Bakar Award — UC Berkeley / UCSF Collaborative

Bakar Award — UC Berkeley / UCSF Collaborative

Funds joint UC Berkeley and UCSF teams translating translational research into healthcare impact.

The UC Berkeley–UCSF Collaborative Bakar Award is administered by the Bakar Fellows Program, an initiative funded by the Bakar Family Foundation to catalyze commercialization of university research. The award funds joint teams composed of one UC Berkeley academic senate faculty member and one UCSF academic senate faculty member, supporting translational STEM+ research with a defined commercial potential pathway. Up to three collaborative awards are made per annual cycle. The 2026 cycle is expected to open in early 2026, following the same structure as the 2025 cycle in which finalist presentations were held before the Advisory Board.

Each principal investigator on an awarded team receives $100,000 per year for three years, totaling $300,000 per PI, or $600,000 for a two-PI collaborative project over the full term. Budget restrictions prohibit the use of award funds for faculty salaries, stipends, or teaching relief; equipment purchases exceeding $10,000 require additional justification. UCSF faculty pursuing a collaborative application under 'option b' must partner with a Berkeley fellow drawn from specific prior cohorts — Spark Awards 2022–2024 or Bakar Prize Fellows from 2018, 2019, 2021, or 2022. The application package is concise: a three-page project proposal (1,000-word maximum), a two-page CV, and a brief budget requiring no institutional overhead.

Winning teams benefit from the Bakar Fellows community, which includes access to serial entrepreneurs, investors, and mentors, as well as educational and network-building events. With only three collaborative awards per cycle, competition is selective, and proposals emphasizing clear commercialization potential and strong Berkeley–UCSF intellectual complementarity are best positioned to advance. Teams should confirm Berkeley partner eligibility before investing in a full application. Contact for program questions is bakarfellows@berkeley.edu.