Injury & Violence Prevention Initiative (IVPI@UCI), funded by the Office of the Vice Chancellor of Research, is a collaborative initiative between faculty from the UCI Schools of Public Health (Marizen Ramirez, MPH, PhD), Social Ecology (Jessica Borelli, PhD), and School of Medicine (Federico Vaca, MD, MPH). The initiative responds to the national epidemic of injury and violence, the leading cause of death for persons ages 1-44 in this country. Some of the leading injury mechanisms for death and morbidity are firearms, motor vehicle crashes, opioids/substance overdose, and falls. IVPI@UCI encompasses the multi-disciplinary pursuit of rigorous injury and violence prevention science and translational research through policy and advocacy curated for the diverse communities of California.
The purpose of IVPI@UCI Pilot Research Grant Program is to support UC Irvine’s investigators by promoting injury and violence prevention research, leading to future competitive state and federal funding submissions and positioning IVPI@UCI to better serve the needs of local communities throughout California.
IVPI@UCI invites applications for the 2025 Pilot Research Grant Program and will fund three, one-year pilot research projects, each with an award of up to $15,000 (total cost). We encourage prospective applicants to develop research project proposals that align with the mission of IVPI@UCI – to adopt a health equity approach to the prevention of injury, violence and their immediate as well as long-term sequalae.
Research Project Proposal Submission Guidelines
The IVPI@UCI requests that prospective applicants submit a letter of intent (LOI) — 1-page max — leading up to the application deadline. This letter is not binding nor is it a part of the full application review.
Please include the following information in your letter:
- Title of proposed research project (be descriptive)
- Name of Principal Investigator(s)
- Topic of proposed research project
Important Deadlines
Letter of Intent Due Date: December 31st, 2024
Please submit your LOI by email to IVPI@UCI Project Coordinator Nathan Gaviria (ngaviria@hs.uci.edu) no later than 5:00 pm of the due date. Please include “IVPI@UCI Pilot Research Grant Program: Letter of Intent” as the subject line.
Application Due Date: January 22nd, 2024
Please submit your application as a single pdf file to ngaviria@hs.uci.edu no later than 5:00 pm of the due date. Please include “IVPI@UCI Pilot Research Grant Program: Application Submission” as the subject line.
Funding Decision Announcement: Monday, March 3rd, 2025
Eligibility:
PhD and professional degree (e.g., MD, DDS, DO) graduate students, post-doctoral scholars, and faculty at UC Irvine are eligible to apply. We especially encourage junior or early-career faculty to apply. Applicants who are not faculty members must identify a UCI faculty sponsor in their application. The UCI faculty sponsor must be listed as a Co-Investigator or Multiple PI in their submission.
Investigators of a pilot research project are expected to meet the following objectives:
- Collection of preliminary data positioning for future competitive funding requests
- Submission of a peer-reviewed manuscript for publication
- Pilot-funded investigators will be required to meet with IVPI@UCI leadership and Executive Committee members quarterly for project progress updates, feedback, and support
- Pilot grantees will present research at an IVPI@UCI hosted symposium and/or webinars
- Pilot grantees will prepare an outreach one pager highlighting their findings and impact
The IVPI@UCI is particularly interested in research project proposals that integrate community-engaged methods focusing on California’s immigrant and/or marginalized populations who are disproportionately impacted by injury and violence. Applicants are highly encouraged to refer to the CDC’s injury and violence prevention research priorities list (Research Priorities | Injury and Violence Prevention | CDC) when developing their pilot proposals. The IVPI@UCI especially welcomes applicants with research proposal interests in the following areas to apply:
- Opioid drug overdose
- Suicide prevention
- Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
- Traffic safety / Motor vehicle crash injury
Single space, 1-inch margins, Arial, size 11
| Component | Description | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Cover Page | Title of Proposed Project Principal Investigator Co-Investigators (if any) with corresponding affiliations Abstract: brief description of proposed project (250 word maximum) | 1-page max |
| Research Plan | Specific Aim(s) Background/Significance Innovation Study Design/Approach Proposed Timeline References (not counted towards page limit) | 3-page max |
| Budget & Justification | Total costs must not exceed $15,000. Funds may be used for research supplies, equipment, staff, subject costs, and data analysis support. Faculty effort, conference travel and indirect costs are not supported. | 1-page max |
| Biographical Sketches | Required for Principal & Co-investigators | 2-page max each |
Application Review
The IVPI@UCI will convene content matter experts from its members of its executive committee, IVPI@UCI leadership, and community collaborators for a competitive peer-review process to select pilot research grant awardees. Applications will be evaluated similarly to the standard National Institutes of Health (NIH) review criteria areas of significance, investigators, innovation, approach, research environment, and the overall likelihood of future funding success.
Questions?
Please contact the IVPI@UCI Project Coordinator Nathan Gaviria at (ngaviria@hs.uci.edu) with any questions you may have about the application and submission process.
