Pilot Funding to Help Advance Translational Research

Five MU faculty members recently received pilot funding from the Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. MU is a formal partner of Washington University’s Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences. This joint initiative, co-funded by MU’s Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICATS), makes clinical and translational science pilot awards for MU researchers possible.

“Our partnership with Washington University creates opportunities for MU faculty to compete for funding in many ways, including the Clinical and Translational Research Pilot Program,” said Jerry Parker, PhD, associate dean for research. “The Pilot Awards help faculty gather preliminary data for larger applications, so they are an important component of our research ecosystem.”

The recipients of these pilot awards received approximately $50,000 per team to advance their research.

MU projects that received pilot funding include:

• “Therapeutic Potential of Myostatin (GDF8) and Activin A Inhibition on Murine Osteogenesis Imperfecta,” by principal investigator Charlotte Phillips, PhD, professor in the Department of Medicine.
• “Acute and Chronic Pain Management Using a Mobile Pain Monitoring System,” by principal investigator Illhoi Yoo, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Health Management and Informatics.
• “TRAF3IP2 as a Novel Target to Restore Endothelial Insulin Sensitivity and Function in Type 2 Diabetes,” by principal investigator Jaume Padilla, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology.
• “Developing an Intervention to Mitigate Obesity Risk in a Child’s First 1,000 Days,” by principal investigator Julie Kapp, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Health Management and Informatics.
• “Identifying Factors that Impact Implementation of Tobacco Use Treatment in Health Care Settings,” by principal investigator Kevin Everett, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine.

The Clinical and Translational Science Award program, funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was designed to increase the efficiency and speed of clinical and translational research on the local, regional and national levels.