# UAB NORC Pilot and Feasibility Program

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · 2020 · $284,548

## Abstract

The goal of the Pilot and Feasibility and New Named Investigator (P&F-NNI) Program in the UAB Nutrition and
Obesity Research Center (NORC) is to foster an environment for the development and testing of new research
ideas in nutrition- and obesity-related research. These new concepts may not just come from within the current
NORC community, but also from investigators in the many schools throughout UAB’s campus who may bring
new ideas and eventually become NORC members. Selection of projects to be funded by NORC is a two-step
process. In the first step, the opportunity for funding is advertised using all possible mechanisms (on the NORC
website; flyers throughout campus; in the UAB eReporter (an electronic newspaper distributed to the entire
campus community); and email dissemination through Deans, Chairs, and Directors of University-wide
Research Centers, including the Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS; i.e., UAB’s CTSA)).
NORC P&F recipients must be members of the UAB faculty (at any rank) at the time of award. Emphasis is
placed on funding junior investigators, but senior investigators who have not previously been funded for
nutrition- and obesity-related research are also eligible to apply. Submitted abstracts (1 page or 500 words) are
reviewed by the P&F Program directors and the NORC senior leadership to identify which are most meritorious
and which would utilize NORC Cores. Those who have submitted the top-rated abstracts are then invited to
submit a full application. Once received, these applications are reviewed and scored extramurally (using the
NIH review scoring scheme) by experts in the field. The scores and the written reviews are then considered by
the P&F Program directors and the senior NORC leadership. P&F Program awardees not only receive funding,
but also mentoring, administrative support, and grantsmanship advice to maximize the possibility of
subsequent extramural funding of the projects. In doing so, the P&F Program directors provide oversight and
monitoring to ensure that any administrative or science-related barriers are overcome. In the unlikely event that
a project encounters an insurmountable difficulty, the project may be terminated. Ultimately awardees are
required to present the results of their study at the NORC Scientific Seminar. In conclusion, the P&F-NNI
Program is focused on enabling paradigm shifts in the field of nutrition and obesity research leading to new
and more effective strategies for the prevention and/or treatment of nutrition-related disorders, most especially
obesity.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9932971
- **Project number:** 5P30DK056336-19
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
- **Principal Investigator:** STEPHEN BARNES
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $284,548
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9932971

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9932971, UAB NORC Pilot and Feasibility Program (5P30DK056336-19). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9932971. Licensed CC0.

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