Seed Grant Program

• Principal Investigator (PI): Must be a UCLA faculty member. Adjunct faculty, fellows, and residents are not eligible to serve as PI, though they may be listed as co-investigators or early career investigators.
• DGSOM Affiliation: At least one investigator must hold a faculty appointment in the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM).
• Team Composition: Projects must be led by multidisciplinary teams. This can mean:
  • Two different scientific disciplines (e.g., clinical + social science), or
  • Two distinct clinical specialties (e.g., internal medicine + surgery).
  • Collaboration across UCLA schools is strongly encouraged (e.g., DGSOM + Fielding School of Public Health).
• Global Partnership: A lead investigator from the global partner site must be included as Co-PI. Proposed work must take place in a low- or middle-income country, as defined by the World Bank.
• Early Career Investigators: Each project must include:
  • At least one early career investigator from UCLA, and
  • At least one early career investigator from the global partner site.
    These roles are intended to provide meaningful research experience and build capacity at both institutions. A mentorship plan must be included.
• IRB Approvals: Not required at the time of submission. For funded awards, IRB approval from both UCLA and the relevant regulatory agency at the global partner site will be required before funds are released.

 Ineligible Proposals:

• Projects focused solely on training exchange (without a clear capacity-building plan for early career investigators)
• Projects based primarily in UCLA or Los Angeles laboratories (unless directly tied to building lab capacity at the partner site)

• Repeat proposals by the same PI and partner site in consecutive years

  For complete details, please review the Full Eligibility and Ineligibility Criteria

Letter of Intent (LOI) – Due October 10, 2025 
Applicants must submit an LOI via Qualtrics including:

• UCLA PI (faculty) information (name, degree(s), department, contact info)
• Global site Co-PI (name, degree(s), affiliation, contact info)
• Names and affiliations of all co-investigators
• At least one early career investigator from UCLA and one from the global site (with explanation of eligibility)
• Global partner name and brief description of site
• Specific aims of the project
• Funding level requested ($15,000 or $50,000)

Full Proposal (by invitation only) – Due December 10, 2025
Invited applicants must submit:

1. Cover page and checklist (template provided)
2. Research proposal (max 4 pages, Arial 11-pt, ½-inch margins), including:
   • Specific aims
   • Significance
   • Approach/methodology
   • Global health impact (partnership, collaboration to date, mentorship/training plan for early career investigators)
   • Project timeline
3. Biosketches for PI and all co-investigators (NIH format; CV allowed for early career investigators)
4. Itemized budget and justification
5. Letter(s) of support from global site Co-PI and key collaborators
6. Letter of support from UCLA Division Chief or Department Chair confirming PI’s standing and support