The MCCTR will support 1-year pilot projects on C&T, community-engaged, and population health research on
major chronic diseases impacting Mississippians. Key considerations in awarding support to project investigators
will be (1) the scientific rigor of the application, (2) the likelihood of attracting extramural funding, (3) evidence of
a path toward an independent research career for the applicant, and (4) the probability that the research program
would lead to improved health outcomes. All applications selected by the MCCTR for funding require final
approval from the NIGMS, and those approved and funded projects will be subject to all current NIH and NIGMS
regulatory requirements.
Eligible applicants include full-time employees with a faculty or clinical fellow appointment at one of the MCCTR
partner institutions: Mississippi State University (MSU), Tougaloo College, the University of Mississippi Medical
Center (UMMC; includes joint UMMC/VA appointments), the University of Mississippi (UM), and the University
of Southern Mississippi (USM). Faculty at non-partner institutions in Mississippi are also eligible to apply, but
selected applications will require an additional approval step by the NIGMS prior to a notice of award.
The MCCTR is committed to supporting early-stage investigators (ESIs) and strongly encourages ESIs to
submit Pilot Project applications. An early-stage investigator (ESI) is a principal investigator who has
completed their terminal research degree or end of post-graduate clinical training, whichever is later, within the
past 10 years and who has not previously competed successfully as a PD/PI for a substantial NIH independent
research award.
Current or previous principal investigators of a P01- or R01-type NIH grant or equivalent National Science
Foundation Grant are not eligible for Pilot Project Awards, unless they are pivoting their research interests from
basic science to clinical/translational research.
Projects must be clinical or translational research. NIH definitions for clinical and translational research are
as follows:
Clinical Research is research with human subjects that is:
1. Patient-oriented research. Research conducted with human subjects (or on material of human origin such
as tissues, specimens, and cognitive phenomena) for which an investigator (or colleague) directly
interacts with human subjects. Excluded from this definition are in vitro studies that utilize human tissues
that cannot be linked to a living individual. It includes: (a) mechanisms of human disease, (b) therapeutic
interventions, (c) clinical trials, or (d) development of new technologies.
2. Epidemiological and behavioral studies.
3. Outcomes research and health services research
Translational Research includes two areas of translation:
• The first area is translational research that ranges from preclinical studies to the development of trials
and studies in humans.
• The second area of translation concerns research aimed at enhancing the adoption of best practices in
the community. Cost-effectiveness of prevention and treatment strategies is also an important part of
translational science.
These are one-year feasibility pilots to allow investigators to test ideas suitable for development into independent,
investigator-initiated applications such as NIH career development (K-series) or small/developmental research
project grant (RPG) awards. A feasibility pilot may be led either by an independent investigator or by a clinician
fellow working with a research mentor. The maximum budget for an individual Pilot Project is $50,000 in annual
direct costs. See the list of required application materials on page 3 for the MCCTR Mentoring Agreement and
Mentoring Plan documents, which are intended to guide the selection of a mentor, outline expectations, and
formalize the mentoring plan.
Awardees are required to submit a progress report to the MCCTR Administrative Core quarterly via the online
reporting site PieStar. Awardees will receive emails with additional information about how to access the site and
what data/information is required for reporting. Briefly, reports will include information on research progress,
challenges or barriers to success, mentoring updates, and product updates (including publications,
presentations, grant submissions, awards, and academic promotions).
