Dear colleagues,

As this academic year comes to a close, we want to recognize the incredible work that has been accomplished by all of our researchers. We also want to congratulate our 2023 DOM cohort grant and UCSF physician-scientist scholar awardees, as well as our DOM faculty who have received a career development award, or first time R01 or equivalent award.

The research newsletter will take a hiatus in July and August and will resume in September. Please continue to send us your accomplishments during that time so we may recognize them when we return.

In addition, make sure to check out the Department of Medicine career development resources section below, many of them available to all DOM research faculty members.



Wishing you a wonderful summer!

All the best, 

Diane Havlir, MD, Associate Chair for Clinical Research

David Erle, MD, Associate Chair for Biomedical Research

Michael Lee, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care at ZSFG, received a K08 from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for a project entitled, "The contribution of hypoxia inducible factor-1-dependent glycolysis in lung interstitial macrophages to the pathobiology of schistosomiasis-induced pulmonary hypertension."

Congratulations to Jonathan Ostrem, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at UCSF Health, for being selected as a UCSF Physician-Scientist Scholars Program (PSSP) scholar. Dr. Ostrem is a thoracic oncologist and chemical biologist in the Department of Medicine at UCSF. His research focuses on the development of novel cancer treatments using synthetic organic chemistry, protein engineering, and structural biology. Dr. Ostrem completed his MD/PhD at UCSF working in the laboratory of Dr. Kevan Shokat where he led development of the first inhibitors of KRAS G12C, the most common mutant form of KRAS in lung cancer. This work led to the first FDA-approved therapies targeting KRAS, sotorasib and adagrasib, and a surge in KRAS-directed drug discovery efforts. He completed Internal Medicine residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital followed by Medical Oncology fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. During his fellowship training working with Dr. Stuart Schreiber, he discovered a class of synthetic small molecules that undergo ubiquitination, a modification thought to occur almost exclusively on protein substrates.

Congratulations to Monica Yang, MD, clinical fellow (assistant professor 7/1/23) in the Division of Rheumatology at UCSF Health, for winning the Department of Medicine's Cohort Grant for 2023! Her project entitled "Molecular profiling across organ systems in Systemic Sclerosis: A longitudinal cohort study," will receive $100,000 for a two-year period to expand the cohort. 

Scott Bauer, MD, MS, assistant professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at SFVAHCS, received an R01 from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for a project entitled, "Prescription exercise for Older men with Urinary Disease (PROUD) pilot study."

Please let Ilona Paredes 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.

UCSF Committee on Disability Inclusion

Applications are due by June 20

The Office of Diversity and Outreach (ODO) Committee on Disability Inclusion is currently recruiting new members for the 2023-24 year. Committee members actively participate in workgroups and event planning to further enhance the climate at UCSF for constituents with disabilities.

To apply, complete the new member application form by June 20. For questions, please contact Cecile Puretz.

Clinical Research Operations Bootcamp for Principal Investigators

The Clinical Research Operations Bootcamp for Principal Investigators (PIs) is designed to provide PIs with training on research operations and the process of conducting research at UCSF. PIs are welcome to attend the modular sessions over the course of two days – November 2-3, 2023. Attending all sessions is not required.

Topics will include:

• Hiring and managing research staff
• Study start-up
• Research billing
• Recruitment
• IRB and safety reporting

To register for the PI Research Operations Bootcamp, please email CTO@ucsf.edu.

The UCSF Department of Medicine is committed to its faculty members’ and trainees’ success. A multitude of support programs and internal grants are provided to aid in career development, spark new research projects, and foster community. See the list below.

PSCDP

The UCSF Physician-Scientist Career Development Program (PSCDP) is a collaboration between the Departments of Medicine, Pediatrics, and Neurology. The program is designed to support and promote laboratory-based physician-scientist trainees in the residency, fellowship, and junior faculty stages. The goal is to create a centralized set of resources for the laboratory-based physician-scientist community. Learn more here.

DiBS Program

The goal of the Diversity in Bench Science (DiBS) program is to enhance Department of Medicine fellowship recruitment, career development, and prospects for faculty appointments, for individuals pursuing laboratory-based careers as physician-scientists who share and enhance our commitment to diversity. The Department of Medicine will contribute $50,000 over the first three years for research and career development expenses for each scholar.  Learn more here.

PIVOT



Principal InVestigator Organizational management Training (PIVOT)

is an interactive course to help early-stage investigators

understand research ecosystems, organizational management, human

resources and finance so they can thrive sooner in their careers. Eligible

faculty members are those who have a primary appointment in the Department of Medicine and are currently funded by an NIH career development award, a recent R01, or

equivalent award. Learn more here.

NIH +

The NIH+ program provides professors and associate professors in any series with a primary appointment in the Department of Medicine 15% of their capped salary support, excluding benefits. Some other institutional sources of support are deducted from the NIH+ award. Learn more here.

Cohort Grant

The Department of Medicine offers grants of up to $100,000 to initiate new patient cohorts or expand the use of existing cohorts into new areas. The goal is to develop cohorts that are widely used by both clinical and bench investigators and have high potential for sustained future funding. All UCSF faculty members with a primary appointment in the Department of Medicine faculty at any site are eligible to apply. 

Learn more here.

iRAPS

The In-Residence Associate Professor Support (iRAPS) Program aims to increase retention of faculty researchers by supporting them at a critical time in their careers. Department of Medicine faculty members promoted to associate professor in the In-Residence series will receive $50,000 of salary support for up to six years. Learn more here.

PREPARE

The primary mission of the PRE-Proposal Application REview (PREPARE) is to improve funding success through pre-submission grant proposal review for faculty submitting NIH or foundation grant proposals. Eligible grant types include the following: R01, R21, R34, U01, and Ks. The program provides expert peer-review of: full proposals, concept sheets and summary sheets. Learn more here.

Research Newsletter

The Department of Medicine research newsletter serves as a resource for our research community, connecting you to funding opportunities, and other support for your work. Stay up-to-date about events, initiatives, and recognition by subscribing to the DOM research newsletter.

Reminder UCSF Nutrition and Obesity Research Center (NORC) Pilot and Feasibility Award

Applications are due by July 1

The Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC) at UCSF is sponsoring an open Request for Applications (RFA) for Pilot and Feasibility Grants, which provide funding for investigators to pursue novel and promising ideas broadly relevant to nutrition, obesity, and metabolism research. Pilot funding of up to $50,000 per application is available for a period of twelve months from the time of the award.

Preference will be given to junior faculty engaged in research broadly relevant to nutrition, obesity, and metabolism, who do not yet have NIH R01 funding (K awardees are eligible to apply). NIH review criteria (Significance, Investigators, Innovation, Approach, Environment) will be used.

To apply, email your application as a single PDF file to Myra Gloria. For questions, please contact Myra Gloria or Brian Feldman.

UCSF UC Noyce Initiative

Applications are due by August 15

The UC Noyce Initiative is a partnership between five University of California campuses, (Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara), that honors the legacy of Ann S. Bowers and Robert N. Noyce by advancing computing, information science, and engineering for the benefit of society. The UC Noyce Initiative intends to support research efforts that are innovative, have the potential for high impact, hold a strong promise for follow-on funding, and are particularly interested in supporting high-risk, high-reward research that typically do not qualify for traditional or federal funding agencies. The UC Noyce Initiative requests proposals in two thematic focus areas:

• Computational Health: Computing and new sources of data have transformed how we address medical and public health questions that were once insurmountably complex. We have the potential through data analytics, machine learning, and new digital devices to revolutionize disease treatments, reduce the impact of infectious disease, fight health disparities, and much more. 
• Privacy and Security: In our increasingly digitally networked world, data and algorithms used for decision making are creating new opportunities and challenges. Cybersecurity, privacy and responsible use of AI/ML will be critical to ensuring safety as the world is transformed through advanced digital technologies.

Researchers may apply for either a multi-campus partnership award or a single campus award. The Initiative anticipates awarding up to four multi-campus partnership awards and up to ten single campus awards in 2023. 

The UC Noyce Initiative will hold a one-hour informational webinar providing an overview of the award requirements and an opportunity for applicants to ask questions. The webinar will be held on June 27, 2023 at 12pm via Zoom, Meeting ID: 955 0850 8861.

For questions about the application process, please contact Gretchen Kiser. For questions about accessing and submitting your application in InfoReady, please contact Ana Lucia Cordova.

Reminder Extramural NIH High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program

Various deadlines, see below

The NIH Common Fund announces FY 2024 funding opportunities for the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, Transformative Research Award, and Early Independence Award in the High-Risk, High-Reward Research program.

NIH strongly encourages applications from women and members of groups that are underrepresented in NIH-funded research and from individuals from diverse backgrounds and from the full spectrum of eligible institutions in all geographic locations.

New Innovator Award: Supports exceptionally creative early career scientists proposing unusually innovative and high-impact projects. To read more about this award see the New Innovator Award website. Applications are due by August 18, 2023.

Transformative Research Award: Supports individuals or teams proposing unusually innovative research projects that are inherently risky and untested but have the potential to create or overturn fundamental paradigms. To read more about this award see the Transformative Research Award website. Applications are due by September 1, 2023.

Early Independence Award: Enables outstanding junior scientists with the intellect, scientific creativity, drive, and maturity to bypass the traditional postdoctoral training period and launch an independent research career. To read more about this award see the Early Independence Award website. Applications are due by September 6, 2023.

For more information about NIH and its programs, click the button below.

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

Applications are due by March 14, 2024

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.

Examples provided by the agency:

Imagine if…

• Cell therapies could be built and assembled on demand, readily reprogrammed for each new disease target
• MRIs could be delivered in the comfort of your home
• A personalized cancer vaccine cost the same as a cup of coffee

There are various ways to become involved in ARPA-H research:

• Become an ARPA-H program manager. Those selected as program managers take leave from UCSF for three to six years to become full-time ARPA-H employees and run large (typically ~$50-150M) efforts with business and technical support and the authority to assemble and fund multidisciplinary teams from industry, academics, and government.
• Once programs are launched, respond to a program manager’s call for proposals. Program managers will issue Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs) requesting proposals for work related to that program.
• Become involved in development, scaling up, or production as projects progress.
• Lead an “Open BAA” proposal. In advance of the launch of ARPA-H Projects, specific proposals with a narrower scope that address the goals of ARPA-H can be submitted from now until March 14, 2024. These may eventually be incorporated into ARPA-H programs.

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.

Copyright © 2023, 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)