Open Call: CZI Science Diversity Leadership Award

Nov 13, 2024 | Awards & Funding, Research

To: All Science Faculty and Researchers
From: Office of Foundation Relations
Subject: Funding Opportunity

The Office of Foundation Relations is pleased to share this open call for funding from The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

UCSC Contact: Samantha Forde | forde@ucsc.edu
Funder: The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Opportunity: Science Diversity Leadership Award
Deadline: December 3, 2024

Overview

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative invites applications for a five-year funding grant (2025–2030) that supports excellent biomedical researchers with a record of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in their scientific field.

The Science Diversity Leadership Award (SDLA) from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) will support Principal Investigators who are outstanding early- to mid-career biomedical researchers who—through their outreach, mentoring, teaching, and leadership—have a record of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in their scientific communities. They will have made significant research contributions to the biomedical sciences, show promise for continuing scientific achievement, and demonstrate leadership in efforts to diversify the sciences. CZI is committed to supporting representative science, which ensures universal benefits from scientific advances, such as studies of diseases that adversely affect underserved populations from specific ancestries, and promotes diversity among researchers toward more inclusive and comprehensive outcomes.

Award Amount & Terms

  • $1.15 million distributed over five years ($230,000 total costs per year, including 15% for indirect costs).

  • Awards will be five years in duration with an expected start date of September 1, 2025.

Eligibility

  • Applicants should have been in their first independent position for at least three years and less than ten years as of the opening of the Letter of Intent application (after 10/03/2014 and before 10/03/2021).

  • All applicants must hold an MD, PhD, ScD, MD/PhD, DDM, DVM, or equivalent degree and have a faculty position or equivalent independent investigator status at a college, university, medical school, or other research facility. Note that non-tenured and tenured faculty are eligible to apply.

  • An organization may submit more than one application (i.e., multiple applicants from the same organization may apply).

See here for a list of previous grantees.

Timeline

  • December 3, 2024: LOIs due by 5 p.m. PT
  • February 11, 2025: LOI decision announced / Full application portal opens
  • April 8, 2025: Applications due by 5 p.m. PT (invitation only)
  • August 2025: Earliest notification of decisions (subject to change)
  • September 1, 2025: Expected award start date (subject to change)

Special Instructions

Please notify the Office of Foundation Relations if you are interested in applying to this opportunity (fr@ucsc.edu). For support developing your proposal, please contact the Research Development Specialist assigned to your unit or send a request to resdev@ucsc.edu. Within the Division of Social Sciences, please contact Ashlee Tews (ashleeac@ucsc.edu) to initiate notification and proposal support.


The Office of Foundation Relations is a unit of University Advancement. The FR team creates and maintains mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with private organizations, matching grant initiatives with educational and research programs and centers. FR supports faculty and staff to identify and approach these and other private foundations for funding, to assist in strategic positioning of the grant application, and to facilitate funder campus visits. For a list of recent funding opportunities, please visit the FR website. FR Calls for Funding

If you have any questions or comments, please contact forde@ucsc.edu