Health Sciences Grant Funding

The Health Sciences Research Grant Committee is currently soliciting applications for research support. Funds will not be provided for expenses incurred prior to the submission deadline date. Incomplete or undocumented applications will be deferred to the Committee's next regularly scheduled meeting. 

FY 24-25 PROPOSAL DEADLINES

October 11, 2024 (Announcement at the end of December 2024)

January 10, 2025 (Announcement at the end of February 2025)

March 14, 2025 (Announcement at the end of May 2025)

The next deadline for submission of applications is March 14, 2025. Funding for the March deadline will begin June 1, 2025. Late applications will not be considered, no exceptions. If you miss this deadline, the next deadline will be in October 2025 (for funding to start January 1, 2026).

Application Process

Applications are created and submitted electronically through eGrants. Information about eGrants is available at /online-tools/interactive-utilities/egrants.

Effective 2020/21, applications for non-senate members should include the following checklist in their application, to be fllled out by Department Chairs (or the Division Chief endorsed by the Department Chair).

Eligibility Information

Members of the Academic Senate are eligible to apply for individual grants. Financial support may be provided for individuals with academic appointments who are not members of the Academic Senate (i.e. Adjunct and Clinical Professors, Research Scientists, and assistant-level Project Scientists). For non-Senate members, a checklist from the Department Chair or the Division Chief endorsed by the Department Chair is required in support of the applicant's request and advising the Committee of his/her status in the department. Applications for a non-Senate member received without a support letter will not be considered. The Committee does not support individuals such as associate and full project scientists, post-docs, clinical instructors and non-salaried faculty appointments. Please note that this is a competitive process, and not all applicants may be funded.

Guidelines

Project descriptions should be written in general terms and comprehensible to non-specialists. Justification of all items requested is essential. An application for seed money or for a project leading the investigator in an exciting new direction should represent innovative, currently unfunded projects or pilot studies that are likely to lead to extramural support. Incremental changes or additions to a currently funded project are rarely considered favorably. These applications may not exceed $15,000.  Proposals that would reach a cumulative total of pilot grant support of $60,000 or more over a ten-year period to the same investigator are unlikely to be awarded.

The Committee will consider a small number of bridge funding applications. An application for bridge funding is restricted to faculty who, after several years of demonstrated research productivity, have lost extramural research grants. Applicants must have proposals in an extramural agency review cycle, with bridge funds supporting continued research activities in the short term until their proposals are funded. Requests for bridge funding may not exceed $40,000. Allowable expenses include: supplies, animal care, salary/benefits for personnel, and up to 25% of total requested amount toward PI salary/benefits ($10,000 maximum for PI salary). Funds may not be used for travel (exceptions may be granted for carrying out essential research and/or attending granting agency workshops), to cover budget overdrafts, or indirect costs. If PI salary is part of the requested budget, you will need to provide a letter from the Department Chair confirming the PI’s time in the project is protected commensurate to the salary request. 

Early career faculty and Academic Senate members will be given priority over non-Senate members; however, all Academic Senate members are encouraged to apply for grants for innovative, unfunded projects; in particular, pilot studies that could lead to more substantive support from extramural agencies.

1. Priority will be given to meaningful new projects, especially by early career faculty who have limited funding and are operating independently.
2. Funds may be awarded for supplies, in-field work, assistance, and equipment (attach price quotation). For graduate student support, identification of the graduate student is required. Graduate students may be supported up to 50% effort. 
3. Funding collaboration: As part of this funding mechanism, the Academic Senate has developed a funding collaboration with the UC San Diego Center for Functional MRI (CFMRI). For Health Sciences Research proposals that include human neuroimaging, the CFMRI will support one scan hour (in the form of a pilot hour) for every two scan hours supported by the Academic Senate Research grant. Other details regarding the assignment and usage of these pilot hours will follow the policies of the CFMRI. This generous collaborative arrangement leverages additional research support for innovative multidisciplinary research pilot projects for investigators utilizing neuroimaging methodologies. Questions about the CFMRI neuroimaging support can be directed to Peggy Totzke at CFMRI (ptotzke@ucsd.edu).
4. Multiple Use Equipment: Applications will be accepted to purchase equipment to be used by three or more investigators on separate research projects. The total award may not exceed $15,000.00 per investigator which will be apportioned equally. The number of prior applications received from each of the individual investigators, as well as budgetary constraints, will be taken into consideration. Describe each project fully. Priority will be given to specialized equipment not found elsewhere on campus that supports the research programs of multiple laboratories. Low priority will be given to requests for standard laboratory equipment, and to requests submitted by faculty who have existing startup funds.
5. The Committee does not award funds for: books; curricular, administrative and teaching aid studies; individual subscriptions or periodicals; professional society dues; publication costs or open access charges; reprints; telephone charges; postage; calculators, office furniture; minor office and computer supplies (paper, pens, pencils); maintenance and repair of equipment, photocopying (unless directly related to the research project), salary support for postdoc fellows, PGRs, or other appointments in academic series.
6. Research involving the use of human subjects (including the use of questionnaires, body fluids, and tissues) must be approved by the Human Subjects Committee before being initiated. Application forms and assistance in filling them out are available on the Human Research Protections Program website. Provide approval number and date only on the Research Grant Application.
7. Research involving the use of animals must be approved by the Animal Subjects Committee. A copy of the approval or protocol number should be appended to the application. Animal Use Protocol forms and assistance in filling them out are available from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) website. Provide approval number and date only on the Research Grant Application.

Use of Funds

Expenditures of research grant funds must conform to the Committee allocations by categories and purpose (pre-approval of changes in use of funds is mandatory).

The grantee is responsible for the administration of the grant, any overdrafts, and must review the budget and encumber or return promptly any funds that will not be spent before the ending date of the grant. Any unexpended funds on that date will automatically revert to the Committee for redistribution.

Any equipment purchased from an Academic Senate research grant becomes the property of the University upon acquisition and reverts to the University upon completion of the project for which the funds were awarded.

All expenditures are subject to applicable University regulations.

Please acknowledge the UCSD Academic Senate in publications benefiting from these funds.

Any unexpended balances returned prior to the ending date of the grant will be credited towards grantee's ten-year cumulative total.