Project Award Amount: $50,000
Description
The UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education is home to the FAMRI William Cahan Fund. FAMRI’s mission is to sponsor scientific and medical research for the early detection and cure of diseases and medical conditions caused by exposure to tobacco smoke. The fund supports the following type of research that falls within FAMRI’s mission:
Research on secondhand tobacco smoke (both policy relevant and biomedical)
Research on tobacco control policy making and interventions designed to reduce tobacco use or exposure to secondhand smoke
Successful awardees will also participate in the larger CTCRE activities, including monthly Tobacco, And Cannabis and Other substance use research (TACO Tuesday) research-in-progress meetings to expand the impact of their work.
Eligibility requirements need to be met as of date of submission. No waivers will be allowed:
- UCSF Faculty in any series (Ladder Rank, In Residence, Clinical X, Health Science Clinical, Adjunct)
- UCSF Faculty in all ranks (Instructor, Assistant, Associate, Full Professor)
- Appointees to the Professional Research Series
- Appointees to the Librarian Series
- Senior Postdoctoral Fellows
Designation of Research Mentor
All award applications from individuals who are instructors or senior postdoctoral fellows require the designation of a faculty research mentor. This mentor should be an individual who has primary responsibility for overseeing the research career development of the applicant—usually assigned through the applicant's department. Reviewers will be instructed to ensure active engagement of the mentor, who must be specifically named.
Criteria for Review and Evaluation of Applications
Applications that are complete and meet eligibility requirements will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit in accordance with FAMRI’s research objectives:
Significance, particularly in terms of countering the effects of secondhand smoke, and likelihood the research will lead to future external funding
Approach
Innovation
Investigator
Environment
Each of these criteria will be addressed and considered in assigning the overall application score.
The funds for these developmental projects come from an endowment provided by the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute (FAMRI). Because of this arrangement, we can only fund projects on early detection and cure of diseases and medical conditions caused by exposure to tobacco smoke.
Awards are typically used:
To initiate a project, or
To gather preliminary data that will lead to a larger research project
Selection of Awardees
TO APPLY:
STEP 1) Complete the electronic application form. Please note there are several pieces of information that need to be provided directly via the electronic application form (selecting the appropriate grant mechanism, providing demographic information, uploading an abstract, etc.).
Click here to preview an inactive template of the electronic application form.
STEP 2) Upload your proposal as a SINGLE PDF that includes all of the items in the instructions below listed in numeric order.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROPOSAL PDF
Please write your proposal following the instructions listed below and create one single PDF file. Do not include form fields in your PDF document.
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.
RESUBMISSIONS
Definition: same research topic with an amended application or research plan rather than a new research topic and new research plan.
Requirements: Please use up to one extra page to introduce your revised proposal, addressing the issues raised in the review, and any additional changes to your proposal. Make sure the new edits are highlighted in bold or italic font so the reviewers can easily see where and how the proposal has changed. Do not use "track changes". A new letter of support from the Department Chair or other Unit Head is required in all cases.
P.I. Name(s) - Optionally, you may apply with two PIs. If funded, PI1 will be the primary contact for the award set up and management. If the proposal has multiple PIs, both PI1 and PI2 need to meet the eligibility criteria listed for this grant mechanism. Only ONE application as PI (PI1 or PI2) is permitted per cycle.
Project Title
Proposal (maximum 6 pages, including figures and tables, [A-G] excluding literature cited)
- Aims
- Background and Significance
- Preliminary studies
- Experimental Design and Methods (include timetable)
- i) Hypothesis, ii) Rationale, iii) Experimental approach, iv) Interpretation of results
- Explain how this pilot project will contribute to the development of new efforts to ameliorate the effects of exposure to tobacco smoke.
- Human Subjects: describe patients, specimens, and/or human subject data that will be used in your research, and describe the methods that will be used to protect subjects and/or information
Understanding of and commitment to following security and confidentiality guidelines for all Protected Health Information (PHI)
- Literature cited (not included in the page limit)
Detailed Budget $50,000 maximum direct costs per proposal; round up to the nearest thousand (i.e. instead of $49,869, list $50,000).
Use the following form: PHS 398 Form Page 4, "Detailed Budget for the Initial Period": http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html
Budget Preparation Resources:
Standard Budget Components, including information on personnel costs (salary and benefits)
| Allowable | Not Allowable |
PI Salary * | X | |
Co-Investigator(s) Salary | X | |
Post Doc Salary | X | |
Network Recharge Rates | X | |
General Automobile and Employee Liability insurance (GAEL) | X | |
Administrative Support | X | |
Supplies | X | |
Equipment | X | |
Software | X | |
Personal Computers | X | |
Mailing | X | |
Tuition | X | |
Travel | X | |
Research Staff Support (e.g. RSA; Lab. Technician) | X | |
Patient Care | X |
General Guidelines:
- PI salary support limit of 10% does NOT apply to this RAP grant and includes SALARY & FRINGE BENEFITS
- The award amount is DIRECT COST ONLY.
Budget Justification: Clearly and fully justify all costs. Budget Overlap - If the proposed study is closely related or a sub-study of existing funded research listed in the applicant’s bio sketch, clarify the relationship between the two projects and confirm that there is no overlap in funding.
NIH BioSketch of Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator(s) and UCSF Faculty Mentor(s) (if applicable). Include bio-sketches for all PIs of a multi-PI application.
- Applicants must submit the new NIH Biographical Sketch generated through SciENcv, effective on January 25, 2026.
- See NIH website to find the instructions: https://grants.nih.gov/grants-process/write-application/forms-directory/biosketchexternal site (opens in a new window)
Other support pages required for Principal Investigator(s). If the Principal Investigator (PI) is not faculty, Other Support is also required for Co-Investigator(s) and UCSF Faculty Mentor(s).
- Applicants must submit the new NIH Other Support common form generated through SciENcv, effective on January 25, 2026.
- Include information for all active grants.
- See NIH website to find the instructions: https://grants.nih.gov/grants-process/write-application/forms-directory/other-support
Letter(s) of Support: Provide a letter of support from the department chair or other unit head. In addition, for early career 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 PIs, a letter of support is required for each. If PIs are in the same department, the chair can vouch for both PIs in a single letter. Include biosketches for all PIs of a multi-PI application.