RFA: UCSF Diabetes Research Center Pilot & Feasibility Award

Award Amount: up to $50,000

Application Due Date: May 20, 2026 at 11:59 pm PST

Description

The Diabetes Research Center (DRC) at UCSF is sponsoring an open Request for Applications (RFA) for Pilot and Feasibility Grants, which provide funding for investigators to pursue novel and promising ideas broadly relevant to type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. The DRC Pilot and Feasibility Program is funded through a Center grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) to facilitate the engagement of junior faculty and encourage new directions in DRC-related research, regardless of a laboratory’s historical research focus.

Possible T1D-related research topics that could be pursued include the study of autoimmunity and immunology of T1D, the study of the pancreatic endocrine cells and approaches for islet cell replacement (e.g., using pancreatic islets, stem cell-derived beta cells, or other cellular populations), and clinical research related to T1D (e.g., insulin pumps and CGMs).

Pilot funding of up to $50,000 per application is available for a period of 12 months from the time of award, with anticipated start date of August 1, 2026. Any budget greater than $50,000 needs prior approval. Enhanced P&F proposals with a budget greater than $50K or longer than 1 year are usually limited to clinical/translational projects of high priority with demonstrated need for the extra resources and time, and these proposals must be reassessed by the P&F Program Committee prior to receiving the second year of funding.

Financial support during the P&F funding year is intended to aid the research project to eventually secure extramural (preferably NIH) funding. Applicants are encouraged to make use of the Core Services supported by the DRC and will benefit from the subsidized rates as they will become DRC members at least for the duration of the award.

Any resulting publications must directly acknowledge the DRC grant award P30DK135103.

Eligibility

With the goal of expanding and enriching the diabetes research community, priority will be given to applications from New/Early Stage Investigators (within five years of their first faculty appointment) with little NIH or other support, as well as investigators new to the diabetes field or those developing a new core technique for use in a DRC core facility. Postdoctoral candidates who have completed at least two years of research training experience beyond a doctoral degree are also eligible to apply; however, they must propose an original scientific project that does not overlap with their mentor’s currently funded research projects.

Priority will also be given to collaborative proposals that enhance the intellectual environment of the DRC, to clinical/translational or basic proposals that may lead to improvements in the understanding, treatment, or cure of T1D, and to projects that fit with the overall strategic goals of the DRC. For collaborative applications, all PIs need to meet the eligibility criteria listed for this grant mechanism.

Investigators at the following institutions are invited to apply: UCSF, UC Berkeley, and UC Davis (including collaborative projects across campuses).

Prior recipients of a DRC P&F grant must take at least one cycle break before applying again.

Review Process

Applications will first be reviewed by the DRC P&F Committee, and those that best fit the criteria of the P&F Program will be selected and sent to external reviewers. These reviewers will provide impact scores in accordance with the NIH scoring system. Finally, the P&F committee will review the reports from the outside reviewers, evaluate the applications for quality and applicability to the goals of the program, and make recommendations to the DRC Executive Committee for funding.

Mentoring

P&F recipients will meet with one of the P&F Co-Directors, Dr. Audrey Parent and Dr. Julie Sneddon, at 6 months and 12 months (i.e., completion) of the term of the award to discuss progress. If desired, the P&F Co-Directors will help the grantee identify colleagues to assist with specific scientific and technical issues. All awardees will also be required to present their P&F-funded project at the weekly Diabetes Seminar Series or at the annual UCSF DRC Retreat.

HOW TO APPLY (APPLICATIONS DUE BY May 20, 2026):

Email your proposal as a SINGLE PDF that includes the components listed in numeric order in the instructions below to Myra Gloria.

Format Requirements: Arial font; 11 pt; minimum 0.5 inch for all margins; no appendices; include page numbers.

1. Cover page: Title of proposal, amount of funding requested, Principal Investigator name(s), academic title(s), department(s), phone number(s), complete mailing address(es) and email address(es).

2. Abstract: Half a page.

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

• Background and Significance

• Approach (Experimental Design and Methods)

• References (not included in page limit)

4. Statement of Collaboration detailing interactions with DRC and proposed core usage on a separate page (1-2 paragraphs)

5. Biosketch: An NIH Biosketch for each PI (including personal statement) using the current NIH format. Postdoctoral applicants should also include an NIH Biosketch for their faculty mentor.

6. Current & Pending support: All current and pending intramural and extramural research support information for each PI, following the current NIH format. For postdoctoral applicants, include Current & Pending support both for yourself and for your faculty mentor.

7. Budget and Budget Justification: Detailed budget and budget justification explaining how the funds will be used (any format).

8. Proposed External Reviewers (3). Please provide the email addresses and short summary of expertise for three potential external reviewers.

If you have any questions, please contact Myra Gloria, DRC Program Manager