UCSF Catalyst Awards

UCSF Catalyst Awards

Supports UCSF investigators with seed funding that starts healthcare innovation and accelerates patient-facing pilots.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

UCSF Innovation Ventures operates the Catalyst Program as UCSF's primary translational accelerator, designed to move UCSF discoveries with clinical impact and commercial potential along the path from academic research to patient benefit. Since 2010, the Catalyst Program has distributed $13 million across 313 awards — approximately 21 awards per year — and the portfolio has generated $751 million in total follow-on funding since inception, including $595 million in startup equity. The Catalyst Award is the program's flagship mechanism and is offered exclusively in the fall annual cycle.

Each Catalyst Award provides up to $75,000 in seed funding alongside structured industry advisor mentorship delivered through a three-stage review process: an initial committee screening, a consultation phase with industry advisors, and a final report-out presentation session. Eligible applicants are UCSF faculty in any series (Ladder Rank, In Residence, Clinical X, Health Science Clinical, or Adjunct) at any rank from Instructor upward. Students, residents, postdoctoral fellows, and specialists may serve as PI if a faculty member serves as Co-PI. IP must be assigned to or jointly owned by the Regents of the University of California. The award funds therapeutics (lead optimization, IND-enabling studies), diagnostics (biomarker validation), medical devices (prototyping, bench and animal testing), and digital or computational health (AI, LLMs, clinical workflow integration); discovery research is explicitly excluded. Faculty salary is not allowable; publication fees are capped at $5,000.

The FY2025–2026 cycle closed September 29, 2025, with final awardees selected in April 2026. The Fall 2026 cycle deadline is expected circa late September 2026 based on the program's consistent annual cadence; the official RFP will be posted at rapapp.ucsf.edu. Applications require a single PDF (maximum 3 pages excluding bios, citations, and budget) submitted through the RAP portal. Proposals are scored on unmet medical need, scientific rationale, development feasibility, commercial attractiveness, and IP status.