# Pilot Core

> **NIH NIH P50** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2020 · $112,320

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
The Pilot program has proven to be an important mechanism for the evolution of CSORDA by incorporating
new and innovative project areas, new faculty participation, and new technical approaches. The program also
has introduced talented UCLA faculty to addiction-related research. The Pilot Core will fund 4 Pilot
Projects/year. Pilots have full access to CSORDA resources including the Animal Breeding Core (AB-Core)
and the Technical Advancement Core (TA-Core). The TA-Core includes consultation with the Semel
Biostatistics Core (SiStat) and Dr. Arthur Arnold for expertise and reagents for the study of sex differences.
Logistical management, as well as budgetary and scientific oversight of the Pilot Core, will be the responsibility
of the Administrative Core. The Pilot selection process involves a call for proposals and evaluation of the
rationale, approach, and rigor of proposals by the Pilot Project Selection Committee, chaired and chosen by
Dr. Edythe London. This committee selects project finalists, which are subsequently presented at a biweekly
CSORDA meeting. The presentation provides the opportunity for initiating collaborations, as well as critiquing,
and optimization of Pilot Projects. Funding is discussed at the Steering Committee leadership meetings, with
the Directors making final decisions in consultation with Dr. London and the Advisory Board. Pilots will be
funded according to their innovation, research excellence and rigor, as well as impact on substance abuse
research. Given equivalent merit, priority will be given to projects most closely related to the theme of the
Center or that offer new technologies or research for future CSORDA directions. Pilot progress will be
monitored by presentations at a biweekly CSORDA meeting between 6 to 9 months after funding begins.
Annual NIH Progress Reports provide documentation of progress. If a second year of funding is requested, a
competitive application will be required. The Projects selected for funding during Year 1 of the renewal (with
possibility of funding in Year 2) are: I) Pamela Kennedy, Assistant Professor in Psychology, will investigate a
switch from goal-directed to habit learning following opioid drug withdrawal and a role for kappa opioid
receptors; II) Sotiris Masmanidis, Assistant Professor in Neurobiology, will use silicon microprobe recording
technology developed by his group to investigate the perturbation of striatal physiology following withdrawal
following chronic opioid administration; III) Kate Wassum, Assistant Professor in Psychology, will explore
neural circuits underlying maladaptive reward-seeking decisions in opiate withdrawal; and IV) Carlos
Cepeda, Research Professor in Psychiatry, will use miniaturized microscopes from the TA-Core to image
calcium activity in the striata of freely-behaving mice following opioid administration. Sex differences will be
considered in every Pilot. These 4 Projects all have potential to generate NIDA-related independent rese...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9964741
- **Project number:** 5P50DA005010-34
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** Pamela Kennedy
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $112,320
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9964741

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9964741, Pilot Core (5P50DA005010-34). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9964741. Licensed CC0.

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