Pilot Projects

The Center will regularly fund pilot projects. The pilot projects have several objectives:

  1. to support the early work of young investigators interested in initiating a research career in the area of minority health and health disparities;
  2. to promote innovative, cutting-edge work in need of preliminary data before it is ready for submission as a grant proposal through usual NIH approaches;
  3. to extend work to race/ethnic groups other than those included in the Research Projects; and
  4. to extend our multilevel, socio-biological integrated model to conditions other than heart disease.

A request for applications for the pilot program will be posted each year in the spring. Approved projects are funded for one year, with the funding beginning on September 1 of the current year. For information contact Amanda Dudley, Project Coordinator, at (734) 763-5974, or email aidudley@umich.edu.

2007 Funded Pilots

Pilot 1. Neighborhood cultural isolation and biomarkers of cardiovascular disease among Latinos
(A. Aiello PI)
(2-year pilot)

Pilot 2. Characterizing the Distribution and Social Correlates of Metabolic Syndrome in a Tri-ethnic Urban Sample
(A. Schulz PhD PI, C. Lachance PhD co-PI)
(2-year pilot)

Pilot 3. Genetics Equity: Education, Research, and Policy Outreach Pilot Project
(T Citrin JD PI, S. Kardia PhD Co-PI)
(2-year pilot)

2008 Funded Pilots

Pilot 1. Measuring characteristics of the neighborhood context in the Jackson MSA
(DeMarc Hickson, PhD (JSU))
(2-year pilot)

Pilot 2. The influence of work-related and financial stressors, workplace discrimination and retirement on blood pressure in older adults: a focus on the effects of race and age-cohort
(Briana Mezuk, PhD (UM)
(1-year pilot)

Pilot 3. Examining the role of sociodemographic characteristics in diabetic experience and outcomes
(Emily Nicklett, MSW PHD-C (UM))
(1-year pilot)

Pilot 4. A comparative study of the prevalence and predictors of hypertension in Chinese living in China vs. living in the US
(Yan Sun, PhD (UM))
(1-year pilot)

Pilot 5. Disparities in access to higher quality health care: access to and choice of an initial renal dialysis provider
(Marc Turenne, PhD (UM))
(1-year pilot)