PILOT PROJECT PROGRAM: PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The CEHS Pilot Project Program plays a pivotal role in fostering innovation and growth of the Center. The Pilot Project Program provides consistent opportunities for new research directions in toxicology and environmental health. Every year, the CEHS issues a call that is geared towards support of basic and translational research, occasionally the CEHS will issue a special call geared towards Junior faculty or translational research. All calls for proposals are open to the MIT community, leading to support of existing CEHS members, as well as non-members whose work is either already in alignment with that of the Center, or investigators who would like to explore new research directions related to environmental health sciences (EHS). By encouraging non-members to apply, we are able to encourage involvement of the Center activities, which in some cases leads to a more serious commitment in the form of membership, thus keeping the CEHS membership in a state of constant renewal. There is a fast turn-around time, enabling applicants to quickly leverage time-sensitive opportunities. With its emphasis on both supporting Junior faculty and on promoting Senior faculty to move in new EHS research directions, the Pilot Project Program provides a platform of support for new and exciting research aimed at addressing important challenges in environmental health, both at the local, national, and global levels. During the next competitive cycle, we propose to continue the Pilot Project Program which has been highly effective in the past (see Highlights of Pilot Projects Awarded in the Research Strategy) and which promises to continue to be an important source of support for cutting edge research related to EHS. Our specific aims are: (1) provide support for Junior Investigators to assist them in the establishment of new research directions related to environmental health. Pilot funding supports the gathering of preliminary data that can be used to garner more significant mechanisms of support from the NIEHS. (2) Provide a means for rapid turnaround support in order to be responsive to time-sensitive opportunities in EHS. (3) Provide a mechanism for researchers who historically have not focused on environmental health to become engaged in the mission and activities of the Center. These activities are critical in order to recruit new membership. (4) Allow for established investigators to move in directions in EHS and toxicology that represent a significant departure from their ongoing funded research. (5) Draw in investigators from other areas of endeavor to apply their expertise to EHS research. And (6) develop novel COE2C activities and tools arising directly from Center members’ research.