313,693 in extramural direct cost funding,
representing a 51% success rate and a 24-fold return on investment of DDC funds.
From 2018 to 2022, we received between 11 and 27 applications per year (average 19). For 2022 funding, we
received 20 letters of intent, and 11 applications were completed for review. The top four proposals are described
in this application to illustrate the breadth and quality of the new research stimulated and facilitated by the DDC.
The P/F program has a Director and two Assistant Directors, representing the three partner institutions (BCM,
UTHSC, MDACC), and a Scientific Review Committee. We have several formal processes for soliciting and
reviewing P/F proposals. Review considerations include project novelty, feasibility, qualifications, applicant
productivity, and alignment to our DDC theme, the likelihood the project will lead to new knowledge and
extramural funding, and use of our DDC Cores. Our P/F Program coupled with our pediatric and adult-DD training
programs with career-development initiatives open to all DDC members help recruit new faculty and foster
collaborative, multidisciplinary interactions among all DDC members.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10920373
- **Project number:** 5P30DK056338-22
- **Recipient organization:** BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** DOUGLAS G BURRIN
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $160,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2001-04-15 → 2028-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10920373

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10920373, Pilot Feasibility Program (5P30DK056338-22). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10920373. Licensed CC0.

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