Pilot Projects
Funding for pilot projects
Director: Diana Milewicz, MD, PhD
Contact person: Hariyadarshi Pannu, PhD Hariyadarshi.Pannu@uth.tmc.edu 713-500-6865
The CCTS Pilot Project awards grants of up to $50,000 only to UTHealth assistant professors and instructors, to be used over 1 year for new, unfunded, hypothesis-driven clinical and translational research studies. Basic-science studies and studies for which the applicant currently has funding will not be considered. Proposals that involve collaborative teams from several CCTS institutions/schools (UTHealth schools, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Memorial Hermann Hospital) are encouraged. New investigators are encouraged to apply, and applications are also accepted from established investigators moving into new fields of endeavor in clinical and translational research. (For more information see TL1 and KL2 Training Grants.)
APPLICATIONS FOR PILOT PROJECT FUNDING ARE NOT CURRENTLY BEING ACCEPTED.
Approval from Sponsored Projects Administration is not required.
2015 Awardees
| NAME | AFFILIATION | PROJECT |
|---|---|---|
| Valentin Dragoi, |
Neurobiology and Anatomy UTHealth Medical School |
New Optogenetics Tools for Dissecting Large-Scale Neuronal Circuits in Behaving Monkey |
| Refaat E. |
UTHealth Medical School |
Patient Adaptive Scanning and Optimization of Magnetic Resonance Imaging |
| Nicholas Justice, |
Institute for Molecular Medicine UTHealth Medical School |
Transcriptomic Analysis of |
| Duck-Hee Kang, |
UTHealth School of Nursing | Cranial Stimulation for Symptom Reduction in the Palliative Care Setting |
| Richard J. Kulmacz, PhD | Internal Medicine, Hematology UTHealth Medical School |
Pilot Study of Cytochrome b Reductase 1 (CYBRD1) and Erythrocyte Antioxidant Defenses |
| Mike K. Liang, MD | Surgery UTHealth Medical School |
Patient-Reported Outcomes in Ventral Hernia Repair – A Qualitative Study |
| A.J. Marian, MD | Institute for Molecular Medicine UTHealth Medical School |
Cleaved Plasma MYBPC3 As a Biomarker for Acute Myocardial Infarction and Heart Failure |
| David W. Marshak, |
UTHealth Medical School |
Structure and Function of G5 Retinal Ganglion Cells: A Connectomics Approach |
| Remesha |
OB/GYN UTHealth Medical School |
Umbilical Cord Outer Layer as a Regenerative Patch for In-Utero Spina Bifida Repair |
| Stephanie Planque, PhD | Pathology and Laboratory Medicine UTHealth Medical School |
Does HIV Develop Resistance to Antibodies Directed against a Linear CD4 Binding Site Epitope? |
| John Redell, |
UTHealth Medical School |
Characterizing Disruptions in Neural Circuit Connectivity after Mild TBI |
| Nahid Rianon, MD, DRPh | Internal Medicine, Geriatrics UTHealth Medical School |
Association of Hip and Spine BMD with Trunk Fat Mass and Visceral Fat in an Older Diabetic Hispanic Population: A Pilot Study using CCHC Cohort Participants |
| Christophe P. Ribelayga, |
UTHealth Medical Science |
A Unique Neuron in the Retina Controls Visual Contrast Sensitivity |
| Claudio Soto, |
Neurology UTHealth Medical School |
Production of a Human Cerebral Organoid Model of Alzheimer’s Disease |
| Qingchun Tong, |
Institute for Molecular Medicine UTHealth Medical School |
Deconstructing the Neurocircuit from LH to PVN that Regulates Feeding and Obsessive Behaviors |
*Joint program with the UTHealth Neuroscience Research Center’s Mini-BRAIN initiative.
2014 Awardees
| NAME | AFFILIATION | PROJECT |
|---|---|---|
| Yeonseok Chung, PhD | Institute of Molecular Medicine UTHealth Medical School |
Interplay between Mast Cells and Type 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells in Chronic Rhino-sinusitis |
| Yi-Ping Li, PhD | Integrative UT Health Medical School |
Significance of UBR2 Elevation in the Muscle of Cancer Patients with Cachexia |
| Siddharth Prakash, MD PhD | Internal Medicine, Genetics UTHealth Medical School |
Genetic Risks for Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease |
| Blanca Restrepo, PhD | UTHealth School of Public Health Brownsville Regional Campus |
Impact of the Glucose-Lowering Medication Metformin on Blood Monocyte Immune Responses to Tuberculosis in Type 2 Diabetes Patients |
| Diane Santa Maria, DrPH, MSN, RN, APHN-BC | Nursing Systems UTHealth School of Nursing |
Pilot and Feasibility Testing of a Clinic-to-Community Translation of a Parent-Based Adolescent Sexual Health Intervention |
2013 Awardees
| NAME | AFFILIATION | PROJECT |
|---|---|---|
| Ibrahim Aboshady, MD L. Maximillian Buja, MD Issam Raad, MD, FACP, FIDSA, FSHEA |
Cardiovascular Surgery, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UTHealth Medical School Infectious Diseases, UT MDACC |
A Novel Triple Antimicrobial-Bonded Aortic Graft for the Prevention of Perioperative Aortic Infection |
| David G. Gorenstein, PhD Kevin P. Rosenblatt, MD, PhD David E. Volk, PhD Anil K. Sood, MD Menashe Bar-Eli, PhD Pratip Bhattacharya, PhD Gabriel Lopez-Berestein, MD* |
Nanomedicine and Biomedical Engineering and Proteomics and Systems Biology, UTHealth Medical School; Gynecological Oncology, Cancer Biology, Experimental Diagnostic Imaging, and Experimental Therapeutics, UT MDACC |
Personalized X-Aptamer-Nanoparticle Therapeutics for Ovarian or Melanoma Cancers and a Novel Detection Mechanism |
| Ariadne Letra, DDS, MS, PhD Renato Silva, DDS, MS |
Endodontics, UTHealth School of Dentistry Pediatric Research Center, UTHealth Medical School |
Tooth Agenesis as a Clinical Marker for Cancer |
| Heinrich Taegtmeyer, MD, DPhil | Cardiology, UT Medical School |
Reversal of Lipotoxicity Following Bariatric Surgery |
| Karen J. Vigil, MD Roberto C. Arduino, MD |
Infectious Diseases, Internal Medicine, UTHealth Medical School |
Variations in the Blood and GI Microbiome of non-HIV-Infected Subjects and the Impact of Use of Antiretroviral Therapy for Post-Exposure Prophylaxis |
| Nadarjah Vigneswaran, BDS, DrMed Dent Ann Gillenwater, MD, FACS |
UTHealth School of Dentistry; Head and Neck Surgery, UT MDACC |
Autofluorescence Imaging and Quantitative Cytomorphometric Analysis of Oral Brush Biopsy for Early Detection of Oral Cancer in Fanconi Anemia Patients |
*Multidisciplinary Research Program $125,000 awardee.
2010 Awardees
| NAME | AFFILIATION | PROJECT |
|---|---|---|
| Timothy Ellmore, |
Neurosurgery UTHealth Medical School |
Lateralizing Memory Function in Epilepsy Patients with Oxygen-Enhanced fMRI |
| Patricia Evans, MD* | Pediatrics UTHealth Medical School |
A Prototype Clinical Information Exchange to Improve Care and Reduce Costs for High-Risk Children |
| Camilo Jimenez, MD* | Endocrine UT MDACC |
Pilot Study of Clinical Validity of Veridex Cell Search™ Assay in Patients with Malignant Pheochromocytoma and Malignant Paraganglioma |
| Huiqi Qu, |
UTHealth Public Health Brownsville Regional Campus |
Exploration of Molecular Mechanisms of Tuberculosis Susceptibility by Genetic Association and Functional Genomics |
*ARRA awardee.
2009 Awardees
| NAME | AFFILIATION | PROJECT |
|---|---|---|
|
Said Akli, |
Experimental Radiation Oncology |
LMW Cyclin E as a Novel Prognostic Marker in Human Salivary Gland Tumors |
|
Sao Jiralerspong, MD, |
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology |
Snail as a Biomarker in Invasive Breast Cancer: Potential for Anti-metastasis Therapy |
|
Hyunggun Kim, |
Internal Medicine, Cardiology |
Patient-Specific Structural Evaluation of Mitral Valve Apparatus using Three-Dimensional Echocardiography |
|
Ajoy Samanta, |
Molecular Pathology |
Jak2 Regulates Bcr-Abl Signaling in Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML): Destruction of Bcr-Abl by Jak2 Inhibition in CML Stem Cells |
|
Douglas Boyd, |
Cancer Biology |
Prostate Cancer in the US Air Force |
|
Angela Stotts, |
Family Medicine |
Pilot Study of Bupropion to Promote Smoking Cessation during Pregnancy |
*ARRA awardee
**Multidisciplinary Research Program $125,000 awardee.
2008 Awardees
| NAME | AFFILIATION | PROJECT |
|---|---|---|
|
Perry Bickel, MD* |
Internal Medicine, Endocrinology UTHealth Medical School |
Lipotoxicity and Obesity-Related Risk of Endometrial Carcinoma |
|
Heinrich Taegtmeyer, MD, DPhil* |
Internal Medicine, Cardiology |
Pathways of Protein Degradation and Substrate metabolism in Normal and Diseased Heart and Vascular Smooth Muscle |
*Multidisciplinary Research Program $125,000 awardee.
2007 Awardees
| NAME | AFFILIATION | PROJECT |
|---|---|---|
| Lisa Armitage, MD, PhD | Internal Medicine Infectious Diseases UTHealth Medical School |
Role of Trehalose Dimycolate in Human Tuberculosis |
| Andrew Bean, PhD | UTHealth Medical School |
Examination of a Candidate Biomarker in Neuroblastoma |
| Richard Frye, MD, PhD | UTHealth Medical School |
Rapid Sensory Processing in Well and Poorly Compensated Young Adults with Dyslexia |
| Kevin Hwang, MD | Internal Medicine General Medicine UTHealth Medical School |
Social Support for Weight Loss Among Members of an Internet Weight Loss Program |
| Elizabeth Plimack, MD | Medical Oncology UT MDACC |
The Biological Effects of Decitabine and Pegylated Interferon in Patients with Advanced Melanoma |
| Nitin Tandon, MD | Neurosurgery UTHealth Medical School |
The Anatomic and Physiologic Connectivity of Eloquent Language Regions |
| Naoto Ueno, MD, PhD | Stem Cell UT MDACC |
Nonmyeloablative Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation with Bevacizumab for Advanced Solid Tumors |
| John Valenza, DDS | Diagnostic Sciences UTHealth Dental Branch |
SmartConsent: A Computerized Informed Consent for Patients |
| Rick Wetsel, PhD | Institute for Molecular Medicine UTHealth Medical School |
Transplantation of Lung Epithelial Cells Derived from Human Embryonic Stem Cells |
2006 Awardees
| NAME | AFFILIATION | PROJECT |
|---|---|---|
| Nehal Parikh, MD | Pediatrics, Neonatology UTHealth Medical School |
Evaluation of DT-MRI as a Surrogate Marker for Neurosensory Deficits in Extremely Preterm Infants |
| Blanca Restrepo, PhD | UTHealth Public Health Brownsville Regional Campus | Altered Expression of Immune Response Genes in Tuberculosis Patients with Diabetes |
| Mary Ruppe, MD | Internal Medicine, Endocrinology UTHealth Medical School |
The Role of Serum Profiles of Novel Phosphate Regulators in Improving Treatment Outcomes in X-Linked Hypophosphatemic Rickets |
| Tse-Kuan Yu, PhD | Radiation Oncology UT MDACC | Using Nanoshells Conjugated With Tumor-Specific Antibody to Detect Microscopic Breast Cancer Cells at Surgical Resection Margins |
