Pilot Grants Program

Early Career Investigator Pilot Awards

Mentored Pilot Research Project awards (similar to K08, K23 and K99 awards) provide one year of funding to support research projects and career development activities that will enhance the applicant’s ability to compete successfully for an independent R- or K-series award (e.g., acquisition of preliminary data, training in grant preparation). The projects can address a variety of topics, including vaccinology, therapeutics, laboratory studies and statistics. Scientists (MD, PhD or equivalent) nearing completion of postdoc or in early faculty positions (instructor or assistant professor) and those whom not have served as principal investigator (PI) or MPI on an R-grant (other than an R03) with NIH are eligible. Serving as PI on a K-series or other mentored career award does not preclude eligibility.

2025-2026 Pilot Award Recipients

Hannah Bahakel, MD

Clinical Fellow, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Project Title: Immunogenicity of PCV20 in Pediatric Solid Organ Transplant Recipients

Jennifer Clinton, PhD

Assistant Professor, Baylor College of Medicine

Project Title: Harnessing host immunomodulation: CXCR3 antagonism as a novel flavivirus therapeutic

Lauren Jatt, MD

Infectious Disease Fellow Physician, University of Washington

Project Title: Antibody-mediated immunity to Shigella in the human gut to inform vaccine efforts

Brett Jagger, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, Saint Louis University

Project Title: Cross-clade Humoral Immune Responses elicited by H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Vaccines

Esther Ndungo, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Contribution of the breast milk microbiome to Shigella incidence in young children

2024-2025 Pilot Award Recipients

Tara (Tia) Babu MD, MSCI

Assistant Professor, University of Washington

Project Title: Evaluating Recruitment and Enrollment of Heterogenous Study Cohorts

Daniel Gromer MD, MSc

Assistant Professor, Emory University

Project Title: The Immunogenicity-Reactogenicity Relationship Among Pandemic Influenza Vaccines

2023-2024 Pilot Award Recipients

Juan Calix, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

Project Title: Linking multidrug resistant Acinetobacter infections to extended subclinical carriage

Andrew Cox, MD, PhD

Clinical Fellow, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Project Title: Deciphering the spatial relationships of natural killer cell immunoregulation

Jose Lemme, PhD

Research Associate, University of Maryland

Project Title: Antibody-mediated immunity to Shigella in the human gut to inform vaccine efforts

Stephanie McLaughlin, MD, MPH

Acting Instructor, Attending Physician, University of Washington

Project Title: Cervical Neisseria gonorrhoeae Infection and Host Vaginal Risk Factors: Vaginal Microbial Dysbiosis and pH

Laura Matrajt, PhD

Staff Scientist, Fred Hutch Cancer Center

Project Title: Mathematical simulations based on population models of SARS-CoV-2 dynamics to evaluate the impact of study design for vaccine effects on SARS-CoV-2 transmission

2022-2023 Pilot Award Recipients

Fei Gao, PhD

Assistant Professor, Biostatistics, Bioinformatics & Epidemiology, Fred Hutch Cancer Center

Project Title: Statistical methods for evaluating vaccine efficacy against asymptomatic and symptomatic infections using infrequent diagnostic testing data

Daniel Graciaa, MD, MSc, MPH

Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine

Project Title: Epigenetic immune changes after BCG vaccination in adults

Vanessa Raabe, MD, MSc

Assistant Professor, Infectious Diseases, New York University

Project Title: Cross-reactive IgG antibodies to Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination or infection

Tara Reid, MD, PhD

Acting Instructor, Infectious Diseases, University of Washington

Project Title: Single cell analysis of human secondary syphilis skin lesions to measure innate and pathogen-specific immune responses

2022 Pilot Award Recipients

Jayaum Booth, PhD

Research Associate, Center for Vaccine Development, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Project Title: Human intestinal TRM: Distinct cross-reactive responses against enteric pathogens

Stephanie Rolsma, MD

Fellow, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Project Title: Population PK/PD of Beta-Lactams in Critically Ill Children and Adults

2021 Pilot Award Recipients

Meagan Deming, MD, PhD

Infectious Diseases Fellow, Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Project Title: Seasonal coronavirus immunity and effects on SARS-CoV-2 immune response

Erin Scherer, PhD, DPhil

Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine; Director, Emory VTEU Research Laboratory

Project Title: Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG Fc glycosylation and its role in COVID-19 immunopathology