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Pilot & Feasibility Program

The Pilot & Feasibility Program awards three annual grants to Northwestern University faculty. The program is funded through designated grant support of the center, as well as from the Feinberg School of Medicine Office of the Dean and the Department of Dermatology. Awards are established on an annual basis by the Pilot & Feasibility Committee. If sufficient scientific progress is demonstrated over the grant year, it is possible that an award may be renewed for no more than one additional year, pending a progress report for the first year, and proposal for new aims for the additional year (with a new title).

The studies are designed to:

  • Foster research about keratinocytes leading to sufficient preliminary data for procurement of federal funding
  • Attract established investigators to pursue research related to skin biology
  • Encourage collaborative opportunities between the Department of Dermatology and other departments within the medical school and the university
  • Provide mentorship in grant writing as well as feedback regarding the conduct of scientific investigation for more junior scientists

All recipients of Pilot & Feasibility awards automatically become core members during their funding period and retain membership if they continue research in cutaneous biology. Submissions to the Pilot & Feasibility Committee are requested campus-wide every spring. One of the three awards each academic year will be granted to a project focusing on a problem which addresses minority or sex issues in cutaneous biology research.

Applications

The call for applications is now open! Click here to apply. Deadline to submit is March 28, 2024

For more information, eligibility, and instructions click here.

Awardees

Meet our 2023 awardees.

Learn more about our previous awardees.

Contact Us

For additional information, contact Amy S Paller, MS, MD, Rui Yi, PhD, and Kurt Q Lu, MD.