Home > Research
Penn Gene Therapy Program Pilot Funding
GUIDELINES FOR PILOT & FEASIBILITY AWARD
This Pilot and Feasibility Program is funded by the Gene Therapy Program’s NIDDK P30 Molecular Therapy Core Center grant, which is designed to provide shared resources to support research to develop and test new molecular therapies for CF and other genetic diseases of interest to NIDDK.
A Pilot and Feasibility study provides modest research support for a limited time (one to two years) to enable eligible investigators to explore the feasibility of a concept related to the mission of the Center and generate sufficient data to pursue it through other funding mechanisms. The pilot and feasibility studies are intended to: (1) provide initial support for new investigators; (2) allow exploration of possible innovative new leads or new directions for established investigators in gene therapy and (3) stimulate investigators from other areas to lend their expertise to research in this area. Pilot and feasibility study support is not intended for large projects by established investigators which would otherwise be submitted as separate research grant applications. Pilot and feasibility funds are also not intended to support or supplement ongoing funded research of an established investigator.
A proposed pilot and feasibility study should present a testable hypothesis and clearly delineate the question being asked, detail the procedures to be followed, and discuss how the data will be analyzed. It must be on a topic related to the objectives of the Core Center. Projects should be focused, since funding for these studies is modest and is limited to two years or less. Any one investigator is eligible only once for this support, unless the additional proposed pilot and feasibility study constitutes a real departure from his/her ongoing research.
LETTERS OF INTENT
The Gene Therapy Program requires that investigators who seek support for Pilot & Feasibility Award applications submit, in advance, a BRIEF DESCRIPTION of the research topic. The deadline for submitting Letters of Intent (LOI) is Friday, Feb 3, 2012. Letters of Intent (LOI) must be submitted as one complete PDF via email to moniquek@mail.med.upenn.edu - by 5:00pm (EST) on Feb 3. The LOI guidelines can be found at http://www.med.upenn.edu/gtp/PilotApplicationGuidelines. Late submissions will not be accepted. All LOIs are reviewed electronically; therefore anything not submitted electronically will not be reviewed.
The LOI is a brief description of the research project (maximum of 2 pages, not including references) and should include:
- PI name, degree, title;
- Project title;
- Statement of hypothesis;
- Goals of the research; and
- Brief study design - must clearly state cell types or animal models to be used, aims to be addressed, and proposed methodology.
Note: Pilot & Feasibility applications may receive funding of up to $50,000/year for up to two years (based on a successful competitive renewal).
LOIs should be typed in Arial 11. Please contact Monique Molloy at moniquek@mail.med.upenn.edu if you have any questions regarding the program.
FULL APPLICATION
Pilot applications should be completed on PHS 398 forms and typed in ARIAL 11 font. Each project should begin with an abstract and a detailed budget which should be followed by information requested in Sections 2, 3, 5 (see below) of the NIH research project application format and should be limited to five pages (to include all figures and references). Also required are your NIH biosketch, other support, and letters of collaboration, if appropriate. Principal Investigators need to devote at least 5% effort to the project and equipment is not an allowable expense. Photomicrographs and manuscripts may be submitted in a separate appendix. NIH forms to be used can be found below.
2. Specific Aims
3. Research Strategy (Significance, Innovation and Approach)
5. Bibliography and References Cited/Progress Report Publication List
All of these pages should be combined into one PDF and emailed to:
DEADLINE: Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 5pm (EST).
Forms: