Columbia DERC Pilot and Feasibility Grants (Diabetes Research)

About this program

Columbia University Diabetes Research Center (DERC) offers Pilot and Feasibility grants to support diabetes-related research at Columbia, funding projects up to $50,000 per year for up to two years (indirect costs not allowed); awards are typically made for one year with a potential second-year extension based on progress and fund availability. Eligible applicants are faculty-appointed investigators (DRC membership not required; graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are excluded), with priority for three proposal types: early-career investigators without prior funding, innovative/high‑risk projects by established diabetes investigators, and established investigators new to diabetes research. Applicants submit a single‑PDF, 1‑page non‑binding letter of intent with an NIH biosketch; invited applicants file a simplified PHS 398 full application (department chair signature required) with an experimental plan limited to five single‑spaced pages, budgets capped at $50,000/year, and IACUC/IRB approvals as applicable.