Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health

Pilot Projects Research Training Program

Goals and Objectives

The goal of the Pilot Projects Research Training Program (PPRTP) is to support graduate students and early career investigators as they develop the skills and experience needed to become successful researchers in occupational and environmental health through mentored research training. The PPRTP in the Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (SWCOEH) has a regional focus to foster inter-institutional ties and capacity in occupational health research within Public Health Region 6 (PHR 6) in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Eligibility

The PPRTP provides funding for pilot research projects through two types of awards:

• Research Trainee Awards: Graduate students or postdoctoral fellows in an occupational health and safety-related discipline.
• Junior Investigator Awards: Junior investigators with research interests in the general area of occupational health and safety. Junior investigators are defined as having completed their terminal degree or postdoctoral training within the past 7 years and not previously served as Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) on a substantial independent research award other than Public Health Service research grantsR03, R15, R21, K01, K08, or K12.

Graduate students and other junior investigators with research interests in in occupational health and safety are invited to submit applications for short-term research projects that serve the needs of worker populations in PHR6. To increase research literacy and foster community-academic collaboration, we encourage proposals that include a partnership with a community organization with worker health, safety, or well-being interests in PHR6. Research projects that advance the priority of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) goals (https://www.cdc.gov/nora/default.html) will be given priority.

Every year, awardees present their findings at an Annual Southwest Centers PPRTP Symposium. This event is a collaborative effort between the UTHealth Houston SWCOEH and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler Southwest Center for Agricultural Health, Injury Prevention and Education, a NIOSH Center for Agricultural Safety and Health.

Funding Support

Researchers may request up to $10,000 in direct costs. Indirect costs are limited to 8%, and sponsoring institutions are encouraged to waive the indirect cost to optimize the impact these funds may have on developing research capacity.

Support for these projects is available through a grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to the SWCOEH at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health (T42 OH008421).

How to Apply

For more information about how to apply for PPRTP funding, please see the current Funding Opportunity Announcement and Application Instructions (to be released on July 15, 2024).

Key Dates

*Funds cannot be disbursed until all applicable IRB review or IACUC approvals are in place.

More Information

Jenil R. Patel, MBBS, MPH, PhD
Assistant Professor and Director
SWCOEH Pilot Projects Research Training Program
UTHealth Houston School of Public Health – Dallas
Phone: (972) 546-2957
E-Mail: [email protected] or [email protected]

Silvia P. Santiago, MAHS
Program Coordinator
SWCOEH Pilot Projects Research Training Program
UTHealth Houston School of Public Health
Phone: (713) 500-9444
E-mail: [email protected]  or  [email protected]