Pilot Program Catalyzes Cross-disciplinary Collaborations

In 2014–2015, $610,327 in pilot funding was awarded to 38 investigators from funding sponsors that collaborate with BU’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Over half of the awardees were early career investigators—supporting faculty career development in working toward independent investigation is one goal of the pilot program. The majority of awardees reported novel method, tools,or discoveries—catalyzing innovation is another goal of the program. Emerging outcomes-to-date show awardees attributing this round of pilot funding for contributing to obtaining $4,960,724 in external funding and $112,800 in internal funding, with $16,604,929 still in review. Other emerging outcomes include manuscripts, publications, new cross-disciplinary collaborations, provisional intellectual property filings, and enrichment of career development and the translational research environment. The program is funded through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.