PROJECT SUMMARY ? PILOT GRANT PROGRAM The Pilot Grant Program (PGP) of the Environmental Health Sciences Research Center (EHSRC) is a critical and valuable component of the EHSRC, serving the research, career development and training missions of the Center. The Program advances the careers of talented new investigators by bringing them into environmental health science research and offers a way for more senior researchers to nurture innovative new ideas. The Specific Aims of the EHSRC PGP are to: 1) provide initial support for new investigators (early in the development of their independent research career) to establish new lines of environmental health research; 2) provide services of state-of-the-art Facility Cores to pilot grant investigators to enhance their research and reduce their costs; 3) facilitate exploration of innovative new directions in environmental health for established investigators; 4) stimulate investigators from other disciplines to apply their expertise to environmental health research; and 5) foster new interdisciplinary collaborations through awarding of pilot projects to investigators who have not previously worked together. The PGP encourages University of Iowa researchers to apply for a pilot grant in two stages (a one-page preproposal with invitation to submit an R21-style proposal). Pilot grant applications are reviewed by the internal advisory board, subject-area experts as needed, and Associate Members as part of the Career Development Program in a process tailored after federal study sections. Since 1990, the EHSRC has funded 159 pilot grants, investing $3.56 million in new EHS research that have produced grant progeny with a value of ~$50 million, a more than 16-fold return on investment.