Funding Options

Seed Grant Opportunity in Spring 2026

This initiative supports innovative, early-stage research projects that align with CIDMI’s mission and encourage new collaborations. The Seed Grant program provides investigators with resources to generate preliminary data and advance promising ideas. We strongly encourage projects that foster collaborations between Radiology and Infectious Disease researchers, leveraging the strengths of both fields to pursue impactful and innovative scientific questions.

Applications for the CIDMI Seed Grant Program are now open and must be submitted by 5:00 PM on April 24, 2026.

Applications are submitted via Qualtrics: https://tiny.ucsf.edu/CIDMIGrant2

CIDMI Seed Grant Application Instructions

Your proposal should clearly and thoroughly describe the project’s aims, previous work, background, methods, significance, and budget. 

Format

  • Font: Arial, 12 pt. 

  • Margins: at least 1 inch on all sides

Contents

Your proposal should contain the following sections, clearly indicated. Please respect the indicated page limits. If it’s a resubmission, please indicate so in the beginning of the proposal and describe the revisions. 

Project Title (100 characters maximum)

Provide a clear and specific title that captures the core purpose of your research project.

Abstract (250 words total) 

Summarize the rationale/innovation, objectives, approach, and potential impact of the proposed research. 

Research Plan (4 pages maximum) 

A. Project title and principal investigator’s name (s): Place at the top of the first page

B. Project Aims: concisely state the objectives of the project and the goals to be reached during the project. 

C. Background, rationale, and innovation: Provide a description of the relevant literature and the unmet need the project aims to address. 

D. Study Team: Include the name of the principal investigator(s) and co-investigator(s) and briefly outline their respective unique contributions. If relevant, state the previous collaborative experience between the study team, including evidence of productivity (shared grants and publications). 

E. Approach: Describe the methodology to achieve the project aims. Include a data analysis and statistical plan with sample size justification for animal or human studies as appropriate. Include expected outcomes, potential pitfalls, and alternatives. Preliminary data are not required but may be included if available. 

F. Impact: Discuss the importance of successful outcomes and the plan for extramural funding.

References (2 pages maximum)

Please include a list of relevant references that support the scientific foundation and rationale of your proposed project.

Biosketches

Include NIH style biosketches for PI(s) 

Budget Outline

Please provide a breakdown of the budget including:

  • Personnel

  • Supplies and Materials

  • Other Expenses

Budget Justification (1 page maximum) 

Itemize the specific items for which funds are being sought. 

  • Allowable costs.

These include recharges for the use of Department resources (e.g. scanner time), research supplies, or staff salary support (e.g. effort for CRCs, postdocs, technicians, etc). For single purchases of supplies over $1,000, please include a quote from the appropriate vendor with the application. IRB and IACUC approval are not required at the time of the application but must be attained before the release of the full funding (partial funding may be released at the discretion of the CIDMI leadership to facilitate acquiring the relevant approvals).

  • Unallowable costs.

These include faculty salary support, equipment, computer and textbook purchases, office supplies, administrative support, parking, and travel.

Letters of Support (no page limit) 

If the principal investigator is not faculty, include a letter of support from a faculty mentor acting as a co-investigator, who will undersign the science and assume fiscal responsibility for the grant. 

Please upload as a single PDF document containing:

1. Research plan (4 pages max) 

2. References (2 pages max) 

3. Biosketches (NIH format)

4. Budget justification (1 page max) 

5. Letters of support

IRB/IACUC Approval Funding

Funds will not be released until acceptable human participant or animal use approval documentation is provided. Please provide IRB/IACUC approval number.