The Grow Grants (California Fund for Advancing Physician Education and Workforce Growth)

The Grow Grants (California Fund for Advancing Physician Education and Workforce Growth) is sponsored by University of California Health. This fund distributes grants to invest in medical education initiatives and projects that improve California's future health care workforce, aiming to transform how California recruits, trains, and retains its physician workforce.

It seeks to expand successful models that increase access to healthcare and improve the health of all Californians.

The Grow Grants | University of California Health Stand with us to protect UC What can we help you find? Health Professional Schools The California Fund for Advancing Physician Education and Workforce Growth (also known as The Grow Grants) was established in 2025 through voter-approved Proposition 35 (2024). The $3.

5 million fund distributes grants to invest in medical education initiatives and projects that improve California's future health care workforce. Read the December 2025 UC Health press release announcing the awarded programs. Applicants were encouraged to submit proposals that aim to transform how California recruits, trains and retains its physician workforce.

This new grant opportunity not only addresses the immediate medical needs of Californians but may also lead to the expansion of successful models that increase access to health care and improve the health of all Californians. The Grow Grants Awardee List Each of the programs is being awarded approximately $500,000 in funding over the two-year grant period.

Congratulations to the following recipients of the Grow Grants Award notifications issued on December 19, 2025 Community-Based Aging Care Pathway La Maestra Family Clinic, Inc. Project Lead: Jairo Romero, MD Expanding Occupational and Environmental Medicine Training in Rural Agricultural California Project Lead: Gina Solomon, MD, MPH GME Pathways Back to California SoCal Network Charles R Drew University Project Lead: Dotun Ogunyemi, MD, FACOG, MFM Grow NorCal Physicians Pipeline Program Healthy Rural California, Inc. Project Leads: Tracy Liston, MS and Danielle Harwood, MD IMPACCT - Integrated Medicine, Psychiatry & Addiction Curriculum & Community Transformation Project Leads: Jeremy DeMartini, MD and Sara Teasdale, MD JustBelong: The UCLA - Homeboy Justice-Informed Physician Workforce Training Initiative Project Leads: Daniel Kozman, MD, MPH and Kaitlyn Fruin, MD, MPH Pathways for Accelerating Community-based Training Project Leads: Alicia Gonzalez-Flores, MD and Tonya Fancher, MD Application Review and Selection Committee UC Health extends sincere gratitude to the Application Review and Selection Committee members, who worked tirelessly to thoughtfully review and assess applications.

Charlie Abraham, MD, MBA, CHCQM, FACP, FACHE VP / Chief Medical Officer St. Bernadine Medical Center Faculty UCSF Latinx Center of Excellence (LCOE) Retired Associate Clinical Professor Department of Family and Community Medicine Donaldo M.

Hernandez, MD, FACP Past President, California Medical Association Vice Chair, California Delegation to the AMA Population Health Management Medical Consultant California Department of Health Care Services UCLA Assistant Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine Robert Moore, MD, MPH, MBA Partnership HealthPlan of Northern California Former Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Lindia J.

Willies-Jacobo, MD, FAAP Senior Associate Dean for Admissions Senior Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine Undergraduate medical education leaders employed by or with faculty appointments at medical schools in California that are accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) or the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA).

Graduate medical education leaders with residency or fellowship programs that are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and with a sponsoring institution in California. Graduate medical education leaders from a sponsoring institution in California (e.g., GME Office leadership team). Applicants must have written support of leadership at their organization.

Not all proposals that meet eligibility will be awarded. The full eligibility criteria and selection process are described in the grant guidelines . Examples of potential initiatives and projects Novel projects and activities that lead to the recruitment and training of more residents and fellows in specialties that are in high demand in California or will be greatly needed in the future.

Initiatives or projects designed to accelerate or reimagine pathways into medical school and residency to expand the physician pipeline, especially physicians who will train in high-need specialties and are interested in working with under-resourced communities and/or in physician shortage areas.

Projects, including those with specialized curricula, designed to increase residency and fellowship graduates who are dedicated to working with populations that face barriers to care and developing strategies to improve health outcomes in California. Initiatives with a strong focus on recruiting, training, and retaining medical residents and fellows who provide care to uninsured and/or Medi-Cal patients.

The Grow Grants program objectives Implement new and creative strategies that promote the training of more residents and fellows who pursue careers in high-need specialties. Identify and support initiatives that effectively recruit, train, and retain physicians who are committed to providing care to populations that are under-resourced and/or located in geographic shortage areas to address health care workforce gaps.

Build career pathways and learning experiences that prepare and encourage medical students, residents and fellows to pursue careers focused on delivering exceptional care to uninsured and Medi-Cal patient populations. October 6 – November 3, 2025 Downloadable resources (as of January 2026): It is important to note that these documents could change. Any new versions of these documents will be indicated here on the website.

For questions that remain after reviewing the guidelines or if you need additional assistance with completion of the application, please join The Grow Grants Virtual Office Hours. This will be an opportunity to ask questions in a casual environment. Please review the guidelines and application in advance of participating in this session.

Thursday, October 23, from 12:10 – 1:00 PM PT Tuesday, October 14, from 5:10 – 6:00 PM PT Thursday, October 9, from 12:10 – 1:00 PM PT Read the October 2025 UC Health press release announcing The Grow Grants program. For inquiries, please contact GrowGrants@ucop. edu .

All information and materials are subject to change, and any updates will be posted on this webpage. This grant opportunity is funded by Proposition 35 (2024) and administered by University of California Health.