# Pilot/Exploratory Studies Core

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · 2020 · $231,042

## Abstract

7. Project Summary- PESC
The purpose of the UM-OAIC Pilot and Exploratory Studies Core (PESC) is to provide critical, initial funding for
pilot and exploratory studies that are consistent with the Center’s overall goals of: 1) advancing our
understanding of the mechanisms by which exercise and activity-based rehabilitation interventions directed at
specific impairments affect multiple body systems underlying functional performance; and 2) developing and
testing interventions to restore function and minimize disability following acute disabling events and gradual
declines related to serious chronic diseases. To meet this objective, the PESC will provide research support
and mentoring of investigators with high quality pilot and exploratory research proposals designed to acquire
preliminary data needed for future crucial studies congruent with the Center’s focus. Priorities for awards
include relevance to the UM-OAIC goal, potential for subsequent independent funding, new multidisciplinary
collaborations and translational potential. PESC funding and mentoring of junior faculty in the conduct of pilot
projects are essential to ensure the 1) coordination of innovative translational approaches to research in
exercise and rehabilitation sciences; 2) investigation of the mechanisms underlying mobility limitation, physical
disability, recovery and the prevention of disability in vulnerable older adults; and 3) assessment of the
functional and clinical responses to novel exercise and activity-based rehabilitation interventions. Five
innovative pilot studies will be supported in the first year of this competitive renewal. These studies will
investigate: 1) the feasibility of delivering a home-based intervention for hip fracture patients with cognitive
impairment; 2) an innovative hip abductor function intervention for older adults at risk for falls; 3) novel
functional genetic biomarkers for upper arm motor recovery in chronic stroke patients using genome-wide
expression profiling and DNA methylation; 4) phenotyping in Parkinson’s disease using a portable biosensor
device, and 5) inflammatory biomarkers and neuropsychiatric changes after hip fracture. The preliminary data
obtained in these studies will form the basis for larger, investigator-initiated studies to advance our ability to
improve outcomes from disabling conditions in older persons and develop the careers of new academic
leaders pursuing research in this important area.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9962228
- **Project number:** 5P30AG028747-15
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE
- **Principal Investigator:** MARY McIntyre RODGERS
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $231,042
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9962228

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9962228, Pilot/Exploratory Studies Core (5P30AG028747-15). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9962228. Licensed CC0.

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