Opportunities for Funding

Underrepresented Minorities Resources: Opportunities for Funding

Medical Students

  • ASH Minority Medical Student Award Program

    The ASH Minority Medical Student Award Program (MMSAP) provides underrepresented minority medical students with an opportunity to conduct a research project under the supervision of an ASH member, receive guidance from a career-development mentor, gain valuable knowledge of hematology, and ultimately, advance their careers. As part of the ASH Minority Recruitment Initiative, the MMSAP aims to expand the program’s reach to the next generation of hematologists.

    Applicants must have a research mentor who is an ASH member in good standing and may choose from one of three project options with varying program benefits. The summer project option requires an eight- to 12-week commitment; the flexible project requires a commitment of approximately 320 to 480 hours over the course of a year; and the yearlong project requires participants to take a year off from school to engage in research full-time.

  • ASCO Medical Student Rotation for Underrepresented Populations

    The Medical Student Rotation (MSR) provides financial support for U.S. medical students from populations underrepresented in medicine and who are interested in oncology as a career to experience a minimum 4-week clinical or clinical research rotation. The oncology rotation can take place in a private practice, hospital or academic setting, with a focus on either direct patient care or research, provided that the research is clinically-oriented. Each participant will be paired with a mentor for the rotation. The role of the mentor is to oversee the student in his or her rotation as well as to provide ongoing academic and career guidance following the rotation experience. Participants may preselect a mentor for their rotation or ask for assistance in arranging a mentoring partnership with an ASCO member. Following the rotation, recipients will have the opportunity to attend the ASCO Annual Meeting where they can interact with oncology professionals.  The Medical Student Rotation award includes a $5,000 stipend for the rotation plus $1,500 for travel to the ASCO Annual Meeting. An additional $2,000 will be provided to support the student’s mentor. The number of Medical Student Rotation Awards in each funding cycle is not predetermined by Conquer Cancer. Awards are given based on individual merit and availability of funds. 

Residents

  • Medical residents, including Minority Medical Student Award Program alumni who are enrolled in an internal medicine, pathology, or pediatric residency program.
  • Resident physicians who have applied to or matched early into a hematology-oncology fellowship program.

Please note that applicants must have a research mentor who is an ASH member in good standing and must be within the first two years of a residency program

Postdoctoral Fellows

  • CTSI and Academic Senate: Underrepresented Faculty and Senior Fellows Award in Clinical and Translational Medicine  (Resource Allocation Program-40K/one year) Population: UCSF Learners, UCSF Faculty, Underrepresented Minorities Interests: Research, Grant/Scholarship/Fellowship This grant mechanism provides support for senior fellows, instructors, assistant, associate and full professor faculty from historically disenfranchised racial and ethnic groups that are under-represented in health sciences, or from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The goal is to encourage fellows and faculty from these groups to remain in academia as career professionals and thus to increase the diversity of our faculty. Research can be any area relevant to clinical and translational research which includes bench-to-bedside/laboratory-to-human (T1) translational research, clinical research and bedside-to-community/evidence-to-practice (T2/T3) research. Social, behavioral and economic research as it affects health is included. If not directly involving the study of people or populations, the proposed research must be clearly justified as being on the path to potential use in humans.
  • Center for Aging in Diverse Communities Scholars Program (UCSF) - Funds less experienced minority investigators at the junior faculty or postdoc level to conduct pilot studies to investigate issues of aging in African American, Latino, Asian, and sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations.
  • University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program Population: UCSF Learners, Underrepresented Minorities, LGBT, First Generation to College, Female, People with Disabilities Interests: Academic, Education/Training, Grant/Scholarship/Fellowship The University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program was established in 1984 to encourage outstanding women and minority Ph.D. recipients to pursue academic careers at the University of California. The current program offers postdoctoral research fellowships, professional development and faculty mentoring to outstanding scholars in all fields whose research, teaching, and service will contribute to diversity and equal opportunity at UC.
  • UCSF IRACDA Scholars Program / NIGMS Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award Population: UCSF Learners, Underrepresented Minorities, LGBT, First Generation to College, Female, People with Disabilities Interests: Academic, Outreach, Research, Community Building, Education/Training, Grant/Scholarship/Fellowship, Mentorship UC San Francisco is one of 22 universities with Institutional Research and Career Development Award (IRACDA) programs funded by NIH/NIGMS. IRACDA Scholars receive mentored research and teaching training at major research institutions partnered with a teaching-intensive institution with a demonstrated commitment to outreach. UCSF's partner is San Francisco State University.

Extramural

  • NIH Grant Diversity Supplements – The NIH provides funding to attract minority trainees and faculty to research careers through their NIH Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (PA-18-586). UCSF’s Research Development Office has created a special section on their website to help faculty apply for these grants.
  • The AAAS Minority Science Writers Internship Population: UCSF Learners, Underrepresented Minorities, Female, People with Disabilities Interests: Grant/Scholarship/Fellowship The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Pitts Family Foundation is proud to offer a summer internship program for minority students interested in journalism as a career and who want to learn about science writing. Experience what it’s like to cover the scientific and technological issues that shape our global community. Science is a global activity, but the demographics of the journalists who cover it don’t reflect that diversity. The Minority Science Writers Internship is for students who are interested in pursuing a career in journalism and who want to learn more about science writing. The internship takes place each summer at the Washington, DC headquarters of AAAS’s Science magazine, the largest interdisciplinary journal in the world. Interns spend 10 weeks at Science under the guidance of award-winning reporters and editors, and have a chance to experience what science writers do for a living. Interns are expected to contribute to the weekly news section, including bylined articles in the print and electronic news service. The paid internship provides for travel to and from the internship site in Washington, DC. Living accommodations and expenses are the responsibility of the Intern. The internship runs from June to mid-August.The program is a paid, 10-week experience under the guidance of the weekly magazine’s award-winning staff of professional science writers and editors.
  • Gay Asian Pacific Alliance (GAPA) Foundation Scholarship Population: UCSF Learners, Undergrad, K-12, Underrepresented Minorities, LGBT Interests: Grant/Scholarship/Fellowship The GAPA Foundation Scholarship provides financial assistance to API LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer) students who are in the process of applying to, or are currently attending, a post-secondary institution. The purpose of the GAPA Foundation Scholarship is to provide financial assistance to Asian and Pacific Islander (API) students in high school; undergraduate, graduate or professional school; or trade or vocational school who are interested in activism in the API and LGBTQ communities.
  • Burroughs Wellcome Fund: Post doctoral scholars program (PhD) Postdoctoral Enrichment Program (PDEP) provides a total of $60,000 over three years to support the career development activities for underrepresented minority postdoctoral fellows in a degree-granting institution (an institution includes its affiliated graduate and medical schools, hospitals, and research institutions) in the United States or Canada whose training and professional development are guided by mentors committed to helping them advance to stellar careers in biomedical or medical research.

The program provides a total of $60,000 over three years as follows:

  • Year one: $20,000 will be granted to support enrichment activities of the postdoctoral fellow ($10,000 for research supplies or equipment uniquely required to enhance the postdoctoral fellow’s research and $10,000 for education and training, including for mentors in the research lab where the postdoctoral fellow is assigned.)  
  • Year two: $20,000 (same allocation as year one)
  • Year three:  $20,000 will be granted to help the postdoctoral fellow advance research efforts towards the professoriate.  The funds must be used to develop independent, innovative areas of research.
  • Robert Wood Johnson- Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program (AMFDP) The Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program (AMFDP) offers four-year postdoctoral research awards to increase the number of physicians, dentists, and nurses from historically disadvantaged backgrounds (and who have recently completed clinical training- or—in the case of nurses—their research doctorate) who are committed to:
  • Developing careers and achieving senior rank in academic medicine, dentistry, or nursing;
  • Fostering the development of succeeding classes of physicians, dentists, and nurses from historically disadvantaged backgrounds;
  • Improving the health of underserved populations; and/or working toward understanding and eliminating health disparities by achieving senior rank in academic medicine, dentistry, or nursing. Scholars will receive an annual stipend of up to $75,000 each, complemented by a $30,000 annual grant to support research activities. Additional awards are available through partnerships with the American Society of Hematology, the American Society of Nephrology, and the American Heart Association.

Faculty level

  • CTSI and Academic Senate: Underrepresented Faculty and Senior Fellows Award in Clinical and Translational Medicine  (Resource Allocation Program-40K/one year) Population: UCSF Learners, UCSF Faculty, Underrepresented Minorities Interests: Research, Grant/Scholarship/Fellowship This grant mechanism provides support for senior fellows, instructors, assistant, associate and full professor faculty from historically disenfranchised racial and ethnic groups that are under-represented in health sciences, or from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The goal is to encourage fellows and faculty from these groups to remain in academia as career professionals and thus to increase the diversity of our faculty. Research can be any area relevant to clinical and translational research which includes bench-to-bedside/laboratory-to-human (T1) translational research, clinical research and bedside-to-community/evidence-to-practice (T2/T3) research. Social, behavioral and economic research as it affects health is included. If not directly involving the study of people or populations, the proposed research must be clearly justified as being on the path to potential use in humans.
  • Dean’s Diversity Fund (John A. Watson Faculty Scholars): To assist with recruitment and retention of faculty who share our commitments to diversity and service to underserved or vulnerable populations, each year the Dean’s Office will award up to eight grants to support activities related to our educational and scholarly missions. Those receiving the grants will be named the John A. Watson Faculty Scholars. 

The grants will provide critical support that will allow faculty to develop their academic interests as well as pursue activities that contribute to the community (e.g. Diversity outreach). These grants are not to be used as Z supplements or as salary increases. Applicants must have no more than 4 years of postdoctoral research experience (i.e., employment in a research position since completing the requirements for the doctorate) at the time of the initial or the subsequent resubmission or revision application.

There are two categories of awards:

1. Faculty Recruitment and Retention – Up to four three-year grants for newly recruited faculty and/or faculty who are successfully retained at UCSF.

2. Opportunity Transition – Up to four three-year grants awarded to residents and fellows whose departments would like to hire them but do not currently have an open faculty position.

  • Resource Allocation Program (RAP) - This grant mechanism provides support for senior fellows, instructors, assistant, associate and full professor faculty from historically disenfranchised racial and ethnic groups that are under-represented in health sciences, or from economically or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds. The goal is to encourage fellows and faculty from these groups to remain in academia for their career and thus increase the diversity of our faculty.

Travel Grants

  • UCSF HDFCCC Travel Awards for Postdoctoral Fellows Two travel grants (for up to $1500 each) will be available each quarter. For one of the awards, priority will be given to postdocs who are underrepresented minorities in medicine (click here for UCSF definition) and students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds as defined by the HHS Poverty Guidelines. The grants are intended to be used to offset registration fees and travel expenses for cancer research conferences.

ASH

ASCO

  • ASCO Resident Travel Award for Underrepresented Populations The Resident Travel Award (RTA) provides financial support for residents from underrepresented populations to attend the ASCO Annual Meeting. This award allows physician residents interested in a career in oncology to travel to the ASCO Annual Meeting, where they will have the opportunity to meet oncologists and to learn more about career option in the field of oncology.    The Resident Travel Award includes a $1,500 travel advance and complimentary ASCO Annual Meeting registration. The number of Resident Travel Awards in each funding cycle is not predetermined by Conquer Cancer.  Awards are given based on individual merit and availability of funds. 

AACR

  • Global Scholar-in-Training Awards The Global Scholar-in-Training Awards are available to eligible early-career investigators in countries designated by the World Bank as low-, lower-middle, or upper-middle income economies (LMIC), who wish to participate in the AACR Annual Meeting. Eligible scientists are full-time graduate students currently engaged in their doctoral research, residents, clinical or postdoctoral fellows, and early-career researchers (within 10 years of doctoral-level degree conferral). Only applicants who are citizens or permanent residents of a LMIC and who currently reside in a LMIC may receive one of these awards. 
  • Women in Cancer Research Scholar Awards Available for members of Women in Cancer Research who are scientists-in-training and presenters of meritorious scientific papers at AACR Annual Meetings may apply for WICR Scholar Awards.  
  • Minority and Minority-serving Institution Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research Awards  Full-time minority faculty members and faculty members of Minority-serving Institutions [Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), and other Minority Institutions] may apply for Minority and Minority-serving Institution Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research Awards for attendance at the AACR Annual Meeting or special conferences. 
  • Minority Scholar in Cancer Research Awards Graduate/medical students, residents, and clinical/postdoctoral fellows from groups considered to be underrepresented in cancer research by NCI (African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Native-Americans, Native Pacific Islanders, and Native Alaskans) may apply for Minority Scholar in Cancer Research Awards available for attendance at the AACR Annual Meeting or special conferences.