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Dear Colleagues,
As we enter a new academic year, we want to recognize the innovative and important work accomplished by all our researchers at this challenging time.
There is ongoing uncertainty about changes in federal support of research, and many are experiencing very frustrating delays in receipt of NOAs for our research. We are closely monitoring the situation to provide you with timely and relevant updates as new information becomes available.
- We are pleased to report that some investigators conducting clinical trials with foreign subcontracts have received communication from their NIH GMS on options to move forward with the research. Each situation has unique considerations, and we encourage you to be in contact with your PO and GMS, and to work with your Division leadership, IGHS (as needed), and UCSF research support staff for guidance.
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At ZSFG, Peter Hunt (DOM Associate Chief of Research) will host two sessions on Tuesday, July 29, from 3 PM-4 PM and Monday, August 25, from 2 PM-3 PM in PRIDE Hall, Room 1940, to discuss grant terminations and research portfolio diversification. These sessions, intended for faculty and fellows affected by changes in federal funding and NIH foreign subcontract policies, will feature anchor faculty Neeta Thakur, Annie Luetkemeyer, and Gabe Chamie. Sign up here.
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NIH has announced its intention to prioritize human-focused research and reduce animal use in research. As one step toward this goal, NIH will no longer issue NOFOs exclusively supporting animal models or limit/specify the types of models that must be used. Other changes are under consideration. There is understandable concern from the UCSF research community about how this policy might impact our work. The UCSF Office of Research has met directly with NIH leadership regarding this policy. Our current understanding is that it does not stop NIH funding for animal research, but rather, it requires that alternatives to animal models are considered and utilized when scientifically appropriate. We will follow up with you as more details become available. In the meantime, we recommend that NIH applications requesting funds for animal research contain strong justifications and explanations of why alternatives are not proposed.
- Towards the end of this issue, you will find a list of informational resources from the UCSF Office of Research and other UCSF units. These resources can help you stay informed about grant policies, terminations, delays, and personnel matters.
- Finally, we would like to thank Dr. Jennifer Chen, Leonard Telesca, Dr. Gabe Chamie, and Danielle Mizuiri, who hosted a very successful interactive session on “HR for ESI in the current climate.” This session was suggested by our site-specific ESI groups. Thank you for this excellent idea. Don’t hesitate to reach out with other suggestions.
We know how hard members of our community are working to sustain our research enterprise, and we hope these resources are useful to you.
Best,
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Congratulations to Charlotte Hurabielle Claverie, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Division of Rheumatology at UCSF Health, on her selection as a 2025 Irene Perstein Awardee! The Irene Perstein Award is awarded annually by the UCSF School of Medicine to an outstanding, newly recruited junior faculty scientist.
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Congratulations to Michael Li, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the Division of Gastroenterology at UCSF Health, for winning the Department of Medicine's Cohort Grant for 2025! His project entitled "Prospective Research in IMmunotherapy Outcomes for Hepatocellular Carcinoma (PRIMO-HCC)," will receive $100,000 for a two-year period to expand the cohort.
| | DOM Research Support Programs | | |
Thanks to PRE-Proposal Application REview (PREPARE) Reviewers
Since launching in 2020, the PREPARE program has supported our research community by providing expert, pre-submission peer review for over 200 grant proposals. This success is made possible by the generosity and insight of our faculty reviewers.
| We extend our deepest thanks to reviewers who have contributed their time and expertise, and we offer special recognition to our top ten reviewers, those who have reviewed the most proposals since the program’s inception. Your commitment to strengthening research in our department and mentoring your peers is deeply appreciated. | | |
Pictured from left to right, top to bottom: Emily Arnold, PhD,
Edwin Charlebois, PhD, MPH, Joel Ernst, MD, Mallory Johnson, PhD, MA,
Mehrdad Matloubian, MD, PhD, Tor Neilands, PhD, John Sauceda, PhD, MSc, MA, Jonathan Singer, MD, MS, Wayne Steward, PhD, MPH, Li Zhang, PhD
All faculty, including Assistant Professors, are encouraged to sign up to serve as PREPARE reviewers. This is a great way to experience the grant review process and learn more about your colleagues’ work (and earn a stipend!).
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ARCHES: Support During Challenging Times
In this climate of federal grant terminations and delays, we know that many of you are navigating serious challenges while caring for yourself and supporting your staff. For up-to-date information and resources on topics including grant writing support, finding alternative funding sources, and staff support, please visit the ARCHES website. It is available to all, and it will be updated monthly.
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July Writing and Focused Work Café
Tuesday, July 29
The UCSF CAPS Developmental Core will be hosting a Writing and Focused Work Café. The CAPS Writing Café is open to all researchers, regardless of their area of focus, and is not limited to those conducting research related to AIDS.
Faculty, trainees, and staff from any university are invited to join on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, from 9 AM-12 PM. A Zoom link will be provided to those who RSVP.
Please bring a work-related project you need to complete. We will briefly share what our goals are for this time and then follow the Pomodoro technique to keep us focused by working in intervals for a total of three hours with short and small breaks in between.
Please RSVP to Mireya Avila if you would like to attend or if you have
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Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF)
Thursday, July 17
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF) is now accepting LOIs for its Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease (PATH) program. This program aims to provide accomplished investigators at the assistant professor level with opportunities to study what happens at the points where the systems of humans and potentially infectious agents connect. The program supports research that sheds light on the fundamentals that affect the outcomes of these encounters: how colonization, infection, commensalism, and other relationships play out at levels ranging from molecular interactions to systemic ones.
$505,000 will be awarded over a five-year project period.
To apply:
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Please email Liz.Catalano@ucsf.edu to announce your intention to apply.
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LOI deadline is Thursday, July 17, 2025. If you are invited to submit a full application, the deadline will be November 13, 2025.
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Faculty Writing Support Fund
Friday, July 18
The Faculty Writing Support Fund is intended to assist faculty who need financial support in their writing, publication, and scholarly communication activities. The last day to submit applications is Friday, July 18, 2025.
Funds can be used for editing services, writing consultation services, writing and administrative support for grants and manuscripts, or writing or scholarly communication class attendance. Funds cannot be used for salary support. All eligible applications will be entered into a lottery, with the awardees chosen by random draw. For questions, please contact Liz Greenwood.
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Merck Discovery Biologics
Wednesday, July 23
Merck Discovery Biologics is offering a potential one-year research funding opportunity. They aim to support and collaborate on innovative, high-impact ideas that might advance protein sciences and biologics discovery/development. We cordially invite you and your esteemed organization to submit proposals, provided that your research interests align with our 2025 Domains of Strategic Intent.
SEEDS research grant is up to $125,000 in direct costs plus the institution’s indirect cost, not to exceed a total of $200,000 for a duration of one year. Apply by completing the pre-proposal form. Please send the completed form to dbseeds@merck.com by Wednesday, July 23, 2025. Click here to view the RFP.
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The Concern Foundation
Friday, July 25
The Concern Foundation is accepting applications for its Conquer Cancer Now Award, offering up to $100,000 per year for two years to support early-career scientists with innovative, hypothesis-driven projects in cancer genetics, biology, or immunology.
Eligibility:
- Assistant Professor level faculty (or equivalent)
- Independent lab space for one to seven years
- No current or previous R01 (or equivalent) funding or fundable score
Clinical trials, epidemiology, and behavioral studies are not eligible.
To apply:
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Interested applicants should email Liz Catalano to announce their intent to apply.
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Letter of Intent (LOI) deadline is Friday, July 25, 2025.
- Invited full proposals will be due in November 2025.
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William T. Grant Foundation
Wednesday, August 6 and Monday, September 15
The William T. Grant Foundation is accepting applications for several research grants. Interested applicants should email Liz Catalano to announce their intent to apply.
Research Grants on Reducing Inequality Award: The foundation invites applications for research focused on reducing inequality in academic, social, behavioral, or economic outcomes of young people ages 5-25 in the United States, prioritizing race, ethnicity, economic standing, sexual or gender minority status, language minority status, or immigrant origins. The deadline is Wednesday, August 6, 2025. To apply, click here.
Major Research Grants: $100,000 to $600,000, including up to 15% indirect costs, will be awarded for a project period of two to three years.
Officers’ Research Grants: $25,000–$50,000, including up to 15% indirect costs, will be awarded for a project period of one to two years.
Research Grants on Improving the Use of Research Evidence: This program supports research on strategies focused on improving the use, usefulness, and impact of evidence in ways that benefit young people ages 5-25 in the United States.
Major Research Grants: $100,000 to $1,000,000, including up to 15% indirect costs, will be awarded for a project period of 2 to 4 years. Studies involving secondary data analysis are at the lower end of the range (about $100,000 $300,000), whereas studies that involve new data collection can have larger budgets (typically $300,000 $600,000).
Officers’ Research Grants: $25,000–$50,000 over one to two years, including up to 15% indirect costs, will be awarded for a project period of one to two years. Studies may be stand-alone projects or may build off larger projects. The deadline is Wednesday, August 6, 2025. To apply, click here.
Institutional Challenge Grants program: The Foundation is most interested in supporting existing research-practice partnerships that will use the grant to continue learning and growing, and are not yet so established that the grant adds little value to what is currently in place.
The award will provide $650,000 over three years, which includes: up to $60,000 for up to nine months of joint planning activities, funding for two years of a full-time equivalent fellowship, and up to three years of support for the research partnership. In addition, universities must fund one additional year of a full-time equivalent fellowship. Because of the institutional commitment required, applicants must obtain approval from their Chair or Dean before applying. The deadline is Monday, September 15, 2025. To apply, click here.
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The McKnight Brain Research Foundation (MBRF) and the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR)
Tuesday, August 12
MBRF and AFAR have issued a request for applications for their Innovator Awards in the Cognitive Aging and Memory Loss program.
The major goal of the program is to identify emerging scientific leaders by building a cadre of outstanding research scientists across the United States to lead transformative research in the field of cognitive aging. Proposals should be high-risk/high-gain in nature and therefore less suitable for conventional sources of funding.
One of the three awards will be made to support studies focusing on clinical translational research, and another award toward understanding basic biological mechanisms underlying cognitive aging and age-related memory loss.
$750,000, including up to 10% indirect costs, will be awarded over a three-year project period.
To apply:
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Interested applicants should email Liz Catalano to announce their intent to apply.
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The application deadline is Tuesday, August 12, 2025.
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A.P. Giannini Foundation
Thursday, November 6
The A.P. Giannini Foundation invites physician-scientists with 3 to 36 months of total postdoctoral experience to apply to the 2026 Postdoctoral Research Fellowship & Leadership Award. The Fellowship program supports innovative research in the basic sciences and applied fields and trains fellows to become established investigators. Research projects should advance the translation of biomedical science into preventions, treatments, and cures for human diseases.
Applicants must be United States citizens or permanent alien residents. They must hold or complete an MD/PhD, PhD, or equivalent degree before they activate the fellowship.
Applicants must arrange their research training before applying to the 2026 program. The research training program must be sponsored by an accredited California medical school and performed under the mentorship of a principal investigator who holds a full-time faculty or primary appointment at the sponsoring medical school.
To Apply:
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Applications are submitted through an online portal on the Foundation’s website.
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The application deadline is Thursday, November 6, 2025.
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Survey on the Impacts of Federal Executive Orders on Faculty
The Academic Senate committee developed this survey to gather concrete data on the impacts of federal actions on UCSF faculty, beyond what has been available via existing administrative reporting systems. They are also interested in understanding how UCSF faculty feel about the institutional response thus far, and would love as wide participation as possible to inform the Senate, faculty community, and UCSF leadership about faculty experience at this unprecedented and challenging moment, and to help direct response and advocacy.
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Notice of Temporary Policy Exception Related to Prematurely Terminated NIH Career Development Awards
Effective immediately, individuals whose mentored career development awards ended prematurely on or after January 1, 2025, may now be eligible to apply for a new mentored career development award—provided they meet all other eligibility criteria.
This exception is effective immediately and will remain in place through July 31, 2026. NIH will evaluate its impact and may revise or discontinue this policy based on that review.
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Interdepartmental Neurosciences Resident Research Retreat
The second annual Interdepartmental Neurosciences Resident Research Retreat will take place on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, from 3 PM-6 PM at the Sandler Neurosciences Conference Center (675 Nelson Rising Lane, San Francisco).
The event will feature talks by neuroscience faculty and clinician-scientists, followed by a networking reception. It's a great opportunity to explore research opportunities and career paths in neuroscience.
Resident Research Retreat: 3 PM-5 PM | Sandler Neurosciences Conference Center
Reception: 5 PM-6 PM | Sandler Neurosciences Center Atrium
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UCSF Institute for Human Genetics (IHG) Genotech Symposium
The Genotech Symposium will take place on Monday, September 22, 2025, from 9 AM-6 PM at the Genentech Hall Atrium and Auditorium (600 16th Street, San Francisco).
Join UCSF faculty and industry leaders for presentations and networking focused on genetics and genomics. Registration is free and open to all.
For questions, please contact Tiffany Lai.
| | Career Development Resources | | |
The UCSF Department of Medicine is committed to the success of its faculty and trainees. A wide range of support programs and internal grants are available to support career development, spark new research projects, and foster community.
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PSCDP
The UCSF Physician-Scientist Career Development Program (PSCDP) is a collaboration between the Departments of Medicine, Pediatrics, and Neurology. It is designed to support and promote laboratory-based physician-scientist trainees at the residency, fellowship, and junior faculty stages. The program aims to provide a centralized set of resources for the laboratory-based physician-scientist community. Learn more here.
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DiBS (Diversity in Bench Science)
The goal of the Diversity in Bench Science (DiBS) program is to enhance fellowship recruitment, career development, and faculty appointment opportunities within the Department of Medicine for individuals pursuing laboratory-based physician-scientist careers who share and enhance our commitment to diversity. The Department will contribute $50,000 over the first three years to support each scholar's research and career development expenses.
Learn more here.
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PIVOT
Principal InVestigator Organizational management Training (PIVOT)
is an interactive course designed to help early-stage investigators better
understand research ecosystems, organizational management, human
resources, and finance so they can thrive earlier in their careers. Eligible participants are faculty with a primary appointment in the Department of Medicine who are currently funded by an NIH career development award, a recent R01, or
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NIH +
The NIH+ program provides 15% capped salary support (excluding benefits) to professors and associate professors in any series with a primary appointment in the Department of Medicine. Some other institutional funding sources of support are deducted from the NIH+ award. Learn more here.
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Cohort Enhancement Grant
The Department of Medicine offers grants of up to $100,000 to support the initiation of new patient cohorts or the expansion of existing cohorts into new areas. The goal is to develop cohorts that are broadly used by both clinical and bench investigators and have strong potential for sustained future funding. All UCSF faculty with a primary appointment in the Department of Medicine, at any site, are eligible to apply.
Learn more here.
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iRAPS
The In-Residence Associate Professor Support (iRAPS) program aims to enhance the retention of faculty researchers by providing support at a critical time in their careers. Department of Medicine faculty members promoted to associate professor in the In-Residence series are eligible to receive $50,000 in salary support for up to six years. Learn more here.
| | If you'd like to contribute to future newsletters, please send your items to Ilona Paredes. | | Informational Resources for the Research Community | | |
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Please send comments, suggestions, and questions to:
diane.havlir@ucsf.edu and david.erle@ucsf.edu
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