Pilot Project Program

Purpose: The mission of the Marine and Freshwater Biomedical Sciences Center is to stimulate innovative and interdisciplinary basic research using aquatic models to investigate problems in environmental sciences related to human health. The aim of our pilot projects is to provide the proof-of-concept studies that will potentially lead to successful research grant applications in this area of study.

Awards: One-year awards are given in amounts up to $20,000. Collaborative research projects involving two or more investigators may be considered for funding up to $40,000.

Description of the Program

The Marine and Freshwater Biomedical Sciences Center (MFBS Center) at Oregon State University is one of four such centers in the USA currently being supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). One of the functions of this Center is to fund pilot projects or feasibility studies to stimulate basic research in environmental health sciences as related to human health, using aquatic model systems.

Pilot projects are normally awarded for a period of one year. A second grant year may, under special circumstances, be awarded subsequent to receipt of the first year's research report and a letter requesting a second award. Awards for a third year of support are not given. Extension requests are handled on an individual basis, e.g., an outstanding project has been submitted as an R01 project (or equivalent) to another agency and there is need to provide continuity of funding.

A successful pilot project is one that provides the preliminary data on an appropriate subject that in all probability will become a funded research grant from a federal or private agency. Funding is not intended merely to support a project whose nature is likely to be short term.

The MFBS Center has two major research areas: the Carcinogenesis and Toxicogenomics Research Core and the Neuro and Developmental Toxicology Research Core. The Carcinogenesis and Toxicogenomics Research Core utilizes both zebrafish and trout in studies that apply genomic approaches to ascertain mechanisms of action in neoplastic processes and possible pathways for inhibiting tumorigenesis. The Neuro and Developmental Toxicology Research Core uses a number of in vitro (cell culture, fish chromatophores) and in vivo (zebrafish) models to address mechanisms of action of marine algae natural products and other chemicals toxic to the nervous system or to the developing embryo. These two research cores are supported by two facility cores: the Aquatic Pathology Facility Core and the Structural Chemistry and Microarray Facility Core. New pilot project proposals need not be in areas of research currently under investigation by the MFBS Center, but proposals must meet the NIEHS criteria of basic research in environmental sciences as related to human health, and use an aquatic model system.

Research projects are evaluated on the basis of the following criteria: 1) relevance to the health of humans, 2) involvement of an environmental chemical or other stressor agent with an assessable toxic endpoint, and 3) development or use of unique aquatic models with clearly identifiable advantages for research in human health. Studies on the aquatic environment per se are not within the mission of this Center.

Pilot Project Review Procedure

Pilot project applications will be reviewed initially by the Center Director or his appointed representative. The Director or the Advisory Committee will then select appropriate reviewers for each pilot project. The Director or the Advisory Committee will pick faculty members most suited for the review and will take care to avoid choosing reviewers who may have a conflict of interest. In some cases, reviewers from other institutions who are acknowledged experts in the field, will be asked to serve as reviewers for proposals.

Reviewers' comments will be forwarded to the Center Director and the Advisory Committee. Applicants will have an opportunity to respond to the reviewers' comments prior to the funding decision. The comments and priority scores from the reviewers, along with the Center Director's recommendations and the applicant's response to the review, will then be considered in a final review by the Advisory Committee. The committee will recommend to the Center Director the ranking of the proposals for possible funding. A final decision on funding of each proposal will be made by the Center Director.