Funding Opportunities

Tools & Technology Grant Program RFA

KEY DATES
Application Deadline - January 6, 2025
Award Notifications - End of January 2025

ELIGIBILITY
- Must be an Associate or Full member of the CCMBM MSK Center. If you are not a member, please see how to become a member.
- T/T funds may not be used for personnel salary/benefits or travel.
- T/T funds cannot be used to supplement a current P/F award.

ABOUT THE TOOLS & TECHNOLOGY RFA
The UCSF Core Center in Musculoskeletal Biology and Medicine (CCMBM) MSK Center is accepting applications for its Tools and Technology (T/T) Grant Program. Research topics should be within the musculoskeletal (MSK) field. The goal of this grant mechanism is to encourage members from any UC campus to develop or adopt cutting-edge technologies or computational resources that have yet to be widely used for MSK research. T/T funds will help investigators customize and demonstrate the feasibility of these approaches for MSK-specific research needs. Priority will be given to early career investigators and to projects that make new protocols available to other CCMBM MSK Center members through UCSF Cores, including CoLabs and CCMBM Cores:
1) Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Study Design,
2) Imaging, and
3) Skeletal Biology and Biomechanics.

Proposals requesting funds to support new research project ideas should, instead, apply to the MSK Center CCMBM Pilot and Feasibility Grant Program, with additional information available from the UCSF RAP Portal.

Examples of previously funded awards can be found here.

T/T grants will be restricted to incorporate the use of new technologies into existing, funded projects, or to generate preliminary data showing feasibility of a new technical approach for a new or revised grant proposal. For a revised proposal with promising prior review, please include a copy of the Tools & Technology grant’s summary statement.

APPLY ONLINE

Junior Investigator Grants

JUNIOR INVESTIGATOR TRAVEL AWARDS RFA

JUNIOR INVESTIGATOR GRANT DEVELOPMENT AWARDS

Musculoskeletal Focused Opportunities

Open Musculoskeletal Integrated Knowledge Exchange (Open MIKE)

Apply Online

The Musculoskeletal (MSK) Center aims to foster collaboration among basic, clinical, and translational investigators in and beyond academia to improve musculoskeletal health. Recognizing the need for collaboration of MSK scientists with experts outside of the MSK field, we are providing support to CCMBM MSK Center members to host a meal for a creative and enjoyable in-person networking meeting to stimulate these interactions and to further develop new research ideas and plans to fund them. Faculty, staff, and trainees who are CCMBM MSK Center members are welcome to apply to host an event.

Open Musculoskeletal Integrated Knowledge Exchange (Open MIKE) provides funding for a CCMBM MSK Center member to host a meeting (e.g., lunch or dinner) with UCSF faculty members and non-UCSF scientists who are outside of the MSK field to:
1) brainstorm/solicit informal feedback on a study idea or research direction;

2) learn about the latest methods and techniques used in related fields;

3) identify potential collaborators;

4) promote inter-disciplinary MSK research; and

5) expand the scientists' and trainee’s professional network.

If you are not a member, you may concurrently apply for membership while your Open MIKE application is being reviewed.

Apply today! Contact Cristal Yee for questions on this funding.

Pilot Grant Program RFA

Several mechanisms at UCSF support investigators who have musculoskeletal research questions, whether basic, computational, or clinical. One of the primary mechanisms to apply is through the UCSF Resource Allocation Program (RAP) resource.

Research funding, travel awards, and other opportunities

Grant feedback and mentorship

Grant review opportunities

Past Opportunities

ARPA-H NITRO: UCSF Osteoarthritis Projects

The first ARPA-H disease targeted program: NITRO - Novel Innovations for Tissue Regeneration in Osteoarthritis. NITRO will fund a large and ambitious effort to regenerate cartilage. Learn more here: https://arpa-h.gov/engage/programs/nitro

Key Timelines:

Proposer's Day on June 15, 2023
6-page abstracts deadline June 23, 2023
Full Proposals deadline July 28, 2023

The NITRO program will develop technologies to enable needle-based and/or non-invasive regeneration of cartilage and bone as well as the total reconstruction of a synovial joint with load-bearing, non-immunogenic, osteo- and chondro-inductive, bioresorbable replacement joints. To accomplish this, the NITRO Program is focused on three TAs:

• Technical Area 1 (TA1): Needle-Based and/or Non-Invasive Subchondral (SC) Bone Regeneration. Development of an IA therapeutic to fully regenerate SC bone in all synovial joint(s) in all cases of primary osteoarthritis as well as trauma- and obesity-induced secondary osteoarthritis. Proposals for TA1 must also include TA2.

• Technical Area 2 (TA2): Needle-Based and/or Non-Invasive Cartilage Regeneration. Development of therapeutics (both IA and systemic) to fully regenerate cartilage in all synovial joints in all cases of primary osteoarthritis as well as trauma- and obesity-induced secondary osteoarthritis. Proposals for TA2 must also include TA1.

• Technical Area 3 (TA3): Allogeneic and Autogenous Non-Immunogenic, Load-Bearing and Osteochondroinductive Total Replacement Joints. Development of autogenous and allogeneic, non-immunogenic, osteo- and chondro-inductive, load-bearing total knee replacements that requires no permanent foreign body implantation (e.g., is fully bioresorbable, no permanent fixation) and performs at or above the current standard set for artificial total knee implants. Proposals for TA3 may be submitted alone or with inclusion of both TA1 and TA2.

UCSF Musculoskeletal Training Program T32 Fellowship – Request for Applications

Key Dates
Application Deadline: May 1, 2024 by 5:00 pm PST
Awardees notified around late May 2024
Start Date must be before July 1, 2024

Any questions should be sent to [email protected]

The mission of the UCSF Musculoskeletal (MSK) Training Program is to prepare a diverse community of Ph.D. scientists and M.D. or M.D./Ph.D. residents and fellows for a lifetime of scholarly pursuits that lead to in-depth understanding and improved care of patients with MSK diseases. The MSK T32 program is seeking applications for the inaugural class of fellows eager to push the boundaries of MSK science, and in doing so, advance the field in fundamental ways. One-year training slots are available on a competitive basis to trainees proposing research in any area of musculoskeletal science, for projects across all UCSF campuses.

Application Deadline:

Applications may be submitted by email to Aaron Fields no later than 5:00 p.m. PST, on the Due Date listed above. Early submission is encouraged. We have three slots that are available immediately and need to be activated by July 1, 2024.
Please see below for the application package requirements

Trainee eligibility requirements:

The trainee must fit the NIH T32 eligibility criteria for postdoctoral fellowships: “U.S. citizens or permanent residents enrolled in a research or clinical postdoctoral program.”
The trainee cannot already have received more than 2 years of prior NIH postdoctoral Fellowship-level training support (T32, F32, etc.) at the time that this award starts. Fellows are allowed a maximum of 3 years of combined NIH postdoctoral Fellowship-level training.
Trainees must have received a Ph.D. or M.D. or equivalent.
Trainee selection will be based on previous scholarly record, proposed research, potential translational value, mentor commitment, and the likelihood that the proposed training will result in a highly impactful contribution to MSK research.
Trainees who are appointed to the T32 are expected to participate in and present at UCSF CCMBM/Orthopaedic Surgery enrichment activities, such as grand rounds, research retreats and journal clubs, as well as provide materials needed to fulfill grant reporting requirements.

Mentor requirements:

The mentor should be a UCSF faculty member with an established training record. Co- mentorship is allowed. The mentor does not need to be in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.
The mentor is expected to provide a strong training environment and support the trainee’s participation in MSK T32-related research and mentoring activities.
The mentor should be able to demonstrate adequate funding to support the trainee and proposed research. See Award requirements for additional details.

Award requirements:

The project must be broadly related to MSK basic or clinical science.
This award is for a 1 year duration and must be started before July 1, 2024. Applications for 2 years of T32 fellowship support will be considered, and re-appointment to the T32 for a second year will be considered on a competitive basis, including evaluating research publications, progress and potential, success in achieving IDP goals and milestones, and training commitment.
All NRSA Training grants require a payback agreement. This impacts individuals differently, but typically, payback is required only for the first year of NIH NRSA fellowship support and is usually satisfied by one year of continued research-related activity. Please discuss with us if you have any questions.
The T32 grant provides a stipend based on the NIH experience scale, and support for trainee benefits, including up childcare costs.
The mentor or mentor’s department is required to provide any additional support for any “funding gap,” up to the UCSF required salary and benefit levels and guided by current contracts and policies.
Up to $1000 is available for travel to an academic research conference

Application procedure:

Please submit the following items, in order, in 1 PDF file by email to Aaron Fields at [email protected] by the submission deadline

Coverpage, with the following information:
- Name of the Applicant
- Email address and phone number
- Project Title
- Years of postdoctoral experience
- Dates of any prior NIH NRSA-supported postdoctoral training
- Citizenship status
- Name of the mentor
- Mentor’s email address and phone number
1 page research proposal, describing your research plan but not including references. Please include a brief statement of how your proposal is relevant to musculoskeletal science. Up to 1 additional page may be included for references.

1 page training proposal, describing your training goals and objectives, and planned activities under your fellowship to achieve those goals.
NIH Fellowship Biosketch of the applicant. In the personal statement section (max ½ page), please briefly describe your long-term goals, your mentoring plan, and how this grant will be beneficial to your career development (see the NIH Biosketch Format page for instructions and templates; make sure to use the Fellowship biosketch format!)
NIH Biosketch(es) of the mentor(s).
Letter from the mentor (max 1 page), describing the mentor’s contributions/support for the study, a brief mentorship plan, that the mentor will provide funding for research expenses and any salary/benefits gap, and that the mentor supports the trainee’s participation in the UCSF CCMBM/Department of Orthopaedic Surgery activities.

Application timeline:

Application Deadline: May 1, 2024 by 5:00 pm PST
Awardees notified around late May 2024
Start Date must be before July 1, 2024

Any questions should be sent to [email protected]

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