Pilot Feasibility Study Program

The CTRC Pilot/Feasibility (P/F) Program is a new resource of the Pediatric Clinical Translational Research Center (CTRC) of the University of Colorado Denver and The Children's Hospital of Denver. The P/F Program supports investigators to explore the feasibility of their research ideas and collect sufficient data to apply for funding from other peer-reviewed funding sources. This program is designed to provide additional funding (up to $20,000 per year for one to two years) to new investigators, clinical fellows, and M.D. or Ph.D. Post-Doctoral Trainees (under proper mentorship) who desire to pursue a career in clinical investigation and patient-oriented research. This program is based on and funded by the NCRR Clinical Research Feasibility Funds (CReFF) program.

P/F funding must be used to supplement protocols that are approved by the Pediatric CTRC Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) and utilize the Pediatric CTRC resources. P/F applications may be submitted to supplement currently approved CTRC protocols or may accompany submission of new protocols. The completed protocol must have been submitted to the Pediatric CTRC prior to or accompanying the application for the P/F Program.

Investigators who meet one of the following criteria are eligible to apply for P/F funding:

• New, young investigators in the developmental phase of their careers and who have no independent NIH (or comparable) funding (R01, P01, etc).
• Established clinical investigators for whom the proposed clinical investigation represents a new direction in research that otherwise meet the goals of this program.
• Under exceptional circumstances, established investigators in which the proposed project is likely to lead to new NIH (or comparable) funding.

Applicants must have an M.D. or Ph.D. degree. Fellow applicants must have completed at least one year of fellowship and have an appropriate mentor who has hospital privileges to utilize CTRC units. All Ph.D. applicants must have a physician collaborator who has clinical privileges at the affiliated CTRC hospitals in which the study is conducted.

Applications from exceptional residents in all fields of pediatric-related training will be considered with 1) appropriate mentorship, 2) approval of the Residency Training Program Director, 3) commitment that at least 75% of his/her time will be devoted to the proposed research project during the requested funding period, and 4) commitment that the resident can complete and publish results of the study prior to completion of the residency training period.

Fellows and junior faculty who are enrolled in the Ph.D. Program in Clinical Sciences, Certificate in Clinical Sciences, or Masters in Public Health Graduate Programs at UCD will also be eligible for P/F funding, if they can meet the eligibility criteria outlined above.