Full Pilot Project Applications

FULL PILOT PROJECTS APPLICATIONS, Round 6

Open to GC-CPEH members and faculty from Baylor College of Medicine, UTMB-Galveston, and UTHealth Houston
Download RFA
Funding Period: April 1, 2023 through March 31, 2024
RFA Announcement: November 9,2022
Electronic Letter of Intent Package Due: 5pm, November 22, 2022 
Full Application Invitation: TBA
Full Application Power Point Due: TBA
EC/IAC Review: TBA
JIT Due: TBA

The Gulf Coast Center for Precision Environmental Health (GC-CPEH) is pleased to announce the availability of Pilot Project funding. This RFA will support 4-6 Pilot Projects designed to esigned to promote precision environmental health research at the intersection of genetics/epigenetics, environmental health, and data science to understand individual and place-based determinants of disease risk. This includes the impact of climate change on human environmental health, and proposals focused on this area of research are especially encouraged.

The RFA for these Pilot Projects encourages Inter-Center partnerships to establish collaborations and/or utilize GC-CPEH Facility Cores (for reference see GC-CPEH Facility Cores resources) to support interdisciplinary research relevant to Environmental Health Science.

Award Types:  The Pilot Projects are for one year with no opportunity for extension (including no-cost extensions), and a budget not to exceed $40,000. Applications from junior investigators, those proposing the use of GC-CPEH Facility Cores, and collaborative projects are especially encouraged. Involvement of collaborators from other institution(s) is permitted. An investigator may apply for only one award per grant round as PI or Co-PI. 

Keywords:  Exposure, biomarkers; epigenomics; genomics; genome/epigenome-environment interactions; comparative biology; big data; bioinformatics; epidemiology; toxicology; public health; community health and outreach; disaster research response and climate change; microbiome; disease susceptibility. 

Who Can Apply? GC-CPEH Members and faculty from GC-CPEH supporting institutions (BCM, UTHealth Houston, and UTMB) who are eligible for Principal Investigator status on federal research grants are eligible for this RFA.  GC-CPEH Full Member privileges will be extended to non-Center members who receive Pilot Project funding, including subsidies during the funding period through the GC-CPEH Facility Core Utilization/Subsidy Program. 

Electronic Letter of Intent Package

Electronic Letter of Intent Package (LOI): Your letter of intent (LOI) package must include a cover letter, a one-page summary of the research objectives (Background and Specific Aims) and PI NIH Biosketch(es). See below for details.

Application and Review Procedure

  • Letter of Intent (LOI) Package should be sent electronically to Tracie Albritton at taalbrit@utmb.edu no later than 5 pm on November 22, 2022. 
  • The package will be reviewed by the GC-CPEH Pilot Project Program Committee for relevance to the goals of this RFA , with up to 12 LOIs invited to submit full applications
  • Invited applicants should submit the full applications, prepared in PowerPoint electronically to Tracie Albritton at taalbrit@utmb.edu. Due date TBA.
  • The GC-CEPH Internal Advisory Committee will evaluate the invited Pilot Project applications using an oral review process described below:
    • The applicant will be scheduled for a 15-minute oral presentation describing the research proposal, followed by 10 minutes for questions from the review panel  The applicant is expected to describe the significance, innovation, approach (including the specific aims for the pilot project as well as future research objectives), present an itemized budget, and identify anticipated use of GC-CPEH supported Facility Cores if applicable
  • All applicants will receive communications within two weeks following the presentation indicating funding decisions and JIT requests as required.

Reporting: A written summary of the study’s accomplishments is due within four weeks of the end of the project period. Grantees will also be followed to monitor progress (e.g., grants submitted, awards received, and publications) resulting from the award. In addition, awardees may be invited to present the outcome of their research at GC-CPEH events, including Annual Retreat and Symposia.

Any Questions?

For questions on the LOI and application process, contact Tracie Prestigomo, GC-CPEH Pilot Project Program Administrative Manager

For questions on the GC-CPEH Facility Core Matching Fund (Subsidy) Program, contact Heyreoun An Han, GC-CPEH Administrator 

For feedback on potential project ideas, contact GC-CPEH Leadership:

  • Cheryl Walker, GC-CPEH Director and Center Theme Lead – “Early Life Genome and Epigenome Environment Interactions”
  • Cornelis (Kees) Elferink, GC-CPEH Co-Director and Center Theme Lead – “Disaster Research Response”
  • Elaine Symanski, GC-CPEH Deputy Director, IHSFC Director and Center Theme Lead – “Mechanisms and Interventions in Human Environmental Disease”
  • Chris Amos, GC-CPEH PIPELINE Facility Core Director
  • Sharon Croisant, GC-CPEH Community Engagement Core Director

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“Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P30ES030285. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.”