OPSCD Bridge Grant Opportunity 2024

OPSCD Bridge Grant Opportunity 2024

Sponsored by
UCLA DGSOM Office of Physician-Scientist Career Development

Request for Applications (RFA)
Deadline: Friday, January 19, 2024
APPLY NOW
 

Important Dates
Webinar: December 20, 2023, 12:00-1:00pm (REGISTER HERE FOR ZOOM LINK)
Application due date: January 19, 2024 by 5:00pm
Award notification: February 5, 2024
Funding period: March 1, 2024 to February 28, 2025
 
The UCLA DGSOM Office of Physician-Scientist Career Development is pleased to announce the 2024 OPSCD Bridge Grant for highly qualified physician-scientist faculty and trainees. Eligible physician scientists are invited to apply for a bridge grant up to $100,000 if their department is willing to commit to covering 50% of the total budget.
 
This bridge funding is specifically intended to help faculty who have an unfunded NIH grant application with over $100,000 in direct costs per year that was submitted within the last 18 months and have received a summary statement on their proposal. This funding will support the faculty member and provide additional time for productivity as they strengthen their proposal for resubmission. We anticipate at least 5 proposals will be funded.
 
Who May Apply
Applicants must:

• Be a full-time UCLA DGSOM faculty, fellow or resident, including clinical instructors, seeking an independent research career.
• Have an MD/DO/DDS degree.
• Plan to resubmit an NIH application (resubmission or new submission) in response to the review within the next 12 months, with a preference for projects that plan to resubmit within 6 months.

Selection Criteria
The following criteria will be used to select Bridge Grant awardees:

• Promising NIH grant applications with addressable concerns from reviewers.
• Innovative and highly significant research.
• Evidence that bridge funding would help support the candidate during a critical time in their career path to independence and extramural funding.

Bridge Grant Review Process
The bridge grant applications will be reviewed by a committee of senior scientific UCLA DGSOM Faculty representative across the various departments. Final award decisions will be made by the Dean’s office and contingent upon approval from the department chair for 50% co-funding.

The Award
OPSCD Bridge Grant recipients will receive up to 1 year of funding or until receipt of award for the resubmitted NIH application, whichever comes first. Funding will be provided on a cost-reimbursement basis. Funding may be used for salary support or research support including supplies and staff. Funding may not be used for expenses that are not directly related to research project support, such as travel or membership dues.

Application Packet
Please CLICK HERE to submit your online application packet by 5:00pm on January 19, 2024 to include the following required items:

1. A copy of the most recently submitted complete NIH application materials on Standard Forms SF424 (R&R).
2. NIH Summary Statement received in the last 18 months (July 1, 2022 to January 19, 2024).
3. Current NIH Biosketch with a PubMed link to a complete list of prior publications (please only list peer-reviewed original scientific articles).
4. Other Support page listing of current and all prior funding.
5. Proposed Budget and budget justification, not to exceed $100,000/year for 1 year. (Example: Bridge award would cover $40k + department covers $40k for a total budget of $80k)
6. Statement (1 page maximum) describing how the bridge grant funding will help strengthen your NIH grant resubmission.
7. Project timeline (1 page maximum) including plans for relevant grant submissions and publications.
8. A departmental letter of support is not required. The Dean’s office will obtain approval from the department for co-funding.

OPSCD Bridge Grant Webinar
We will host a webinar about this funding opportunity from 12:00-1:00pm on Wednesday, December 20, 2023. We will provide an overview and field questions about this funding opportunity.
REGISTER HERE for the Zoom link

Questions: Contact mdscientistsprgm@mednet.ucla.edu