Catalyst Awards for the Development of Diagnostics, Devices, Therapeutics, and Digital/Computational Health

Catalyst Awards for the Development of Diagnostics, Devices, Therapeutics, and Digital/Computational Health is sponsored by University of California San Francisco. Supports UCSF investigators in advancing translational research projects in therapeutics, diagnostics, devices, and digital/computational health toward clinical and commercial impact.

Catalyst Awards for the Development of Diagnostics, Devices, Therapeutics and Digital/Computational Health | Resource Allocation Program (RAP) Project Award Amount: Up to $75,000 OFFERED ONLY IN FALL CYCLE . This grant will not be reviewed by RAP review committees; it will be independently reviewed by the Catalyst Accelerator Award Selection Committee.

The Catalyst Accelerator is dedicated to advancing UCSF innovations which are novel, impactful, and scalable. The Catalyst Accelerator provides expert advice, service, and mentorship from industry advisors, subject matter experts, and serial innovators to UCSF Principal Investigators (PIs).

In addition, Milestone Advancement Plans (MAP) will be developed to advance each of the selected innovations along the translational path to commercialization and patient benefit. Catalyst Accelerator Awards Catalyst Accelerator Awards are issued in a two-step process.

(Additional details in table below) Catalyst Consultation Award (November 2026 to March 2027): The Consultation Award Phase is intended to help teams strengthen the translational and commercial positioning of their projects prior to final funding consideration. Catalyst Final Award (May 2027 to May 2028): Awarded teams use their project funding to advance their project aims to achieve milestones.

Applicants must be UCSF faculty members in any series (Ladder Rank, In Residence, Clinical X, Health Science Clinical, Adjunct) and at any rank (Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Full Professor). Trainees, including students, residents, clinical fellows, postdoctoral fellows, and specialists, are encouraged to participate as key project team members, but the PI and co-PIs must be UCSF faculty.

If there are external collaborators in your project, the person and their institution need to be specified. Projects Eligible for the Catalyst Accelerator The Catalyst Accelerator supports early translational research projects (T1) with a potential path toward clinical implementation or commercialization.

Competitive projects should be beyond the discovery stage and include pilot or proof-of-concept data supporting feasibility and product development. Ideal candidates for the Catalyst Accelerator are projects that are novel, impactful, and scalable and fall into the categories of Therapeutics, Diagnostics, Medical Devices, or Digital / Computational Health.

If there are technology components as part of your solution that were not developed at UCSF, this needs to be clearly stated and attributed to the correct source. The Catalyst Accelerator does not support discovery research.

Ineligible projects include: Basic or exploratory research Target identification or unvalidated biomarker discovery Projects lacking pilot data or proof-of-concept evidence Projects without a defined translational or commercialization pathway The award process is aligned with UCSF PRIDE values, UCSF Principles of Community and this program does not use race, gender, sex, or other protected categories or proxies for protected categories in the selection process.

Please refer to https://opportunity. ucsf. edu/about/pride-values and https://opportunity.

ucsf. edu/about/principles-community Initial Review The Catalyst Accelerator Award Selection Committee reviews the applications and selects projects for the Consultation Award. Consultation Award period is intended to help teams strengthen the translational and commercial positioning of their projects prior to final funding consideration.

Consultation Awardees receive coaching and mentorship from subject matter experts as they refine their translational and commercialization strategy and prepare for final presentation.

During this phase, teams will: Conduct market, customer, and stakeholder discovery Refine product development and commercialization strategies Develop project-specific Milestone Advancement Plans (MAPs) to guide translation of the innovation Identify key technical, regulatory, and reimbursement considerations Prepare a final pitch presentation for funding consideration Catalyst Final Presentations Teams will deliver a final pitch presentation to the Catalyst Accelerator Award Selection Committee during a live, in-person event.

Catalyst Final Awardees will be selected based on scientific merit, translational feasibility, and commercial potential.. Catalyst Final Award Period Catalyst Final Awardees will receive: Up to $75,000 in project funding 12 months of on-going multi-sector expert advice and mentorship Catalyst Final Awardees will provide project update reports at 6, 12, and 24 months.

Intellectual Property (IP): Projects should have a strong potential for generating intellectual property and for commercial development. Any existing IP must be assigned to, or jointly owned by, The Regents of the University of California. It is expected that each awarded project will result in an Invention Disclosure to UCSF Innovation Ventures.

If you have not already submitted an Invention Disclosure on this project, please review the Invention Disclosure process here.

September 28, 2026 RAP Application Deadline November 2026 Catalyst Consultation Awardees Informed November 2026 – March 2027 Catalyst Consultation Award Phase March 2027 Final Pitch Presentations April 2027 Catalyst Final Awards Announced May 2027 - May 2028 Catalyst Final Award Period Proposals will be evaluated on the following: - Limitations of current standard of care - Potential for clinical impact 2.

Scientific rationale and Preliminary Evidence - Strength of pilot data and proof-of-concept evidence - Validation supporting the proposed approach 3.

Translational and Development Feasibility - Realistic milestones and timelines - Readiness for product development activities - Clear advancement along the translational pathway - Market size and competitive landscape - Clinical adoption and reimbursement considerations - Potential to attract follow-on funding or partnerships 5.

Intellectual Property Position - Status of disclosures and filings - Opportunity to generate defensible IP - Potential IP risks or barriers STEP 1) Complete the electronic application form . Please note there are several pieces of information that need to be provided directly via the electronic application form (selecting the appropriate grant mechanism, providing demographic information, uploading an abstract, etc.).

STEP 2) Upload the proposal as a SINGLE PDF that includes all the items listed in numerical order from the instructions below. Format Requirements : Arial, Aptos, or Calibri font; 11 pt. minimum, 0.

5 inch for all margins. Application Length : Maximum of 3 pages (not including PI and team bios, literature citations, and budget pages).

PI name(s) and project title Brief executive summary that includes: the unmet medical need being addressed; the discovery or observation underlying the project; the specific focus of the Catalyst project; and the future product Details on unmet medical need and competitive landscape (how the medical need is currently being addressed and other approaches being pursued to the same end) Details on the discovery and their implications for the eventual product opportunity; details on the current state of the project Details on the proposed Catalyst project’s specific aims, and how the aims will advance the project along the product’s development path Intellectual property status (disclosures made to HTC along with the applicable case numbers, any patent filings, any issues) Current sources of funding for the project; existing collaborations with other institutions on the project; and the funding strategy after the Catalyst Award phase of the project.

Commercialization strategy (out-license to industry partner, initiate a clinical trial, start a company, etc.) PI and team short bios ( please do not include NIH Biosketches ) Budget – include the amount requested for each specific aim of the project; each aim’s estimated timeline, and the milestones to be achieved by that aim. PIs are required to list their effort whether paid or in-kind.

Use the following budget template form: Catalyst Program Budget Justification Template Budget Justification Instructions: Allowable Faculty Salary X Other Salaries* X Network Recharge Rates X K career development awardees – salary support X Consultants X Administrative Support X Supplies X Equipment X Software X Personal Computers X Mailing X Tuition X Travel** X Patient Care X Indirect costs on subcontracts X GAEL insurance X Publication fees (max $5K) X * NIH based salary cap **Travel is restricted to reaching project sites Supported Project Aims by Track Therapeutics: lead optimization, preclinical efficacy and safety studies, IND-enabling activities Diagnostics: biomarker or assay validation, analytical testing, regulatory strategy Medical Devices: prototype development, bench or animal testing, usability studies, regulatory strategy Digital/Computational Health: AI/ML-enabled tools, software validation, clinical workflow integration, usability testing