Eligibility
The award is open to applicants with a professional degree (e.g. MD, PhD) but who are not yet established as independent investigators. Those with K- or R- awards will typically be considered independent investigators for the purposes of this award and will not be eligible. Applicants from underrepresented programs like Family & Community Medicine, Critical Care, and Radiology are highly encouraged to apply. Women are also encouraged to apply and may pair this with an application for the ImmunoXX Women-in-Science Award during critical periods of childbirth or child-rearing.
Focus Areas and Mentorship
We encourage applicants to apply for, but not limited to, the following immune-mediated topics:
- Immune function in acute injury
- Acute or chronic wound healing and fibrosis
- Local and systemic immunity at sites of acute or chronic infection
- Local and systemic immunity at sites in neuroinflammation
- Local and systemic immunity in autoimmunity
- Local and systemic immunity in aging, with emphasis on wound healing and anti-cancer responses
- Population-level variations in "normal" immune responses in blood and tissues
Applicants are to provide letters of support from at least 2, but no more than 3 mentors for the project. One of these mentors should be a CoLab Director, and another should be an ImmunoX member. All mentors should attest that the project aligns with their interests. The applicant will also attend and present at their lab meetings. All mentors should agree to and write a common description of who among them will be the expected senior and corresponding author on an ensuing publication at the end of the award. While the young investigator will have some degree of independence, they are also expected to receive considerable support and training via integration in at least one CoLab and their association with a second traditional PI-driven laboratory. Applicants are encouraged to confer with the ImmunoX Chief Strategist, Vincent Chan (vincent.chan@ucsf.edu), as well as multiple CoLab Directors for introductions and/or recommendations to help establish a strong mentorship team.
Terms of Award
The award is meant to enable applicants in their fellowship/residency periods an opportunity to work in a highly functional collaboration-enhancing laboratory where standard operating procedures provide the opportunity for rapid and high-quality data acquisition. The applicant can apply for up to $100,000, and it is expected that this will largely comprise a portion of their salary, although it is acceptable to apply for up to $25,000 of this total to cover costs of the project in the CoLabs. Where applicable, additional funds may also come from matching ImmunoX CoProject submission, ImmunoX CoProject Pilot funds, or other sources. Depending on the nature of salary support already in place to the applicant, they may request a single year budget of $50,000, a single year budget of $100,000 or two year support at $50,000 in a first submission. A second year of support can also be requested in February of the first year, to be supported by a progress report and mentor letter. All publications are to acknowledge support from the Hellman Family Foundation, ImmunoX, and CoLabs.
Deadline for Applications
Submissions are due Wednesday, May 6, 2020 with funding to be determined, pending these extraordinary circumstances. Submissions that are linked to a CoProject submission (additional sampling/research support) or ImmunoXX Women-in-Science (not yet available) should clearly indicate the title of those submissions.
Selection and Awards
The ImmunoX Research Committee is responsible for reviewing and selecting proposals for funding. There will typically be 1-2 funded applications per year with the total level of funding to be approximately $100,000 for all awards in a given year.
The primary criteria to evaluate proposals include but are not limited to:
- Applicant’s biosketch/CV
- Letters of support from the applicant’s academic mentors
- Letters of recommendation from the proposed CoLabs and ImmunoX mentors
- Novelty of the sample type and its potential ability to illuminate new immune states not already profiled in the ImmunoX Data Library and not already seen in literature
- Where applicable: Proven ability to provide samples in a timely manner to the CoLabs and to process samples using standard CoProjects pipelines and assays. Note that ImmunoX/CoLabs can provide substantial support for IRB/CRC support projects as a result of the Thoreau Fund, which provides dedicated support to these activities. Please contact the ImmunoX Chief Strategist for more information on these opportunities.
- Where applicable: Novelty of non-standard assays proposed with regard to their potential ability to understand new immune states
Applicants will be notified no later than Friday, May 29, 2020 with funding to commence mid-year.
Questions?
Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact the ImmunoX Chief Strategist, Vincent Chan (vincent.chan@ucsf.edu), to discuss an application, find out about opportunities, get started in identifying CoLabs/ImmunoX mentors, and creating a pipeline for sample acquisition with IRB/CRC support.
To view PDF version of the 2020 guidelines, click here.