Temporarily Discontinued

Project Award Amount $30,000

Description
The CTSI-Strategic Opportunities Support (SOS) Program will support pilot projects concerning research policy, namely the systems, conventions, and culture that facilitate and shape the design, conduct, reporting, and dissemination of clinical and translational research. Areas addressed may include: the peer review process for research proposals and manuscripts; conflict of interest and the influence of industry funding; analysis of industry documents; causes and prevention of dishonesty or fraud; factors that contribute to bias in published research; the impact of existing or possible non-standard editorial policies; assessment and documentation of widespread or systemic problems in the prioritization, review, conduct, or dissemination of research; assessing the feasibility and potential of proposed ways to improve research systems or culture.

Projects may propose original empirical research, systematic review of existing research, or scholarly work that produces new insight or proposes and supports an innovative idea. Other proposals related to the standards and systems for prioritizing, designing, funding, presenting, disseminating, and rewarding clinical and translational research may also fit in this grant area.

Note: research in health policy or research methodology is not supported by this mechanism.

Eligibility

Who's Eligible: UCSF post-doctoral fellows and faculty in all series including adjunct and professional research series may apply: Post-doctoral Fellows, Instructors, Assistant Professors, Associate Professors, and Professors.

Who's Not Eligible: Residents, Specialists. CTSI-SOS cannot support K-Scholars.

Designation of Research Mentor
Applications from individuals at the level of Assistant Professor or below are encouraged to designate a senior faculty mentor. This should be an individual who has primary responsibility for overseeing the research career development of the applicant, and therefore advises the applicant on the formulation and writing of the application, as well as implementation of the project and what further research it may lead to. Ideally this should be someone already assigned through the applicant's department.  Please note that the decision on funding, along with the grant reviewers' comments, will be communicated to both the applicant and mentor.

Criteria for Review/Evaluation of Applications
Projects will be evaluated based on the soundness of the proposed methodology, the study’s possible impact including its potential to enable and stimulate further research, and the quality and potential of the applicant and the research team.

Pilot projects that involve human subjects will require human research committee approval before funding is released.

Award Administration 

Projects are for one year and are not renewable. To determine what is and what is not allowable, please refer to the instructions. All funding agencies require progress reports if an award is received. The number and timing of those reports varies between the agencies. Detailed information about this will appear in the respective funding agencies Award Letter.

CTSI-SOS cannot fund any international projects or expenses.

For application and review process questions, please contact:
Emanuela (Emy) Volpe
RAP Program Administrator
Ph.: 415-866-0229
E-mail: [email protected]

For grant specific questions, please contact:
Katie Nelson
CTSI-SOS Program Coordinator
Ph.: 415-514-6206
E-mail: [email protected]

Instructions

Please write your proposal following the instructions listed below:

Proposal Length: Maximum 6 pages, including figures and tables, excluding table of contents and literature cited.
Format Requirements:  Arial font; 11 pt; minimum 0.5 inch for all margins; no appendices; include page numbers and table of contents.

Please create one single PDF file including all of the following information:

1. Grant Mechanism
2. P.I. Name(s) - Optionally, you may apply with two PIs. If choosing that option, include all information for both PIs (PI1 and PI2); if funded, PI1 will be the primary contact for the award set up and management.

• Title
• Department/Affiliation
• Email address
• Phone

3. PI 1 (contact PI) Grant Administrator (Indicate a post-award financial analyst in your Dept. that will help you manage this grant and be our main contact if you are awarded)

• Name and Title
• Department/Affiliation
• Email address
• Phone

4. Research Mentor(s) if applicable

• Title
• Department/Affiliation
• Email address
• Phone

5. Specify if you have been funded as a PI or as a co-investigator in the past 5 years by any of the following UCSF agencies: List titles of grants in detail. Include enough information to allow RAP to understand their content. Specify dollar amounts awarded and source of funds.

• CTSI-SOS
• REAC
• CFAR
• ARI
• Cancer Center-MZHF
• NCOEWH
• Academic Senate
• Departmental Startup Funds
• Other UCSF (explain _____)

6. Project Title
7. Amount Requested: $
8. Abstract (one paragraph only, max 300 words)
9. Proposal (maximum 6 pages, including figures and tables, excluding mentoring plan and literature cited)

• Aims
• Background and Significance
• Preliminary studies
• Design and Methods (include time-table)
• Mentoring Plan:
  If applicable, please describe the plan for oversight of this project by your mentor(s), including the specific role of your primary mentor if one is named in this application
• Literature cited (not included in page limit)

10. Co-Investigator(s) (max five)

• Title
• Department/Affiliation
• Email address
• Phone

11. Human Subjects.  Indicate if Human Subjects will be used or not. Supply the following:

• CHR (IRB) date of approval
• CHR (IRB) approval number
• Specify if pending

12. Human Stem Cells.  Indicate if Human Stem Cell will be used or not. Supply the following:

• GESCR date of approval
• GESCR approval number
• Specify if pending

13. Animal Subjects.  Indicate if Animal Subjects will be used or not. Supply the following:

• IACUC date of approval
• IACUC approval number
• Specify if pending

14. Budget ($30,000 maximum per proposal) Use the following form:
    PHS 398 Form Page 4, "Detailed Budget for the Initial Period":
    http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html
    Add the network recharge rates to your budget.

*NIH base salary cap. Fully justify all requests. Generally PI partial salary support should not exceed 10%. Multiple PIs can decide how to distribute that 10% salary support among them (e.g., 5%/5% or 6%/4%).

CTSI-SOS cannot fund any international projects or expenses.
CTSI-SOS cannot fund K scholars in any capacity.

Administrative support, travel, and personal computer purchase may be allowable if required specifically by the research project proposed, and must be clearly justified.

15. Budget Justification: Clearly and fully justify all costs.
16. NIH Bio-sketch of Principal Investigator(s) and Co-Investigator(s) and UCSF Faculty Mentor(s) (4 page maximum): Use Form "PHS 398/2590" from the NIH grant applications (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/biosketch.doc) with other support pages. Include active, pending, and planned proposals. Include percent effort, total direct costs (current year) and potential overlap with the current proposal. Include bio-sketch for both PIs of a multi-PI application.
17. Letter of support: Provide a letter of support from the department chair or other unit head. In addition, for junior investigators, department chairs/unit heads should comment on the independence of the applicant and availability of research space and other resources for the proposed research. Include the letter of support at the end of your PDF proposal and address it to the RAP Committee. If there are multiple (two) PIs, a letter of support is required for both PIs. If PIs are in the same department, the chair can vouch for both PIs in a single letter.