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The perfect pilot: How a grant takes flight

Thursday, January 28, 2021

At the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, there is a commitment to support novel, high-risk research that opens new doors of understanding of the brain and central nervous system. Pilot grants are an indispensable tool to support the initial experiments designed to pursue new fields of investigation and generate the data needed to secure external support, publish findings, and share data with scientific colleagues across the globe. Since 2015, philanthropic support for the Institute’s pilot programs has more than tripled to $800,000. Thirteen novel research projects received pilot funding in 2020, almost three times the number from five years ago. In the past five years, more than $2.7 million in pilot funding has generated more than $31 million in external research support.

Other changes have elevated the process so that only highly meritorious projects are awarded these pilots. “We have moved to a highly sophisticated review process, where two thirds of the reviewers come from outside of the University, including world leading experts. It provides an unbiased appraisal and raises the level of excellence required for our pilot grants,” said Ian Dickerson, Ph.D., Del Monte pilot grant program director. “It is run like a National Institutes of Health study section.”