Pilot studies program continues to grow

That meant eight clinical research teams in the Buffalo Translational Consortium (BTC) were able to pursue promising lines of inquiry into the cause, prevention and treatment of health disorders. Concrete data collected in pilot studies can be decisive when applying for additional funding from extramural sources, and in advancing clinical research further along the translational spectrum.

You can read more about the 2015-16 grant award winners here.

The eight projects launched in 2015-16 were the most that have been funded through the pilot studies program in a single year since it was launched in 2010. The $600,000 budget was equal to the combined budget of the previous three years, and for the first time it included a contribution from the CTSA, which was granted to UB by the NIH in the summer of 2015.

Institutional support for the program continues with funds provided by UB’s Office of the Provost, Office of the Vice President for Research and Office of the Vice President for Health Sciences, Roswell Park Cancer Institute and the deans of UB’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Public Health and Health Professions, and School of Nursing. New funding from the CTSA has expanded the number of pilot study awards.

The Pilot Translational and Clinical Studies Program has a proven track record of success, having generated 41 publications and nearly $8 million in extramural funding in its first three years. That’s a return on investment ratio of greater than 13:1.

Investigators who received CTSA pilot study awards in 2014-15 presented their findings at a colloquium held in the Clinical and Translational Research Center in October. A similar colloquium will be held next fall with presentations given by the researchers who were awarded funding in the 2015-16 cycle.

Grants for the 2016-17 pilot studies have already been awarded. All BTC institutions were represented among applicants to the program in 2016.

Awardees for the first round of 2017-18 studies are scheduled to be selected in February of 2017.

The Request For Applications (RFA) for the second round of 2017-18 studies is scheduled to be released in the spring of 2017. More information will be posted to the CTSA Pilot Translational and Clinical Studies Program webpage as it becomes available. CTSA Pilot Translational and Clinical Studies Core Director Steven J. Fliesler, PhD, has posted a set of helpful hints and guidelines for submissions on line.