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| Research Insider Reader Survey: A Robust and Enthusiastic Response | Thank you to our readers for the robust response to the Research Insider reader survey. Over 70% of respondents said Research Insider is an “extremely useful” or “very useful” resource. The editorial group has read and discussed all your comments and suggestions. Here are some common themes from the feedback, as well as reminders on how you can contribute:
- Research Insider is sent weekly to all School of Medicine, including faculty, staff and students.
- Click on the jump links at the top of the newsletter to get to a section of interest; this will shorten the newsletter for your purposes.
- There are multiple ways in which readers can shape the newsletter's content: Good News!, Funding Opportunities, Upcoming Seminars & Events, and Open Research Positions can be augmented via your submissions — links to submit are embedded in the newsletter.
- We have updated the criteria for Good News! and will announce accomplishments other than new funding awards. We will now include other good news, including the publication of an important paper or other major accolade. The Good News! section is powered exclusively by your submissions.
If you would like a personal response to any questions or requests, please feel free to contact Emily Dawidoff.
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| School of Medicine Dean's Research Council Meeting | School of Medicine Dean Michael Stamos and Associate Dean for Research Administration William E. Bunney invite you to attend this quarterly meeting featuring two distinguished research presentations:
Seeing is Believing: Imaging Cellular Dynamics and Signals by Michael D. Cahalan, PhD, Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Physiology and Biophysics
Progress in Restoring p53 Functionality and Exploring Precision Diets to Enhance Efficacy of Cancer Therapeutics by Peter Kaiser, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Biological Chemistry
Tuesday, Nov. 12, 5 to 6 p.m.
Via Zoom
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| Accepting Applications for the UCI School of Medicine Clinical Trialist Training Program — Due Monday, Nov. 18, 2024 | The School of Medicine’s Office of Research is pleased to offer the Clinical Trialist Training Program (CTTP). The goal is to increase the number of School of Medicine faculty who can be principal investigators on externally funded clinical trials through a 2-year partnership program with a senior investigator already running clinical trials. In addition, the trainees will be provided with educational resources to provide the foundational knowledge required for clinical trial administration.
Eligibility:
- Interest in serving as a principal investigator on clinical trials
- Any faculty appointment in the School of Medicine with an active clinical practice
- Commitment from department chair or division chief to dedicate 10% FTE to clinical trial activities.
- Commitment from a senior investigator already engaged in clinical trials to serve as a mentor and support the mentee in developing an independent clinical trial portfolio (incentive will be provided to the senior investigator for their commitment)
To learn more about the CTTP and apply, please visit the School of Medicine’s Physician Scientist Resources.
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| Register Now! Master Your Proposal: Strategies for Success | Unlock the secrets to crafting a winning proposal with this two-part informational seminar series via Zoom.
Speaker: Caron Miller, Director of Contracts & Grants, UCI School of Medicine
Why You Should Attend: Gain vital insights for your next successful proposal submission and learn directly from an expert in grant submissions.
Who Should Attend: All researchers at the School of Medicine looking to boost their proposal success rate.
Part 1: Best Practices for Building Strong and Convincing Budgets | Tuesday, Nov. 19, Noon to 1 p.m.
Part 2: What Can Strengthen or Weaken Your Proposal Submission? | Wednesday, Dec. 4, Noon to 1 p.m.
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| Physician Scientist Collective Network Hosts Gerard Slobogean, MD, MPH, FRCSC |
How We Can Innovate Multi-Center Clinical Trials and Train the Next Generation of Clinical Researchers, by Gerard Slobogean, MD, MPH, FRCSC, Director of Clinical Research, Associate Professor of Orthopedics, University of Maryland
- Coffee & Refreshments – 3:30 to 4 p.m.
- Presentation – 4 to 5 p.m.
During coffee and refreshments, you can meet Dr. Slobogean and your colleagues. The School of Medicine Research Development staff will host office hours to address research-related questions.
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 3:30 to 5 p.m.
Location: Sprague Hall, Conference Room 105
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| Research Development Unit Office Hours: Wednesday, Nov. 20, 3–4 p.m. | The UCI School of Medicine Research Development Unit (RDU) will host office hours on Wednesday, Nov. 20, to address any research-related questions. This is an excellent opportunity for School of Medicine researchers to receive guidance on funding opportunities and grant proposal support and learn about our other services. We will be providing coffee and desserts. Registration is not required but will help us prepare to meet with you. To schedule a specific consultation, please contact somrd@hs.uci.edu.
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 3 to 4 p.m.
Location: Sprague Hall, Conference Room 105
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| NEW UCI Health Clinical Research Website Launch |
We're excited to announce the launch of our new clinical research website at clinicalresearch.ucihealth.org. This platform marks a significant step forward in our mission to advance medical knowledge and provide valuable resources to patients, researchers, healthcare professionals and sponsors.
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| Kalpna Gupta, PhD (Medicine), Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center member, was awarded a $5 million five-year NCCIH U24 grant titled, “ Sickle Cell Disease Pain Analgesia and Integrative Network (SCDPAIN).” The project will create an innovative, dynamic and interactive platform that will advance research on pain mechanisms in sickle cell disease (SCD). Do you or someone on your team have research-related good news to report (e.g., research funding/award, publication, other accolade)? We would like to know! Please fill out this short Good News submission form. |
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| Find funding opportunities for trainees, postdocs and early career faculty, and all faculty.
For more funding opportunities and resources to help in your funding search, visit the Funding Opportunities page.
For a curated, searchable and filterable list of funding opportunities announced by NIH in their weekly NIH guide listserv, check out the School of Medicine Funding Search Tool.
Considering applying for a Limited Funding Opportunity? Typically, you submit a pre-proposal to the Office of Research via UCI Review. If the opportunity is not listed, email the Research Development Unit (RDU). |
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| Postdocs & Early Career Faculty Funding Opportunities |
| A.P. Giannini Foundation Fellowship | The A.P. Giannini Foundation invites physician-scientists and junior researchers with 3 to 36 months of postdoctoral research experience to apply to the 2025 Postdoctoral Research Fellowship & Leadership Award. Postdoctoral researchers are eligible to apply to the 2025 program if they have completed no less than three months and no more than three years in their mentor’s laboratory as of Dec. 31, 2024.
The Fellowship and Leadership Award supports innovative research in the basic sciences and applied fields and trains fellows to become established investigators and to pursue scientific leadership positions in academia, industry, public and non-traditional career pathways. Research projects should advance the translation of biomedical science into preventions, treatments and cures for human diseases.
For questions about the application process, reach out to Dr. Leslie Thompson.
Deadline: Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, 3 p.m. |
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| Limited: 2025 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards Program | The Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards Program supports the research and teaching careers of talented young faculty in the chemical sciences. The program provides discretionary funding to faculty at an early stage in their careers in the form of an unrestricted research grant of $100,000. Nominees must hold a full-time tenure-track academic appointment and be within the first six years of their independent academic careers at the time of submission of the nomination.
The campus may submit only one nomination; therefore, interested applicants (or those wishing to nominate others) should apply via UCI Review.
Deadline: Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024 |
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| Microgrants available for community outreach, public policy and curriculum development | 2024–25 Civic Engagement Microgrant Program: Microgrants of up to $4,000 will be awarded, on a rolling basis, to STEM groups led by master’s, PhD, postdoc, or professional students to design and execute projects that create dialogue with public officials, local community leaders and the public around issues of common concern. Read more.
Public Engagement Training Content Microgrant Program: Stipends of $5,000 each will fund open access curriculum development in science communication and other public engagement skills. Research!America welcomes novel ideas to develop and test public engagement training content for those in STEMM fields. Read more.
Deadline: Friday, Nov. 15, 2024 |
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| Call for Cancer Research Proposals | The UCI Cancer Research Institute is pleased to announce that funds are available through the American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant. This institutional grant will fund several proposals for one year at a level up to $60,000 per award.
Eligibility: Investigators within the first six years of their first independent faculty position and in the following series are eligible: In Line, In Residence, Adjunct, Clinical-X, Clinical and Researcher. Awardees may not hold a competitive grant from a national agency (e.g. NIH, ACS etc.) or be a previous recipient of an ACS-IRG seed grant. Learn more and apply.
Deadline: Monday, Nov. 18, 2024
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| All Faculty Funding Opportunities |
| Newly released ARPA-H funding announcements | The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) accelerates better health outcomes by supporting high-potential, high-impact biomedical and health research that cannot be readily accomplished through traditional research or commercial activity. ARPA-H awardees are developing entirely new ways to tackle the hardest challenges in health. The FY24–26 Strategic Plan provides a blueprint detailing the agency's approach. Review past and active ARPA-H funding programs to get a sense of this agency’s research interests. Active programs:
If you are considering applying, please email somrd@hs.uci.edu. |
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| FY 2025 NIH Loan Repayment Program Cycle Is Open | The NIH Loan Repayment Program offers applicants the opportunity to receive up to $100,000 towards qualified educational debt in exchange for agreeing to perform NIH mission-relevant research. Applications for FY 2025 LRP awards are open now through Nov. 21, 2024. Read more.
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| Biomedical Research Facilities (C06 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PAR-25-061) | This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) invites applications from eligible academic and research institutions to apply for funding to modernize existing or construct new biomedical research facilities. The goal of this NOFO is to modernize biomedical research infrastructure to strengthen biomedical research programs. Each project is expected to produce substantial long-term improvements to the institutional research infrastructure. Intended projects are the construction or modernization of core facilities and the development of other shared research infrastructure serving an institution-wide research community with broad impact on biomedical research. If interested, notify the School of Medicine Research Development Unit by Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. Read the NOFO.
Deadline: Jan. 27, 2025 |
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| Upcoming Seminars & Events |
| Department of Biological Chemistry BC Seminar Series |
Pathomechanism of the Heterochromatin Disorder FSHD Muscular Dystrophy, by Kyoko Yokomori, PhD, Professor, Department of Biological Chemistry; Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, UCI School of Medicine
Wednesday, Oct. 30, 11 a.m. to noon
Location: Plumwood House / Showa Denko Lecture Hall
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| Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics Thursday Seminar Series |
The Roles of mRNA Processing and Modifications in Cancer Progression and its Modulation for Therapy, by Rotem Karni, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Thursday, Oct. 31, 9 a.m.
Location: Plumwood House, Room 166
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| NIH Career Development Grant Writing Workshop K-Club | The Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS) has coordinated a K-Club grant writing series intended for early-career faculty and postdoctoral scholars preparing to submit applications for NIH Mentored Career Development awards (i.e., K grants). These awards are designed to promote the career development of scholars looking to transition to research independence.
Workshop Schedule: Thursdays, Oct. 31, Nov. 4, Nov. 14 and Nov. 21, 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Location: UCI Campus, Hewitt Hall, Large Conference Room, Room 1042
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| Physiology & Biophysics Seminar Series | The Simple QTY Code for Protein Design, by Shuguang Zhang, PhD, Research Affiliate, Laboratory of Molecular Architecture, The Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Thursday, Oct. 31, 4 to 5 p.m.
Location: Hybrid event at Plumwood House Lecture Hall and via Zoom Contact Claire Chen to join via Zoom. |
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| Center for Translational Vision Research (CTVR) Distinguished Speaker Series | Cell and Genome Engineering for Exploring Human Retinal Development and Disease, by Karl J. Wahlin, PhD, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Director of the Richard C. Atkinson Laboratory for Regenerative Ophthalmology, The Shiley Eye Institute, University of California, San Diego. Learn more.
Friday, Nov. 1, 8:30 to 10 a.m.
Location: Hybrid event at The Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, Sue Gross Auditorium, or via Zoom
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| Genetics, Biomedical Computing & Genomics Seminar Series | Harnessing Alternative Polyadenylation and Tandem Repeat to Understand the Genetic Basis of Human Diseases, by Ya (Allen) Cui, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, Wei Li Lab, UCI School of Medicine
Seminar hosted by the Genomics Research and Technology Hub (GRT Hub).
Friday, Nov. 1, 10 to 11 a.m.
Via Zoom. This seminar will not be recorded.
Meeting ID: 968 5667 2363
Passcode: 569014 |
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| Stem Cell Seminar Lecture Series | Design Principles of Fate, Forces, Form and Function: From Embryogenesis to Synthetic Morphogenesis, by Sebastian Streichan, PhD, Associate Professor of Physics and Biomolecular Science and Engineering, Departments of Physics and Engineering, UC Santa Barbara. Hosted by the UCI Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center.
Friday, Nov. 1, 11 a.m. to Noon
Location: Gross Hall, Conference Center (4th Floor)
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| Meeting with Dr. Mike Lauer, Director, NIH Office of Extramural Research | The NIH grant application process is continuously evolving and can feel daunting at times. From scores to success rates, to specific aims, to paylines, many factors determine which submissions are competitive and successful. Join Research!America for a member’s only, off-the-record conversation with Dr. Mike Lauer for a deep dive into this dynamic landscape in FY25.
Wednesday, Nov. 6, 11 a.m.
Via Zoom
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| Physiology & Biophysics Research in Progress Seminar |
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Lincy Antony
Graduate Student
Devon A. Lawson, PhD, Lab
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Isam Adam
Graduate Student
Devon A. Lawson, PhD, Lab
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| Immune Regulation of BRCA1 Mutant Breast Cancer, by Lincy AntonyUnderstanding and Targeting Regulatory T Cell Modulation of Microglia in Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis, by Isam AdamWednesday, Nov. 6, 4 to 5 p.m.
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| UCLA CTSI R Grant Writing Virtual Workshop | The UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) will be hosting a workshop for investigators to learn about how to prepare successful R grant applications. View the agenda (PDF on Google Drive).
Thursday, Nov. 7, 8 a.m. to Noon
Via Zoom |
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| Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics Thursday Seminar Series |
Is a Novel Peptide an Internal Switch for Chlamydial Persistence? by Asha Densi, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, UCI School of Medicine
Thursday, Nov. 7, 9 a.m.
Location: Plumwood House, Room 166
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| Scientist Solutions Vendor Fair | Scientist Solutions and UCI School of Medicine are hosting a life science vendo show. Register today to order your personal lunch from Mendocino Farms. Learn more (PDF Flyer).
Thursday, Nov. 7, Noon to 1:30 p.m.
Location: Grassy area between Sprague Hall and Gillespie Neuroscience |
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| Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center Scientific Retreat | This invitation is open to members of the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, clinicians, DOT leaders, shared resource teams, CHOC partners, community equity board members, established community partners, MET trainees, staff, postdoctoral trainees, graduate students and undergraduate students in cancer-related research labs.
Friday, Nov. 8, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Location: The Waterfront Beach Resort, a Hilton Hotel, Huntington Beach, Calif.
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| Workshop on Spatial Transcriptomic Data Analysis with an Emphasis on 10x Genomics Visium | An introduction to data analysis workflow with both sequencing- and imaging-based spatial transcriptomics platforms, using 10x Genomics Visium and Xenium as examples. Learn more at the UCI Genomics Research & Technology Hub website. Registration is required. Fee is $50. Limited to 20 attendees.
Tuesday, Nov. 12, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Location: Sprague Hall, Room 105
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| Doing Business with ARPA-H Industry Day | Join ARPA-H for an industry day aimed at providing tips, tricks and lessons learned about how to successfully locate and apply for research and development funding opportunities. Participants will have the chance to attend various sessions, ask questions and engage in informal conversations with staff from across the agency, and will be provided with in-depth information about the ARPA-H business model. Learn more.
Wednesday, Nov. 13, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Virtual Event
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| NIH Announces a Two-Part Virtual Event, NIH Grants Process Primer: Application to Award | Understanding the structure of NIH, the application process, policies, tools and systems, and knowing where to find valuable resources are key components to create a strong NIH application. The NIH is hosting a two-part event that will provide participants with the basics to help you in your role working with the NIH grants process from application preparation to award.
In Part One: An Overview of the Pre-Award Process, NIH experts will introduce participants to the NIH as an organization, key components of finding the right funding opportunity, the NIH team, application and more.
In Part Two: An Interactive Experience, participants will have the opportunity to view demos and engage during this next-level look at tools and systems used during the application process.
Nov. 13 & 14, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Via Zoom
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| Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics Wednesday Seminar Series |
Entry and Beyond: The Role of Viral Glycoproteins in Alphavirus Neuroinvasion and Persistence, by Melody Man Hing Li, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, UCLA. This event is co-sponsored by the UCI Center for Virus Research.
Wednesday, Nov. 13, 4 p.m.
Location: Tamkin Hall, F114
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| Physiology & Biophysics Seminar Series | Unraveling the Genetics of Human Retinal Diseases: A Multiomics Approach, by Rui Chen, PhD, Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, UCI School of Medicine
Wednesday, Nov. 13, 4 to 5 p.m.
Location: Hybrid event at Plumwood House Lecture Hall and via Zoom Contact Claire Chen to join via Zoom. |
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| CHOC Research Day 2024 | Register now for CHOC Research Day 2024! This year’s event promises to showcase groundbreaking research, foster collaboration and celebrate innovation across our Research Institute focusing on pediatric brain health.
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Location: Virtual and in-person (2nd floor of the Bill Holmes Tower)
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| UCI SKIN: A Skin Biology Resource Center Distinguished Speaker Series | Metabolic Regulation of Melanoma Tumor Immunity, by Bin Zheng, PhD, Professor and Director of Melanoma Research, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai
Friday, Nov. 22, 11 a.m. to Noon
Location: David G. Gills Conference Center (Sprague Hall 105)
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| Junior Specialist | The Ezzati Lab is seeking a Junior Specialist with a background in neuroscience, public health, data science or related fields to join their interdisciplinary team for research in the field of headache disorders.
PI: Ali Ezzati, MD
View the posting in AP Recruit.
Closing Date: Dec. 31, 2024
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| School of Medicine Research Collaboration Request Form | | Interested in finding research collaborators but not sure where to start? Complete the UCI School of Medicine Research Collaboration Request Form, and a member of the School of Medicine Research Development Unit will be in touch with you shortly. |
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