# Pilot & Feasibility Program

> **NIH NIH P30** · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · 2020 · $52,646

## Abstract

Pilot & Feasibility Program - Abstract
The Pilot and Feasibility (P&F) Program is an integral component of the Digestive Disease Research Core Center
(DDRCC) and supports the center’s mission to facilitate and promote digestive and liver disease research at the
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). The overall objective of the P&F Program is to provide and
prioritize short-term funding for scientifically meritorious and innovative projects through a competitive program
which incorporates an open solicitation and peer review process. The primary goals of the P&F Program are to:
1) encourage and support promising New Investigators with an interest in digestive disease research to develop
independent research programs; 2) attract accomplished investigators from other fields who would like to apply
their research skills and expertise to a digestive disease-related problem; and 3) enable established investigators
active in digestive disease or related disorders to test the feasibility of a novel idea, particularly if this constitutes
a departure from their current funded research that will likely have a significant impact on the field. The P&F
Program will be an important vehicle for promoting multidisciplinary collaboration and establishing a strong
supportive scientific network for early career investigators funded by the program. The P&F program plans to
fund 3 projects per year of up to $35,000 each. Decisions related to the awarding of funds will be based on a
rigorous and independent three-phase peer-review process that is modeled on the NIH system. The initial level
of review will involve screening of proposals to verify that applications meet the eligibility criteria. The second
level of review will involve a panel of MUSC experts whose primary function will be to evaluate the scientific and
technical merit of P&F applications. The third level of review will be performed by the DDRCC External Advisory
Board. Applications will be prioritized according to four criteria: 1) quality of the research (scientific merit,
innovation, and impact); 2) qualifications of the research team and ability to lead the research effort toward
securing extramural funding within a reasonable timeframe; 3) relevance to MUSC DDRCC goals and themes
as well as projected use of DDRCC cores, and 4) stimulation of collaborative efforts with DDRCC members
and/or projects. Funded investigators will receive one year of support along with free use of DDRCC core facilities
to explore investigator-initiated projects related to the mission of the DDRCC. Thus, the P&F Program will enable
investigators to form interdisciplinary, interactive, and sustainable research studies that will impact digestive and
liver disease research.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9889239
- **Project number:** 1P30DK123704-01
- **Recipient organization:** MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
- **Principal Investigator:** Caroline Westwater
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $52,646
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9889239

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9889239, Pilot & Feasibility Program (1P30DK123704-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9889239. Licensed CC0.

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