Pilot Award for Health Innovations via Engineering

INDEPENDENT REVIEW

Project Award Amount: $25,000

Description:

The Health Innovations via Engineering (HIVE) Center integrates engineering as a scientific discipline, contributing to the advancement of global health (engineering.ucsf.edu).

This funding is intended to support projects focused on the integration of engineering science and technologies in basic, translational or clinical science. These include projects that involve the use of engineering science in bioscience and health applications where they have not been widely used (material properties of the cytoplasm, implantable sensors for monitoring health, etc.) and the establishment and use of technologies developed by the HIVE member (new uses of commercial technologies will not be considered responsive). 

Each pilot project will have a maximum budget of $25,000. Pilot projects are for one year and are not renewable. Recipients are required to present their project at the annual HIVE symposia (April 6, 2026). A progress report is required at the end of the funding period, identifying resulting publications and subsequent funding obtained to support the expanded/extended projects. Any resulting publication or invention disclosure filing must directly acknowledge the funding agency.

Eligibility

Eligibility requirements need to be met as of date of submission, no waivers will be accepted.

Who's Eligible:

Members of the HIVE faculty or other faculty collaborating with a HIVE faculty member. HIVE faculty include UCSF Faculty in any series (Ladder Rank, In Residence, Clinical X, Health Science Clinical, Adjunct) in all ranks (Instructors, Assistant, Associate, Full Professors). To inquire about HIVE faculty membership, visit engineering.ucsf.edu.

Who's Not Eligible:

Residents, Fellows and Postdocs, Specialists.

Submission Rules

Criteria for Review/Evaluation of Applications

We encourage the submission of innovative projects focused on new uses of engineering science or technology to answer questions and solve problems in basic, translational or clinical science. Proposals will be evaluated based on the quality of the proposed scientific investigation, the significance of the proposed research to address medical challenges, the potential of the proposal to lead to future successful external grant applications, and the quality and promise of the applicant and the research team.

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

Selection of Awardees

Funding decisions are made independently by each funding agency based on several factors – scientific review score, alignment of proposal to funder’s strategic goals, proposal research area of focus, and specifically called out eligibility or other requirements like membership in a center, affiliation with a specific school or relevance to a stated auxiliary topic.

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 the things listed in numeric order in the instructions below.

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 2 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.

1. 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.

2. Project Title

3. Proposal (maximum 2 pages, including figures and tables, excluding literature cited)

• Aims. Do not submit an application that describes an idea that is the same or similar to one used in a previously funded RAP grant. If it is a similar idea, describe how the new proposed research is uniquely different.

• Feasibility: Describe what steps you are taking to ensure the proposed project can be completed within the one year project period for this grant (approximately 300 word max).

• Significance and Innovation

• Preliminary studies

• Overview of Study Design and Methods

• Literature cited (not included in page limit)

4. Detailed Budget $25,000 maximum per proposal; round up to the nearest thousand (i.e. instead of $24,950 list $25,000).
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:
    OSR: Develop a Budget 
    Standard Budget Components, including information on personnel costs (salary and benefits)
    NIH: Develop Your Budget

General guidelines: 

*The NIH base salary cap applies.  PIs are required to list their effort whether it is paid or in kind.

PI partial salary support should be well-justified with respect to project activities. Due to their small size, RAP grants are designed for project support and are not intended to provide PI salary support unrelated to the project.  PI salary amounts greater than ~10% of the requested award amount (e.g., $5,000 of a $50K award proposal, not 10% FTE) must be well justified and it should reflect work done by the PI to conduct specific scientific tasks on the project (e.g. data collection, computation) and not merely general supervision of project goals and personnel.  

Multiple PIs can decide how to distribute the 10% salary support among themselves (e.g., 5%/5% or 6%/4%).

• The 10% limit on salary support is a guideline and includes SALARY & FRINGE BENEFITS.

• Update: General Automobile and Employee Liability (GAEL) are NOT allowable costs.

• The award amount is DIRECT COST ONLY.
  
   

5. 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.

For all personnel, clearly identify any discrepancies between the actual effort (i.e. real percent time) the individual will contribute to the project, versus the amount of salary effort they are requesting.  This is particularly important for personnel/PI's who expect to contribute project effort with little or no salary, such as those whose salary is above the NIH base salary cap.

 

Recall: PI salary amounts greater than ~10% of the requested award amount must be well justified.

6. NIH BioSketch of Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator(s) and UCSF Faculty Mentor(s) (if applicable), (5 page format):

·         Use Form Version H at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms/biosketch-blank-format-rev-10-2021.docx
·         Include bio sketches for both PIs of a multi-PI application

 

Other support pages of Principal Investigator(s) and Co-Investigator(s) and UCSF Faculty Mentor(s) Use form at https://grants.nih.gov/sites/default/files/other-support-format-page-rev-10-2021.docx