Dear Colleagues,

Happy New Year to you all! Resolutions or not, we hope 2024 is off to a great start in your personal and professional lives. Speaking of starts, we would like to unveil the new name for our research newsletter, which is now aligned with all the other Department of Medicine newsletters: DOMiNews, DOM InBasket, DOM Insider. Our new title is DOM Investigators: Research News.

In the newsletter below, we'd like to highlight a couple of things in addition to our usual recognition for first-time R01s and other awards: Applications are now open for the third PIVOT cohort (management training for early-stage investigators); and we are also seeking a new co-director for PREPARE (our pre-submission grant review program) so they may start in July. A HUGE thanks to Dr. Larry Fong for his role as one of the inaugural directors who launched the program and made it the success that it is. Happy reading and cheers to a great new year!

All the best, 

Diane Havlir, MD, Associate Chair for Clinical Research

David Erle, MD, Associate Chair for Biomedical Research

Rohit Bose, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Departments of Anatomy, Medicine , and Urology, and a member of the Division of Hematology and Oncology at UCSF Health, received a DP2 Award from the NIH Common Fund for a project entitled, "Simulating Ancestrally Unbiased Tumor Evolution to Interrogate Drug Resistance."

Please let Alyssa Tecklenburg know if we inadvertently missed your K award, first R01 or equivalent award in this issue of the newsletter. We will make sure to feature your award in our next issue.

The UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital is thrilled to announce the recipients of the inaugural round of CVP Faculty Research Pilot Awards. This funding is intended to support pilot projects focused on research related to health equity, the social-structural determinants of health, or increasing diversity in the biomedical workforce. The awards are for up to $40,000 for one- or two- year projects and open to any UCSF Faculty formally appointed to CVP. Select awards are generously co-funded by the UCSF PRISE Center (*as indicated below). 

After a competitive application and review process, CVP has granted three awards for the 2024-2025 cycle:

Oanh Nguyen, MD, MAS  

Associate Professor of Medicine 

CVP Associated Faculty 

Project Title: Effect of Medicaid Coverage on Equitable Access to Novel Diabetes Medications 

Nynikka Palmer, DrPH, MPH  

Associate Professor of Medicine  

CVP Core Faculty 

Project Title: Merging Peer Navigators with the PACE Yourself Communication Tool for Prostate Cancer Care

Maya Vijayaraghavan, MD, MAS 

Associate Professor of Medicine 

CVP Core Faculty 

 Project Title: Evaluation of the San Francisco General Hospital’s Addiction Care Team Intervention for Tobacco Treatment* (generously co-funded by the PRISE Center) 

UCSF New Energy-Star –80°C Freezer Policy

UCSF is instituting a new policy requiring the purchase of Energy Star-certified –80°C ultra-low temperature (ULT) freezers. To assist you in this transition, UCSF has continued and expanded its ULT Freezer Rebate Program, which provides a variety of different financial incentives depending on your needs. 

For questions about Energy Star –80°C freezer rebates, please contact UCSF Sustainability.

PRE-Proposal Application REview (PREPARE) Program

Seeking a new program co-director!

Applications due February 23

PREPARE is seeking a new co-director with experience in lab-based research to start in July, 2024. This is an exciting opportunity to co-lead the very successful PREPARE DOM grant review program. Responsibilities include rapidly matching grant submitters with well-qualified reviewers for laboratory-oriented proposals, updating the program, and guiding the reporting of program outcomes. The role is compensated $25K per year and the program is administered by a project manager from the Central Admin team.

Candidates should be:

• Laboratory scientists with substantial experience in preparing and reviewing grant proposals
• Associate professor or above
• Well connected to diverse set of other PIs at UCSF who could serve as PREPARE reviewers (highly preferred)

To submit your application, send the following materials to Sara Wingate no later than Friday, February 23:

• NIH Biosketch
• A document addressing the following questions: 1) Why are you interested in this position?; and 2) What relevant experience reviewing grants and being on study section would you bring? (no more than 500 words combined)

For more information about the program, click here. Please email Sara Wingate with any questions.

PIVOT Early-Stage Investigator Management Training Program 

Applications are due by February 16

Calling All Early-Stage Investigators!

Are you an early-stage investigator just starting to build your research program as a PI? You know the science, but do you know how to navigate the NIH and UCSF research infrastructure successfully? Do you want to avoid the pitfalls of managing personnel and overcommitting your budget?

Learn the answers to all these questions and more by applying to the 2024 cycle of PIVOT (Principal InVestigator Organizational management Training) for Early-Stage Investigators. Eligibility criteria include UCSF faculty members with primary appointments in the Department of Medicine and are currently funded by an NIH career development award (K08, K23, or named as scholar on K12/KL2) or equivalent award. Course sessions will be held on Thursdays from 3-5pm on the following dates: 4/24, 5/8, 5/22, and 6/5. 

For more information including how to apply, please click the button below. The deadline to apply is February 16, 2024.

PRISE Center T32 Postdoc Cohort recruitment

Applications are due by March 1

Applications Now Open for the 2024/2025 PRISE Center T32 Postdoc Cohort

The Partnerships for Research in Implementation Science for Equity in Heart and Lung Diseases (PRISE-HL) T32 program aims to provide support to outstanding post-doctoral scholars with interdisciplinary training in implementation science and health equity approaches to help transform the uptake and delivery of evidence-based interventions for heart and lung diseases in clinical and community settings. 

There are three open positions in the PRISE Center sponsored T32, to start by July 1, 2024, at UCSF or UC Irvine. The position may be fully remote or hybrid depending on the research scope.

One-year training slots are available on a competitive basis to trainees proposing implementation science research in NHLBI priority areas (heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders), focusing on health disparities. Application deadline is March 1, 2024.

Please click the link below for application details and requirements. Kindly share this link with your networks and do reach out if you have any candidates who would be a good fit for the PRISE T32 program.

For inquiries: Contact PRISE Program Coordinator Tiese Etim-Inyang

Special Talk - Michelle Trenkmann, PhD 

January 19, 3-4:00PM PST

Rock Hall, Room 102 | Mission Bay Campus

Please join the Institute for Human Genetics for a special talk entitled "Inside Nature" by Michelle Trenkmann, PhD. Michelle is a Senior Editor at Nature. Her areas of expertise include genetics, genomics, and molecular evolution.

Pop-Up Faculty Lunch Series

January 25, 12-1:00 PM PST

Nursing Mezzanine | Parnassus Heights Campus

Pop-Up Faculty Club events provide an opportunity for informal interactions with your research faculty colleagues. These events are open to all research faculty and are an opportunity to catch up with old friends and collaborators and meet new ones. Please join the next lunch on Thursday, January 25^th from 12-1:00PM in the Nursing Mezzanine. Sign up here.

Capacity is limited to 30 due to space limitations. Sign up is first come first served. Please sign up by Friday, January 19^th at noon. Thanks to the Bakar Aging Research Institute for sponsoring this month's lunch. For questions, please contact Marisa.Jin@ucsf.edu.



UCSF ARCHES Mid-Career Development Program for Research Faculty 

Applications are due by February 13

The third call for applications for the UCSF ARCHES Mid-Career Development Program for Research Faculty is now open. This unique program is intended to promote workforce equity and is open to applicants across all schools. This is a great opportunity to support outstanding mid-career mentors (see current and prior awardees here). 

During this review cycle, up to three faculty members will be selected for this two-year award. Historically excluded research faculty who are committed to working on issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion are strongly encouraged to apply. 

Applications are due via email to Claudine Catledge by 5 pm, February 13, 2024. For questions, please contact Claudine Catledge.

EXTRAMURAL The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H)

Applications are due by March 14

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) is a new federal agency that supports team approaches for solving major health challenges. Rather than supporting research on specific diseases, ARPA-H will support high-risk, high-consequence programs designed to improve health for everyone.

To learn more about ARPA-H and how to apply to become a program manager or respond to a BAA, visit the UCSF Research Development Office ARPA-H website, which includes links to videos and slide decks with more information.

If you'd like to contribute to future newsletters, please send your items to Ilona Paredes.

Resources for Space Planning Updates



For updates on work space projects, be sure to check out the UCSF Space websites for Parnassus Heights and ZSFG. Also, check out the Parnassus Vision website, maintained by a group of Parnassus-based research faculty.

Copyright © 2024, University of California, San Francisco, All rights reserved.

Please send comments, suggestions and questions to:

Diane Havlir, MD, Associate Chair for Clinical Research (diane.havlir@ucsf.edu)

David Erle, MD, Associate Chair for Biomedical Research (david.erle@ucsf.edu)