Pilot Projects Program (PPP)

The objectives of the PPP are to attract new and established investigators into neurodevelopment-related research, promote use of CNDD Cores, develop new technologies, stimulate new programmatic research grants, and ultimately build the Center’s long-term sustainability. The PPP provides funding to MUSC researchers to perform basic, translational, or clinical research studies related to neurodevelopment and its disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, seizure disorder, intellectual disabilities, and schizophrenia.  Up to three (3) pilot project grants will be awarded, with a maximum one-year budget of $75,000.

Two types of pilot awards are available:
Early-Career Pilot Award: Discovery grant for early-career MUSC faculty (within 6 years of MUSC appointment) with no prior NIH R01-level grant funding as an independent PI. Recipients of K99/R00 grants are eligible.

New Direction Pilot Award: High-impact/high-risk project in neurodevelopment and its disorders research and/or significant departure from PI’s historical research program. Open to MUSC faculty at any rank.

The PPP Leader, Dr. Antonieta Lavin, an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience, has served on NIH Study Sections for K and F awards and has extensive experience reviewing early investigators’ proposals. Moreover, she participates as the Director of Outreach within the NIDA P50 Charleston Opioid Center on Addiction (COCA) and she is PI of an NIH-supported R25 Summer Undergraduate Research Program at MUSC. She also serves as a member of the CNDD EC. Her research focuses on the synaptic and cellular mechanisms that underlie cognitive deficits in neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Interested applicants will submit (1) a one-page Letter of Intent (LOI) outlining the proposed CNDD pilot project and anticipated use of the CNDD cores, and (2) current NIH biosketch.  Deadline for PPP LOI is May 1, 2024.

CNDD PPP RFA 2024 (PDF) 

Current CNDD Pilot Projects