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Program Director: Dominic Reeds, MD

Washington University School of Medicine
660 S. Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8031
St. Louis, MO 63110
Phone: 314-362-8943
Emaildalpers@wustl.edu

View 2023 Call for Applications (pdf)


The Pilot and Feasibility Program provides modest research support for a limited time (usually one to two years) to enable eligible investigators to explore the feasibility of a concept related to the mission of the NORC and generate sufficient data to pursue it through other funding mechanisms (e.g. R01).

The pilot and feasibility studies are intended to:

  • Provide support for new investigators seeking to test a new hypothesis or idea related to nutrition/obesity.
  • Allow exploration of possible innovative new directions for established investigators already working in the nutrition/obesity field.
  • Stimulate investigators from other areas to participate in nutrition/obesity research.

Pilot and feasibility study support is not intended for large projects by established investigators that would otherwise be submitted as separate research grant applications, nor is it intended to provide bridging support. Pilot and feasibility funds are also not intended to support or supplement ongoing funded research of an investigator.

Current awards


Daniel Ferguson, PhD

Instructor in Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Role of Microglial Mitochondria Pyruvate Carrier in Diet-Induced Obesity


Kathleen Markan-Klostermann, PhD

Assistant Professor of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Mechanisms underlying cellular senescence in obesity


Sandip Mukherjee, PhD

Instructor, Center for Human Nutrition, University of Washington in St. Louis

Adipocyte NAMPT and the Regulation of Cav1 Expression and Function


Aaron Norris, MD, PhD

Principal Investigator, Neuroscientist, Neuroanesthesiologist, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Regulation of Metabolism by Preoptic Hypothalamic Circuits


Arin Oestreich, PhD

Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Center of Regenerative Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Metabalo-epigenetic programming of fetal chondrocytes by maternal obesity


Max Petersen, MD, PhD

Instructor in Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Lipid Research

Effect of weight loss on adipose tissue lipid-associated macrophages in obesity


Andrea Spray Bulungu, PhD

Research Assistant Professor, E3 Nutrition Lab, Brown School of Washington University in St. Louis

AND

Lora Iannotti, PhD

Professor, E3 Nutrition Lab, Brown School of Washington University in St. Louis

Obesity prevention intervention in school-age children with Quito and Tulcán


Nathaniel York, PhD

Instructor in Cell Biology & Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Hyperglycemia induced hyperexcitability:  A novel role for KATP in the progression of type 2 diabetes