Other Special Funding Opportunities
Sometimes UCSF leadership receives an invitation to compete for funding from a private foundation. Or, NSF might have an initiative that is of particular strategic interest on campus but might not typically be on a PI’s radar. In such cases, we maintain a table listing these opportunities by submission due date.
Below is a list of special funding opportunities. Please click the associated link in the table for more information on either the application or nomination process for a specific funder. The goal of this resource is to encourage grant submission to funding opportunities outside of the more typical NIH streams and to encourage recommendation of deserving colleagues for distinguished awards. Note that a larger list of distinguished awards can be found through this EVCP link.
If you intend to submit an application or nomination to an opportunity listed here, please inform us by email to [email protected]
Funder |
Mechanism |
Due Date |
Award Amount |
| Johnson & Johnson Innovation Award Program for Neuroscience | Johnson & Johnson Innovation Award Program for Neuroscience | August 15, 2018 (questions contact [email protected]) |
TBD |
| Robert Wood Johnson Foundation | Systems for Action | Application Deadline September 12, 2018 12 pm PST (email intention to [email protected]) |
Up to $250,000 over four years |
| Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation | Diagnostics Accelerator | Application Deadline September 14, 2018 2 pm PST (email intention to [email protected]) |
Proof-of-principle awards up to $500,000 |
| William T. Grant Foundation | Institutional Challenge Grant | Application Deadline September 7, 2018 12 pm PST (email intention to [email protected]) |
up to $650,000 over 3 years |
| Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP) | TRDRP Call for Applications | 2019A LOI: Aug. 16, 2018 12 pm PT Please see website for more details |
Award Amounts |
| Burroughs Wellcome Fund | Career Awards for Medical Scientists | Application Deadline October 1, 2018 1 pm PDT (email intention to [email protected]) |
$700,000 over five years |
| Burroughs Wellcome Fund | Career Awards at the Scientific Interface | Application Deadline September 5, 2018 1 pm PDT (email intention to [email protected]) |
$500,000 over five years |
| UCSF Wolfe Meningioma Program Project Award | UCSF Wolfe Meningioma Program Project Award RFA | September 7, 2018 | $45,000 for one year |
| California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine (CIAPM) | CIAPM Request for Proposals 2018 | LOI July 27, 2018 | For 2-4 projects, approximately $1.8 million to $3.5 million total per project |
| PhRMA Foundation 2019 Award - Informatics | Informatics Awards | September 1, 2018 at 11:59 pm EDT | $20,000 per year up to two years |
| PhRMA Foundation 2019 Award - Pharmaceutics | Pharmaceutics Awards | September 1, 2018 at 11:59 pm EDT | $20,000 in stipend support per year for up to two years |
| PhRMA Foundation 2019 Award - Pharmacology/Toxicology | Pharmacology/Toxicology Awards | September 1, 2018 at 11:50 pm EDT | $20,000 per year up to two years |
| Robert L. Fine Cancer Research Foundation | Robert L. Fine Cancer Research Foundation Application | August 31, 2018 | $250,000 over a two year period |
| Elton John AIDS Foundation 2018 RFP | Annual Open RFP | LOI: 6/30/2018 Invited full proposals:Due August 2018 (TBD) |
$20,000 to $100,000 for first year |
| Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation | Innovation Award | LOI due July 6, 2018 1 PM PDT ([email protected]) |
$300,000 over 2 years |
| C-DOCTOR Summer 2018 ITP Team Award | C-DOCTOR RFP | July 31, 2018 (2 page pre-proposal due 5:00 pm PDT) | Up to $150,000 over 1 year |
| Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation | Beckman Young Investigators | LOI Opens 5/15/2018 Due August 6, 2018 |
~ $600,000 over 4 years |
| St. Baldrick's Foundation | RFA for high-impact research for Pediatric Osteosarcoma |
LOI 7/2/2018 5:00 pm Eastern |
$450,000 over 3 years |
| The Mark Foundation's Emerging Leader Awards | Emerging Leaders Award | LOI: 6/4/18 at 5:00 pm Eastern | $750,000 over 3 years |
| 2019 UC Multicampus Research Program and Initiative ucop.edu | 2019 MRPI_RFP |
LOI: 05/24/18 at noon Pacific Time Due: 08/02/2018 at noon Pacific Time |
$8 million in total available funding across all awards and award types for the two-year period |
| Spring UCSF-Pfizer Call (2 pg proposals) | Pfizer CTI Spring 2018 (template) Program Description |
April 23, 2018 | $100,000 - $150,000 for up to 12 months $200,000 - $500,000 up to 12 months |
| BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards | www.fbbva.es/awards Award PDF - 11th Edition |
06/28/2018, at 23.00h GMT. | 400,000 Euros |
| Vilcek Foundation | 2018 Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science | 06/11/2018 | $50,000 |
| Rosenman Institute | 2018 Rosenman Innovation Award | 04/19/2018 | Total value of the two awards is estimated at $50,000 |
| UC CAI University of California Center for Accelerated Innovation | UC CAI NHLBI Technology Development Award | 03/23/2018 Pre-Application due 04/30/2018 Full Application See website for ALL Submission dates |
Up to $200,000 |
| Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Pancan Translational Research Grant | pancan.org/grants2018 | 01/15/2018 | Up to $500,000 up to two years |
| Edward A. Dickson Emeritis Professorship Award | The Dickson Emeritus Professorship Award | Annually due in January | $10,000 |
| Partnership for Clean Competition Funding Opportunity | cleancompetition.org | Pre-app: 03/01; 07/01, 11/01 Full app: 04/01; 08/01, 12/01 |
$10K to more than $400K |
| Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC) at UCSF | 10/31/2016 | Up to $50,000 | |
| UCSF Program for Breakthrough Biomedical Research (PBBR) |  ANNUAL BYERS AWARD IN BASIC SCIENCE |
05/13/16 | Nomination - $150,000 |
| California Wellness Foundation | Bridging the Gaps in Access and Quality Care | On-going | Open ended |
| California Wellness Foundation | Promoting Healthy and Safe Neighborhoods | On-going | Open ended |
| California Wellness Foundation | Expanding Education and Employment Pathways | On-going | Open ended |
| California Wellness Foundation | Opportunity Fund | On-going | Open ended |
| National Science Foundation | National Science Foundation (NSF) Issues RFP for Ebola Research (NSF 15-006) | On-going | Up to $200,000 |