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P&F Guidelines

A. ELIGIBILITY

All active faculty members of the University of California San Francisco are eligible for support through the Pilot and Feasibility Program. The program accepts requests for support of innovative clinical, basic or translational research studies with direct and specific relevance to diabetes. The program will accept only the following types of applications:

  • requests for initial support for new investigators or junior faculty
  • requests for support from established faculty wishing to transfer skills and research developments to the arena of diabetes research
  • requests for support from established faculty for pilot studies of highly innovative directions in diabetes research
  • requests for support for innovative clinical studies in minority patients and other underserved patients populations
  • requests for support for new, innovative collaborations amongst DERC/UCSF Faculty, or collaborations between UCSF Faculty and external investigators (PI must be current UCSF faculty)

DERC P&F support will not be provided to established investigators with ongoing and productive research programs, unless the P&F Committee, guided by the external reviewers, considers the study a profound innovation in which early stage aspects of the proposal are highly compelling. In such cases, applicants will be advised to consult with the committee for guidance prior to submission of their application.

B. APPLICATIONS

The DERC P&F Program uses a two-stage application and review process, where applicants submit a Preliminary Proposal at an established deadline, followed by a modified PHS 398 application within 4 weeks.

This two stage process is intended to maximize the use of the P&F Committee’s time by applying a full merit review to only those eligible proposals that lie within the DERC mission. In addition, the Preliminary Proposal process will provide investigators with early stage feedback on their proposed submissions, with the intent of ensuring tightly focused and meritorious applications are received by the Committee.

DEADLINES FOR THE DERC P&F PROGRAM HAVE NOT YET BEEN ANNOUNCED.

C. Preliminary Proposal

Applicants wishing to submit an application for support from the P&F program will be required to submit a Preliminary Proposal to the P&F Committee, following the format outlined in the following table of contents:

  1. Title Page with Investigators Name, Department, Contact Information, TOC
  2. Abstract
  3. Project Summary – provide brief overview (<2 pages) of proposed research, methods used, containing the following sections:
    1. Objectives
    2. Scientific Basis/Rationale
    3. Significance & Relevance to Diabetes
    4. Research Summary (including Methods/Techniques Used)
  4. PHS 398 Biosketch
  5. PHS398 Other Support

D. Review

PRELIMINARY PROPOSALS WILL BE REVIEWED FOR their adherence to the mission and program goals of the DERC and eligibility for the P&F program. Those investigators whose proposals lie outside of the stated mission of the UCSF DERC or who are ineligible for support (based on the criteria stated above) will be contacted by the P&F Committee Chair AND SO ADVISED.

Applicants whose submissions appear to meet the requirements for P&F funding AND JUDGED TO BE TOP PRIORITY FOR FUNDING BASED ON THE P&F CRITERIA will be contacted via email by the P&F Committee Chair, REQUESTING THAT THEY COMPLETE THE REMAINDER OF THE PROPOSAL TO MEET THE PHS398 REQUIREMENTS.

FOR APPLICATIONS DEEMED TO HAVE POTENTIAL MERIT BUT RECEIVING LESS THAN A TOP PRIORITY RANKING, THE COMMITTEE MAY MAKE recommendations that will focus and enhance the proposed study. SUCH applicants MAY be given the opportunity to SUBMIT A REVISED PROPOSAL .