# Pilot and Feasibility Program

> **NIH NIH P30** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · 2020 · $447,226

## Abstract

Pilot & Feasibility Program (P&F): Project Summary/Abstract
The Pilot and Feasibility (P&F) program has funded 121 projects (including 2016) since its inception in 1978.
This program has been extremely valuable and effective by providing monies for the support of diabetes-
related projects. The goal of the program is to support small research projects by new investigators (who have
little or no independent research support) or established investigators who are turning to diabetes research for
the first time. The vast majority of the proposals are in the former category. Three new projects are normally
initiated each year. After a university-wide solicitation of proposals, four individuals (two internal and two
external to the institution) review each grant. The critiques of the proposal are evaluated by the P&F Review
Committee (equivalent to an NIH study section), and each proposal is assigned a priority score. The proposals
and priority scores are then presented to the DRTC Executive Committee (equivalent to the NIH Council) for a
funding decision. Support for a second year of research is awarded when satisfactory work is completed in
year one and if support for the projects has not been obtained in the interim. The success rate of this program,
measured either by the number of investigators who remain involved in diabetes research, or who convert their
P&F into a nationally awarded, peer-reviewed grant, is high (33% of grants funded from 2012-2016 (5 of 15).
In addition, this program funds applications from a wide variety of departments within the institution. For
example, faculty members from Departments of Medicine, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics,
Pharmacology, Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Anesthesiology, Pediatrics, and Chemistry were funded
over the past five years. The P&F program also provides visibility for the VDRTC within the Vanderbilt scientific
community and thus makes the scientific community more aware of the VDRTC, its research efforts, and its
core facilities. The importance and effectiveness of the VDRTC P&F program is underscored by the decision
of the VUMC leadership to provide additional P&F funds ($100K/year) for this program in the next funding
cycle.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9933899
- **Project number:** 5P30DK020593-43
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Roland W Stein
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $447,226
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9933899

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9933899, Pilot and Feasibility Program (5P30DK020593-43). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9933899. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*