Pilot Projects Program

Call for Proposals for next Round of Pilot Project Funding Now Open 

Pilot Project Awards provide one year of seed funding for initiation of preclinical, clinical, or translational research that has the potential to impact health or healthcare in our region. Advance your careers with research & professional development support through our Pilot Projects Program!

ABBREVIATED TIMELINE FOR APPLICATION PROCESS

8/15 - Call for Proposals sent

10/3 - Letters of Intent deadline

10/5 - Acceptance notification/invitation to submit full app

11/18 - Full application submission deadline

11/22 - Applications to Reviewers

12/13 - Review Committee Meeting

About the Award

  • Pilot Project Awards provide one year of seed funding for initiation of preclinical, clinical, or translational research that has the potential to impact health or healthcare in our region.
  • We encourage proposals that involve collaborations between institutions, specialties, and communities.
  • All PIs on the application must be registered with the NNE-CTR. (Need to become a member? Learn more about membership and sign up here!)


Click here for Application Materials and How-To Guides

What We Do

Our Pilot Projects are designed to stimulate new collaborations and multidisciplinary partnerships between laboratory scientists, physician investigators, and rural practitioners looking to begin a career in clinical and translational research. We provide funding and professional support for clinical and translational research, from project development through completion, for NNE-CTR members. Our core leads play a pivotal role in assisting investigators throughout the Pilot Project cycle, such as:

  • Serving as your first point of contact for inquiries about the program
  • Connecting you with one of our experienced Research Navigators to help guide you through ideation, design, application process, IRB & IACUC process, and the actual project itself
  • Monthly check in meetings between awardees and our core leads and navigators to ensure you are progressing smoothly
  • Arranging research progress presentations for awardees to present to our core leads and navigators
  • Collection of data throughout the process to produce a final report and analysis for the Administrative Core
  • Connecting you to other NNE-CTR initiatives as appropriate

Cross-Core Opportunities

The Pilot Project Program also works with the other Cores to provide various funding and research opportunities that can address the diverse needs of our membership. We help connect members to these cross-core NNE-CTR funding initiatives listed below.

null

Community Engagement and Outreach Core

  • Rural Physician Initiative: provides financial support for rural clinicians who have developed a research concept alongside the CEO Core and have a collaborating partner affiliated with one of the NNE-CTR institutions
  • Small Public Health Initiative: provides modest financial support for community-focused or healthcare delivery projects that will directly influence health and healthcare in rural and northern New England communities

Translational Research Technologies Core

  • Translational Development Initiatives: modest financial support provided in collaboration with the TRT Core designed to support investigators who need hands-on training in state-of-the-art technologies or analyses
null
null

Professional Development Core

  • Review Request Initiatives: modest financial support targeted to previous Pilot Project awardees whose extramural funding application reviews requested work to address minor comments and submit a revised application

Our Team

Joe Nadeau headshot

Joseph Nadeau, PhD
MaineHealth
Core Lead
email

Janet Stein headshot

Janet Stein, PhD
University of Vermont
Core Co-Lead
email

How to Apply:

Access application materials, examples, and guidelines on our application page.

null

Meet Past Awardees:

null

Questions?

Please email us with any questions or for assistance accessing services.

Become a Member

Applicants are required to register as NNE-CTR members in order to be eligible for a pilot award. Learn more about the free benefits of membership, and join today!