Pilot & Feasibility Program Overview

The purpose of the Pilot and Feasibility Program (PFP) is to provide seed monies for:

(1) new investigators without major independent funding

and

(2) established investigators in other fields committing their skills to musculoskeletal research (basic science, translational and pre-clinical).

We are particularly interested in proposals that bridge basic and translational approaches. We will fund 2-3 PFP grants/year with review of progress after three and six months. The applications will be prepared per NIH guidelines and will provide an annual maximum of $40,000 for 1 year.

These responsibilities will be the purview of the Administrative Core and performed as follows:

Scientific Review of Pilot and Feasibility Studies

Proposals are reviewed by members of the Musculoskeletal Research Center (MRC) and invited reviewers outside the MRC and Washington University. Final decisions are made by the leadership of the MRC.

Funding and Monitoring

Mirroring the NIH, all applicants will be provided with critiques and priority scores. Guidelines for utilization of MRC funds are detailed below. All requests for funds that do not comply with original research and budget plan will require prior approval by the Director. Progress reports will be submitted to the Scientific Review Committee and successful applicants will present at the annual Musculoskeletal Winter Research Symposium. Projects must use at least one core of the center.


“Funding for the MRC P&F program is provided by a grant from the NIH (P30 AR074992) and a generous gift from the Lottie Caroline Hardy Trust.”