2022 Spectrum PHS Pilot Grants

Population Health Sciences (PHS)

In keeping with its core mission, Spectrum offers grants for accelerating clinical and translational research in biomedical and health-related areas. The Spectrum Pilot Grant Program has two major goals:

• To stimulate innovative clinical and translational research and
• To encourage collaborative, transdisciplinary work.

The primary expectation is that these early-stage translational projects will lead to additional research, external support, information dissemination and most important, will develop into longer-term, comprehensive projects.

• Transdisciplinary collaborations are highly encouraged but this is not a requirement for funding;
• Participation of investigators from at least two departments or schools is strongly encouraged but not a requirement for funding in the area of Population Health Sciences.

Program Overview:

Founded in 2015, the Stanford Center for Population Health Sciences (PHS) aims to improve the health of populations by bringing together diverse disciplines and data in order to address social and environmental determinants of health (SEDoH). The overall strategy of PHS is built around four pillars:

1. Collaboration and Community - Fostering partnerships and transdisciplinary research
2. Research Resources - Providing a portal for data discovery and analysis to enable research
3. Translation -Turning research into action and impact
4. Education and Training - Teaching and disseminating PHS discoveries

It is well documented that SEDoH factors are strong predictors of health and disease, and contribute to social inequalities in health. The field of population health sciences, which focuses on understanding and addressing these factors, sits at the intersection of medicine and public health, spanning basic and social sciences, enabling integrated research that encompasses virtually every domain of life and society. The PHS Spectrum Pilot Grants are intended to stimulate novel research that can advance our understanding of how environments, policies, and programs impact population health and social inequalities in health. 
 

New to our 2022 Spectrum PHS Pilot Grants Program are three tracks to which applicants can choose from.

Applicants should clearly identify which track they are applying for in their application. The tracks include:

Track 1 – General Population Health Research: Applicants applying to Track 1 can propose a project idea of their choosing that 1) focuses on a social, economic, community, or environmental factor and its influence on health, 2) have implications for reducing social inequalities in health, and 3) demonstrate a means of translating research into impact. Projects involving multidisciplinary teams, particularly those that span the seven Stanford schools, are highly encouraged. For prospective applicants coming from a non-population health background, we encourage you to use this opportunity to incorporate new population health collaborations, data sources, and theories into your proposals.

Track 2 – Medi-Cal Focused Research: Applicants applying to Track 2 can propose projects specifically requiring the use of Medi-Cal data. Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, is the state’s health insurance program for Californians with low income, including nearly four in ten children, one in five nonelderly adults, and two million seniors and people with disabilities. It also pays for more than 50% of all births in the state and 55% of all patient days in long-term care facilities. In total, over 13 million Californians — one in three — rely on the program for health coverage.[1]

As the main provider of health coverage for many underrepresented populations, it is a critical source of data for understanding and addressing health disparities. Given its importance to disparities research, PHS is in the process of expanding access to Medicaid data, including Medi-Cal, through strategic partnerships and acquisitions. We are currently in the process of curating three years of Medicaid data, which will be available in Fall 2022, and will be obtaining additional data going forward. PHS is also initiating a pilot with Mathematica, a policy-focused research organization that provides research and technical assistance to the Medicaid Program, to provide a small number of researchers with access to a full range of Medicaid data. Mathematica has access to (and can link) Medicaid claims, encounter, pharmacy, enrollment, and assessment data. This data can help researchers examine and understand key topics of interest such as COVID-19; health equity and structural racism; primary care; maternal health care; the opioid crisis; and environmental health and justice. PHS is seeking proposals under Track 2 of this RFP that would utilize Mathematica’s access to Medi-Cal data for projects focused on reducing social and health inequalities (click here to explore available data). Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend either PHS' information session (Feb 28, 2022 from 1:30-3:00pm PT) and/or contact PHS directly to learn more about the data acquisition process prior to submitting their application.

[Update] Refer to link here for the PHS' information session presentation slides and recording: https://med.stanford.edu/phs/events-news/events/2022-spectrum-phs-info-session.html

[1] California Health Care Foundation. (2021). California Health Care Almanac: Medi-Cal Facts and Figures:

Essential Source of Coverage for Millions. https://www.chcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/MediCalFactsFiguresAlmanac2021.pdf

Track 3 – Community-Driven Research (Solano County): Proposals submitted under Track 3 will focus on responding to community-driven questions and priorities. Projects can take a variety of forms. For example, applicants could propose:

• Working with our partners to develop a deeper understanding of the issues that they are facing, laying the groundwork for future projects (i.e., focused on stakeholder engagement)
• A project that does not directly involve our partners but could generate knowledge that is useful to them (i.e., more conceptual)
• A data analytic project
• Products and/or services that can address issues of concern to our partners

This year PHS is collaborating with Solano County, one of its core partners, to better understand and address the social and health impacts of structural racism and discriminatory policies. Solano County is one of the most diverse counties in the state of California (approximately 15% Black, 16% Asian, 27% Hispanic, and 37% White). Approximately 30% of the county’s residents speak a language other than English at home and approximately 9% of its residents live below the poverty line. Currently, Solano County supports many policies and programs intended to reduce structural racism with a focus on addressing upstream factors that contribute to racial health disparities. Examples of upstream factors include housing, education, employment, earning, credit, media, health care, and criminal justice. For Track 3 of this RFP, PHS and Solano County request proposals aimed at understanding and addressing questions related to structural racism that fall into two broad categories:

• Operationalizing & Measuring Structural Racism: How can local health and community-based organizations measure reductions in structural racism over time?
• Assessing the Impact of Discriminatory Policies:  What impact have discriminatory policies (i.e. policies that exacerbate racial inequalities intentionally or unintentionally) had on Solano County? For example, what social, economic, and health impacts have redlining, urban planning (e.g., where pools are placed, where open spaces are available, etc.), and mortgage lending policies and practices had on Solano County communities?

As mentioned in the overview of this track, projects can take many different forms and do not require applicants to have existing partnerships with and/or data pertaining to Solano County. The expectation is that awardees under Track 3 will work closely with PHS and Solano County throughout the duration of the pilot award to ensure the outputs of this research meet the needs of Solano County. Maximum funding amount is $40,000 and is open to all Stanford faculty and trainees. However, given the topic, we are especially interested in engaging social scientists who would complement PHS’ health expertise.

Please contact PHS (StanPopHealth@stanford.edu) if you are interested in exploring this exciting opportunity.

Evaluation Criteria:

Applications submitted under all three tracks will be evaluated using the following criteria:

• Potential Impact. Is the knowledge gained from the project likely to inform population health policy, practice, or programs?
• Social inequality focus. Does the project have the potential to generate knowledge that will reduce social inequalities in health?
• Methodological rigor. Do the study design and methods of the project have the potential to produce robust and reproducible knowledge?
• Scope & budget. Can the project be successfully implemented within the proposed timeline and budget?
• Contribution to investigator training in population health research. Does the project act to facilitate new collaborative work for the investigator in population health research?
• Potential to lead to longer-term projects. Is the project likely to develop into a longer-term, comprehensive, collaborative population health project?

Given the unique stakeholder engagement of Track 3, applications under this track will also be evaluated based on how well the proposed research meets the needs and interests of Solano County. For example, candidates should take into account how the knowledge derived from this research could be used by Solano County to inform policies or practices that can reduce structural racism.

Projects involving multidisciplinary teams, particularly those that span across Stanford schools and departments are highly encouraged.

All prospective applicants for all three tracks should review the projects of our previously awarded grantees as well as the CDC’s Social Determinants of Health Toolkit to get a sense of the types of research being prioritized for this funding opportunity. 

Unfortunately, we are not able to fund foreign projects at this time. Please also note that clinical trials as defined by the NIH are not eligible.
 

Amount and Period of Funding:

Maximum funding amount will be $40,000 for proposals submitted under all three tracks. We encourage investigators to consider submitting requests less than the maximum, as this will increase the probability of being funded and will enable us to award more grants. All three tracks are open to all Stanford faculty and early career trainees under the same maximum funding amount ($40,000).

Awards funded through the Spectrum Program will be granted for one year and must be completed within the 12-month award period, July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023. All unexpended funds will be forfeited if not spent within the award period.
 

Important dates:

• Informational Zoom Session: Monday, February 28, 2022 from 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM (Pacific Time).
  • [Update] Refer to link here for the PHS' information session presentation slides and recording: https://med.stanford.edu/phs/events-news/events/2022-spectrum-phs-info-session.html
• Proposal Deadline: Thursday, March 31, 2022 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time)
• Award Notification: Friday, May 6, 2022
• Funding Period: July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023 (no cost extensions are not allowed)
   

Institutional representatives:

Not applicable. Because this is an internal Stanford funding opportunity, you do not have to submit your applications through your RPM in RMG or your CGO in OSR for their approval. 
 

Award Process and Timeline:

The award process is as follows:

• Informational Sessions. PHS will offer an informational Zoom session on Mon, February 28, 2022 from 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM (Pacific Time), providing an overview of the program, how we define population health research along with research resources available to applicants and awardees (e.g., datasets, support for translating research into action, etc.). All prospective applicants and/or a representative from the research team are highly encouraged to attend.
  • [Update] Refer to link here for the PHS' information session presentation slides and recording: https://med.stanford.edu/phs/events-news/events/2022-spectrum-phs-info-session.html
• Submit Full Proposal. Final proposals should be no longer than 3-pages (excluding the cover sheet, budget documents, and bios) and are due on Thursday, March 31, 2022 at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time).
• Award Notification. Awardees will be notified by May 6, 2022 and grants will be formally awarded July 1, 2022.
• Spectrum PHS Pilot Awards Office Hours Session. Awardees will be invited to attend a Spectrum PHS Pilot Awards Office Hours Session on May 11, 2022 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM (Pacific Time) where we will provide an overview of the award requirements.
   

Additional Resources

• Population Health Sciences projects funded during the previous cycles
• All projects funded by the Stanford CTSA Innovation Accelerator Pilot Program
• Population Health Sciences website
   

Application Instructions

Applications must follow the guidelines below:

• Format
  • Page specifications
    • 8.5 x 11” page size
    • At least 0.5” margins on all sides
    • At least 11-point font size
  • Save your documents as PDFs (or Excel for the budget) and upload to the SeedFunding application (online submission)
     
• A cover sheet (1-page limit; upload as a single PDF) that includes:
  • Title of proposal
  • PI name title, email and department
  • Co-PI, Mentor name (if applicable) and co-investigator names, departments and emails
  • 4-sentence summary of proposed project
  • Amount of funding requested
     
• Body of proposal (3-page limit; upload as a single PDF):
  • Please answer the following questions:
    • Potential impact. Is the knowledge gained from the project likely to inform population health policy, practice, or programs? If so, in what way?
    • Social inequality focus. Does the project have the potential to generate knowledge that will reduce social inequalities in health?
    • Methodological rigor. How will the study design and methods ensure that the project produces robust and reproducible knowledge?
    • Scope & budget. What is your plan for completing the project within the one-year time frame? What is your proposed high-level budget? How does your team intend to navigate any COVID-19 related research restrictions imposed by Stanford University? Have you received IRB approval (please note planned or approved protocols, including approval number or exemptions as appropriate)?
    • Contribution to investigator training in population health research. Will the project facilitate new collaborative work in population health research?
    • Potential to lead to longer-term projects. What steps will you take to help ensure the project develops into a longer-term, comprehensive, collaborative population health project?
  • Also address or include the following:
    • Approvals for animals and human subjects should be addressed ahead of the grant-funding period, include protocol numbers or letter of exemption. Approvals are strictly required for funding dispersal and are generally not a valid rationale for no-cost extension requests.
    • ​If applicable, include approval numbers for animals and human subjects.
      • If not yet approved, reference eprotocol submission status.
      • The eProtocol application must include Spectrum Pilot Grant under "Other Funding" of the funding section.
      • For more information on IRB or APLAC protocol submission, please visit http://humansubjects.stanford.edu or https://researchcompliance.stanford.edu/panels/aplac.
    • For human subjects research, project investigators and their research staff must complete the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) training online (Group 7: IRB BioMed/GCP Research for All Medical Investigators and Staff).
       
• Budget (not part of 3-page limit; upload as a single Excel file)
  • Use provided budget template here.
  • Allowable expenditures include: investigator’s salary, research personnel salaries, travel (if project-related) and project supplies.
    • Budget should include some measurable effort for Principal Investigators (PIs), Co-PIs, and other personnel performing work (associate director and program manager can advise, if needed).​
  • Unallowable expenditures include: capital equipment costing more than $5,000, intellectual property services, and food.
  • Do not include indirect cost expenses.
     
• Budget Justification (not part of 3-page limit; upload as a single PDF)
  • Use provided justification template here.
  • Your budget justification should provide an explanation of factors used to determine costs on each budget line item in your proposal.
     
• Bios (1-paragraph maximum for each key personnel; upload as a single PDF file) are required for the PI, Co-PI(s), and each Key Personnel involved in the Pilot Project.
  • Bios are not part of the 3-page limit.
     

Notes:

• Figures and tables included within the body of the proposal will count towards the 3-page limit.
• References may be included and are not part of the page limit.
• Do not include appendices to the proposal.
• Applications that do not comply with the requirements will not be considered for review.
• Funding will not be dispersed without clearance of any applicable APLAC, IRB or IRB exemption requirements. It is highly preferable that clearance is achieved prior to finalist stage, or by start of grant period on July 1, 2022 at the latest.
• If the research does not involve animals or human subjects, award recipients must provide confirmation.
   

Questions: For questions regarding scope of the proposal, criteria for awards or the review process, contact:

• Eileen Bernabe, Operations Manager, Center for Population Health Sciences: stanpophealth@stanford.edu 
   

To apply for a Spectrum PHS Pilot Grant, please complete and submit this online application. For questions regarding the application process and requirements, please contact Ellen Orasa at eorasa@stanford.edu