Catalyst Pilot Program

Catalyst Pilot Program is sponsored by University of Pennsylvania Center for Children's Environmental Health. Funds innovative research in children's environmental health to provide preliminary data leading to extramural funding.

Pilot Projects | Philadelphia Regional Center for Children's Environmental Health Up to $50,000 grants provided by our Center to members, community partners and regional institutions to support children’s environmental health research and translating that research to the real world.

As part of our NIEHS grant, our Center is tasked with awarding funds to local universities, institutions and community groups to develop pilot projects that improve children’s environmental health. Funded projects can range from lab studies and innovative field sampling to translational projects that test out interventions in the real world.

Explore our three Pilot Project award types below, and see if your idea might qualify for funding! Deadlines and eligibility vary by Pilot Project type. Development Pilot Projects Open to Center Members and Faculty or Researchers from Member Institutions The Catalyst Pilot Program is aimed at funding innovative research in any area of children’s environmental health that will provide preliminary data leading to extramural funding.

This award is available to any junior or senior full- time faculty member.

The Focused Research Award is used to develop new translational products (e.g., message, material, video, mobile app, toolkit, preventive prescription, intervention, policy) and promote research in one of the thematic areas (asthma prevention, lead exposure and harm reduction, air pollution including inhaled toxicants e.g., asbestos, and endocrine disrupting chemicals) and to support research that may lead to multi-investigator grants.

Applicants can request up to $25,000 for one year. Both the Catalyst Pilot Program and the Focused Research Award is open to any Center members and fellow standing/research faculty from member institution s. Underrepresented minority faculty and junior faculty are highly encouraged to apply.

No Indirects Allowed. Closed for Year 5! Applications to open in the Fall 2026 Questions about the Development Pilot Projects, application process or our funding cycle?

Email prcceh@pennmedicine. upenn. edu .

Translational Pilot Projects Open Now for Community Organizations and Center Members It is not enough to just develop translational products (e.g., message, material, video, mobile app, toolkit, preventive prescription, intervention, policy) – you have to find ways to implement these products in the community and test whether they are effective and cost-beneficial.

Our Center provides funding for two different types of Translation Pilot Projects: Interdisciplinary Award: At least one Center member partners with a community organization to test and evaluate a translation program or product. First time applicants are preferred. Up to $50,000 in funding per funded project.

No Indirects Allowed. Community Action Award : Specifically for community and non-profit organizations to implement a translational program or product based on concerns from the community. A Center member must be a co-PI on the project.

Up to $50,000 in funding per project will be awarded. No Indirects Allowed. If your group is not familiar with any Center members, email prcceh@pennmedicine.

upenn. edu – we’ll help make those connections. An example might be to find a strategy to address a community environmental health problem that has worked somewhere else and adapt it to your community and evaluate how the implementation went.

Another example might be to test a novel strategy or community partnership to address a community concern. Applications for Translation Pilot Projects are accepted on a rolling basis. Email prcceh@pennmedicine.

upenn. edu to see if your project is eligible BEFORE writing your proposal. Rapid Response Award: Emergency Use Funding Open to Center Members and Faculty or Researchers from Member Institutions This special category was created to provide quick funding for collecting data or testing an intervention on an immediate children’s environmental health concern.

For instance, if there is a spill, natural disaster or emergency that creates a hazardous situation, there may be limited time and opportunity to collect data to study the impact of that hazard on children. The Rapid Response Award can quickly be reviewed and funding secured to collect the data or implement an intervention. It is restricted to up to $10,000 per funded project AND a community organization must be involved in the project.

No Indirects Allowed. An example might be if there is a plan to change roadway access in a community and the community is interested in collecting air quality data to show they are already over-burdened. This data may be used to impact policy.

Applications for Rapid Response Awards are accepted on a rolling basis. Email prcceh@pennmedicine. upenn.

edu to see if your project is eligible BEFORE writing your proposal. Applications should be emailed in a PDF format to prcceh@pennmedicine. upenn.

edu .

Each application should include the name of the Pilot Project you are applying to and the following information: Title of the Application; personal information (name, position, title, affiliation, and contact information); list of current and pending grant support; an abstract not longer than 250 words; a statement on how this project may lead to extramural funding in Children’s Environmental Health; significance, which must state the relevance to Children’s Environmental Health; preliminary studies if available; authentication of key biological or chemical resources if applicable; budget justification; and where applicable, IRB or IACUC approval.

Items #5-10 cannot exceed 5 pages Restrictions and Fine Print: No salary support for the faculty member is allowable. Applicants can request salary for support personnel, supplies and minor equipment (less than $5K). The investigator cannot claim travel or funds towards the purchase of major equipment.

These pilot projects DO NOT allow for indirect costs. Except for the Rapid Response Award, each Pilot Project has a set deadline. Applications received before a deadline is announced will be held until the next cycle.

Questions about the application? Email prcceh@pennmedicine. upenn.

edu Tracking Lead (Pb) in Drinking Water Monitoring and Remediation Efforts in New Jersey schools following a statewide policy mandate: Implications for Children’s Health Principal Investigator: Siddhartha Roy, Rutgers University Pilot Type: Translation Pilot Awarded: $25,000 Fall 2025 Year 2: Microbiota from Lead-Exposed Rats Raised in an Enriched Environment may Reverse Cognitive Deficits in Lead-Exposed Rats Raised in a Non-Enriched Environment Principal Investigator: Niraj Lodhi, Thomas Jefferson University Pilot Type: Development Pilot Awarded: $32,829.

53 Fall 2025 What’s in our water?

A participatory science toolkit for microplastics analysis and behavioral intervention to reduce health risks of chronic microplastic exposure Principal Investigator: Samantha McBride, University of Pennsylvania Pilot Type: Translation Pilot Awarded: $50,000 Fall 2025 Maternal EDC Mixture Exposure and Placental Metabolomic Changes Principal Investigator: Yu-Chin Lien, University of Pennsylvania Pilot Type: Development Pilot Awarded: $25,000 Summer 2025 Microbiota from lead-exposed rats raised in an enriched environment may reverse cognitive deficits in lead-exposed rats raised in a non-enriched environment Principal Investigator: Niraj Lodhi, PhD, Assistant Professor, Thomas Jefferson University Pilot Type: Development Pilot Awarded: $25,000 Fall 2024 Associations of extreme temperatures with missed pediatric primary care visits Principal Investigator: Stephanie Mayne, PhD, MHS, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania Pilot Type: Development Pilot Awarded: $15,910 Fall 2024 From Pantry to Bloodstream: Lead exposure from food spices and implications for children’s health Principal Investigator: Siddhartha Roy, PhD, Assistant Professor, and Derek Shendell, DEnv, MPH, AB, Professor, Rutgers University Pilot Type: Development Pilot Awarded: $9,000 Fall 2024 Improving Environmental Health Literacy and Empowerment for Parents and Teachers Principal Investigator: Jerry Roseman, Philadelphia Healthy Schools Pilot Type: Translation Pilot Awarded: $50,000 Fall 2024 Take the Lead on Lead: Telehealth-based Primary Prevention of Childhood Lead Poisoning Principal Investigator: Noah Bunche r, DO, FAAP, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Pilot Type: Translation Pilot Awarded: $19,660.

77 Summer 2024 Associations of extreme heat and PM2.

5 exposure with spontaneous preterm birth and infant mortality Principal Investigator: Tim Nelin, MD, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Pilot Type: Development Pilot Awarded: $25,000 Summer 2024 Pediatric resilience: Decoding vulnerability and crafting precision risk maps in the face of extreme temperatures Principal Investigator: Jagadeesh Puvvula, PhD, University of Pennsylvania Pilot Type: Development Pilot Awarded: $25,000 in Winter 2023 Evaluating the modifying effect of air pollution on asthma step-up treatment effectiveness among children in Philadelphia Principal Investigator: Jane Clougherty , ScD, MSc, Drexel University Pilot Type: Development Pilot Awarded: $25,000 in Fall 2023 Evaluating the residential lead remediation programs in the City of Lancaster Principal Investigator: Harriet Okatch , PhD, MPH, Thomas Jefferson University Pilot Type: Translation Pilot Awarded: $48,443.

65 Winter 2023 Cool Wave: Strengthening community capacity to mitigate urban heat exposure and protect children's health in Philadelphia Principal Investigator: Inkyu Han , PhD, MPH, Temple University Pilot Type: Translation Pilot Awarded: $50,000 Winter 2023 Zebrafish as a model of developmental susceptibility to organophosphate toxicity Principal Investigator: Carly Clayman, PhD, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Pilot Type: Development Catalyst Pilot Awarded: $25,000 in Fall 2023 Cumulative exposure to extreme weather events since infancy and development of asthma and allergies during childhood Principal Investigator: Anneclaire De Roos , MPH, PhD, Drexel University Pilot Type: Development Catalyst Pilot Awarded: $25,000 in Fall 2023 Pilot testing of endocrine disrupting chemical effects on development and the brain epigenome Principal Investigator: Erica Korb , PhD, University of Pennsylvania Pilot Type: Development Catalyst Pilot Awarded: $40,000 in Summer 2023 Role of maternal exposure to endocrine disruptors and placental injury Principal Investigator: Yu-Chin Lien , PhD, University of Pennsylvania Pilot Type: Development Catalyst Pilot Awarded: $40,000 in Summer 2023 Investigation of shade structures in encouraging more and longer outdoor play during summer and fall days in urban childcare Principal Investigators: Lorna Rosenberg and Randy Persaud of the Women for a Healthy Environment Pilot Type: Translation Pilot Awarded: $24,240.

70 Summer 2023 Neighborhood clean-up to reduce asthma triggers Principal Investigators: Horace Strand , Founder and Chair, Chester Environmental Partnership and Marilyn Howarth , MD, and Courtney Wolk, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania Pilot Type: Translation Pilot Awarded: $50,000 Spring 2023 Understanding the mechanism by which gestational exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals alters children's health Principal Investigator: Thea Golden, PharmD, PhD , University of Pennsylvania Pilot Type: Development Catalyst Pilot Awarded: $40,000 in Fall 2022 Assessing Childhood Exposure to Toxic Metals During 3-D Printing Principal Investigators: Thomas J.

Gluodenis, Jr., PhD , Associate Professor, and Kemberly Stephens, DM, Visiting Assistant Professor at Lincoln University of Pennsylvania Pilot Type: Development Catalyst Pilot Awarded: $25,000 in Spring 2023 Examining and communicating the role of neighborhood and diet in the study of endocrine disrupting chemicals and child neurodevelopment Principal Investigator: Kristen Lyall, ScD , Drexel University Pilot Type: Development Catalyst Pilot Awarded: $25,000 in Fall 2022 Chronic lung disease and environmental air pollution and temperature related outcomes Principal Investigator: Timothy Nelin, MD, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Pilot Type: Development Catalyst Pilot Awarded: $25,000 in Spring 2022 What is the difference between a Development Pilot and a Translational Pilot Project?

Development Pilot Projects provide funding for research that could lead to the development of a translational product. They are for faculty members or researchers studying children’s environmental health. In contrast, a Translational Pilot Project is focused on testing, evaluating and implementing a translational product in the community.

It should focus on hands-on impact built upon research. Such as, taking research on asthma that shows that air filters lessen asthma symptoms and building a program to provide filters to a community group. A community organization can apply for a Translational Pilot Project as long as a Center member is a co-PI.

I am not a member of the Center, but I would like to apply for funding. Am I eligible? It depends!

If you are interested in a Development Pilot Project (Catalyst Award or Focused Research Award), you must belong to a university or institution that already has existing Center membership. View our member universities here. For the Translation Projects, community organizations must collaborate with an existing Center member as a Co-PI.

If your university or institution is in the Philadelphia region and is not already a member, contact prcceh@pennmedicine. upenn. edu before applying to see if you may be eligible for membership.

What do you mean by a Community Organization? A community organization is an IRS designated 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. If your group works as a not-for-profit, but has not yet received IRS designation, please email us at prcceh@pennmedicine.

upenn. edu to inquire about an exemption. I am a faculty member at a regional institution or university that is not currently a member.

Can I apply? How do I become a member? Unfortunately, our Development Pilot Projects require that you belong to a university or institution affiliated with an existing Center Member.

The good thing is that you might be able to become a member! Email prcceh@pennmedicine. upenn.

edu to find out how to become a Center member. If I received Pilot Project Funding before, can I apply again? Yes!

However, we give preference to new applicants. What do you mean by No Indirects Allowed? Universities, institutions, or non-profit organizations cannot bill for indirect costs to come from the awarded amount.

The researcher receives the full awarded sum.