Using local institutional support and an award from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), National Institutes of Health, the CTSI has funded nine projects involving researchers from the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
New Technologies, Therapeutics Sought
The pilot studies program provides seed money to help advance new technologies and therapeutics from the conceptual stage to clinical studies. Having preliminary, proof-of-concept studies in hand greatly enhances a proposal’s chance of attracting outside funding for further testing.
“In addition to supporting innovative, high-impact, clinical-translational science, the program looks for projects that foster cross-disciplinary collaborations and mentoring relationships,” says Steven J. Fliesler, PhD, UB Distinguished Professor and Meyer H. Riwchun Endowed Chair Professor of ophthalmology and co-director of the Translational Pilot Studies Program.
“Priority is given to projects that address health care disparities in underserved populations in Western New York and allow applicants to generate sufficient preliminary data to secure future extramural funding,” adds Fliesler, a Research Career Scientist at the VA Western NY Healthcare System.
