Pilot and Feasibility Program

The COBRE Metabolic Basis of Disease Center (MBDC) functions to expand intellectual, scientific, and technical infrastructure to promote biomedical research that enhances the study of metabolic components of disease states.

Approximately $150,000/year is available to fund 2-4 Pilot and Feasibility (P&F) awards each year. The P&F program will support innovative research on the metabolic basis of disease, focusing on projects expected to be competitive for further extramural funding.

Funding will prioritize one or more of the following categories:

  1.  Proposals from senior postdoctoral researchers or junior faculty without extramural funding;
  2.  Proposals from junior and senior faculty aimed at testing an innovative hypothesis that is a clear departure from currently funded research in their laboratories;
  3.  Collaborative proposals from research teams that take advantage of diverse strengths of different team members; and
  4.  Proposals that have translational potential.

In each category, priority will be given to applicants who emphasize innovation in concept, experimental approach, technology or intervention.  Applicants proposing to conduct studies that specifically address critiques from a recent manuscript review or grant submission are also encouraged.

  1. Applicants must be senior postdoctoral fellows or full-time faculty at Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
  2. Postdoctoral researchers with at least 2 years of experience to explore a topic unrelated to their mentor’s ongoing research.
  3. Young investigators who do not have current or previous NIH research support and who wish to establish their own independent research program are particularly encouraged to apply.  
  4. Established investigators who wish to initiate a new research direction in the metabolic diseases field covered by the COBRE in preparation for a planned R01 submission. Applicants should clearly delineate how their proposed research differs from their current research.
  5. Junior or senior investigators responding to critiques from a manuscript or grant review.
  6. Teams of junior and senior faculty working together to develop a new experimental approach to tackle a question of high priority to the COBRE.
  7. Teams of basic and clinical/population biology faculty working together to develop translational studies that pursue questions of high priority to the COBRE.

There is no citizenship requirement for Pilot and Feasibility recipients, but applicants must hold a PhD, MD, or equivalent degree.

Faculty members currently supported by COBRE funding are ineligible.

A letter of intent and NIH Biosketch are required initially to ensure eligibility and appropriateness of the research topic. 

Letter of intent should be one-page maximum including the following:

  • Project title, Principal Investigator, and inter-institutional collaborations
  • Abstract of intended work including a statement of intended COBRE-PBRC scientific core usage
  • Estimated budget
  • Statement that the applicant’s Sponsored Projects Office was notified of LOI submission

Only investigators who submitted a Letter of Intent, along wtih an NIH Biosketch, and subsequently received approval will be asked to present their proposal to the COBRE Steering Committee.

Please submit the Letter of Intent with NIH Biosketch as one document electronically (PDF format in color) to Alexis Turner, coordinator in Basic Science, to alexis.turner@pbrc.edu.

Full Application Guidelines (Due Dec. 12, 2025):

 

Submit Application

 
The application packet must include the following (Applicants are required to use the NIH 398 forms):
  • NIH Face Page
  • NIH Budget page + 1 page maximum budget justification
    NOTE: clinical protocols MUST be budgeted - Contact Sponsored Projects for details.
  • NIH Biographical Sketch of all investigators
  • Research proposal (5-page maximum A-D, Arial 11, single-spaced, 0.5-inch margins).
    1. Specific Aims
    2. Research Plan (Significance, Innovation and Approach)
    3. Relevance of project to metabolic diseases research
    4. Plans for how the study results will lead to future investigations/grant applications
  • Description of the anticipated use of PBRC COBRE scientific cores (1 paragraph)
  • Literature Cited
  • Appendix to include relevant reprint (1 maximum) and letters of support.
  • The submission to the IACUC/IRB will be requested as per the NIH practice of just-in-time mechanism. The investigator is expected to have begun the process of writing the IACUC or IRB protocol at the time of submission.
  • If there is any potential overlap between the proposed work and the individual’s funded work, the PI must write a letter explaining any potential overlap. This letter should accompany the application.
  • Consultation with a biostatistician regarding experimental design is strongly recommended.
Additional Instructions:
  1. Please list the Principal Investigator’s (PI) name on the top right-hand corner of every page of the application.
  2. Please refer to the list of allowed expenditures below before completing the budget page.
  3. The following headings should be used for the research plan (sections A-D should be 5 pages max)
    1. Specific Aims: State concisely the hypothesis to be tested and the specific aim(s) to be achieved during the grant period. The aims must be reasonable to achieve during the one-year period of the grant. While it is possible to receive support for 2-year proposals, the PI must define a quantitative, intermediate year one milestone that can stand on its own merit and deserve to be funded as such. A second year of funding will necessitate a new competitive submission.
    2. Research Strategy: State the relevance of the proposed project to basic, clinical or prevention and control of chronic diseases relevant to the COBRE. Present your experimental design and the methods you will use to pursue your specific aims. Provide evidence that the project is feasible, along with any preliminary data that supports your hypothesis and competence to pursue it. Describe the methods to be used. Also indicate how the results will be interpreted and alternative plans.
    3. Relevance: How will the proposed project advance knowledge pertinent to understanding mechanisms of relevant metabolic disease or lead to future research with translational potential?
    4. Future Plans: \Describe how the results of this study will address prior critiques or lead to future investigations and/or grant applications by the PI.  In final paragraph describe plans for use of scientific cores.

Appendix: 1) Supporting publication, 2) Letters of support

 

Allocation and Expenditure of Funds:

Expenditures Allowed:

  • Technical staff salary support
  • Research supplies and animal maintenance
  • Equipment costing less than $5,000.
  • Special fees (pathology, photography, etc.)
  • Charges for external core facilities (e.g. metabolomics)
  • Supplies
  • We encourage the use of the COBRE scientific cores so please consult with the directors of each core as follows:

Expenditures NOT Allowed:

  • Principal Investigator salary support or Secretarial/administrative personnel salary support
  • Office equipment and supplies
  • Computers
  • Tuition
  • Domestic or Foreign Travel
  • Publication costs, including reprints
  • Dues and membership fees in scientific societies
  • Purchasing and binding of periodicals and books
  • Honoraria and travel expenses for visiting lecturers
  • Rental of office or laboratory space
  • Construction or building maintenance
  • Recruiting and relocation expense

Additional Information:

Please refer to our COBRE website or contact Dr. Claudia Kappen (Claudia.Kappen@pbrc.edu) or Alexis Turner (COBRE Business Coordinator) at Alexis.Turner@pbrc.edu or 225-763-2888 if you have questions about the P&F application process. 

Submit your application documents to Alexis.Turner@pbrc.edu.

 

Timeline/Important Dates

Program Step Date
Announcement of Opening Submissions September 26, 2025
Letter of Intent Due October 31, 2025
Invitation to Present  First week of November, In-person presentation on November 14
Full Application Due    December 12, 2025