SCI 2026 Community Impact Research Grants-Special AI Focused Call for Proposals
The Stanford Cancer Institute (SCI) serves the heterogeneous Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Alameda, Contra Costa, Monterey, San Benito, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Merced counties, prioritizing breast, colorectal, lung, pancreas, or prostate cancers. In recognition of the needs of these 10 counties, the SCI Office of Community Outreach and Engagement is calling for community impact research proposals.
COE will award up to 3 demonstration grants that design and pilot test novel strategies for using artificial intelligence (AI) to address one of the following topics:
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Prevention and early detection of obesity-related cancers (i.e., breast, colorectal, pancreas, liver, uterine) in food insecure communities.
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Community health worker interventions to improve access to care (e.g., screening, cancer treatment) in agricultural counties (i.e., Monterey, San Benito, Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Merced).
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Increasing cancer clinical trial access among subgroups with higher disease burden and who are underrepresented in trials at SCI (e.g., Blacks/African Americans, Latino, rural/agricultural areas, low-socioeconomic status).
Funding:
Awards will be granted for 2 years and up to $70,000. The award period is October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2028. We anticipate funding 2-3 total awards in 2026. To facilitate community engagement, all payments to community partners will be covered and administered by the SCI Office of Community Outreach and Engagement using a standardized pay scale.
In accordance with University research guidelines, funds may be used for:
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PI Salary Support (minimum of 1% of the NIH salary cap ($221,900) not to exceed 10% of total award)
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Other personnel directly supporting the proposed project
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Payments to research subjects/participants (as applicable).
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Equipment and supplies SCI will allow up to $5,000 for capital equipment
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Once awarded, compliance documents (IRB or APLAC) will need to be obtained to process the PDRF in the Stanford Electronic Research Administration (SERA) system
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Only DIRECTS should be shown in the budget
Review Criteria:
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Catchment Area Relevance. Is the project being conducted in direct response to a request from a community partners or the SCI Community Advisory Board? Is the project motivated by data of relevance to the catchment area?
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Addressing High Priority Topic. Does the project address one of the stated topic areas? Will the research findings contribute to our understanding of one of the specified research topics? Will the project inform impactful interventions in the community? Will the project inform efforts to reduce disparities in cancer outcomes?
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Potential for External Funding. If successful, will the project produce strong preliminary data to support a larger full-scale proposal?
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Community Engagement. Are individuals or organizations with knowledge of the communities under study included in the proposal? How have these partners contributed to the proposal? Is the engagement plan likely to strengthen the partnership? Are the benefits and potential risks to the community partners clearly articulated?
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Methods. Do the investigators propose a research plan that is consistent with the goals of the project? Is the research design well described? Is the research feasible?
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Timeline and Budget. Have the investigators included a detailed timeline, including community engagement activities? Is it feasible to carry out the proposed activities in a two-year time period? Is the proposed budget within the limit of $70,000 total?
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PI and Research Team. Is the PI a member of an SCI RP? Does the team have the necessary expertise (e.g., subject, AI, community knowledge) to carry out the proposed project? Does the project include investigators from more than one RP? Is the project likely to enhance collaboration across disciplines, between early-stage and more senior investigators or across RPs?
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Human Subjects. Has the PI applied for approval from the Internal Review Board (as applicable)?
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Resources. Does the team have access to resources required for the project (e.g., data, people, technology)?
- Community Impact
- Community Engagement
- Research Integration
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Open to Stanford faculty with PI eligibility (with UTL, MCL, NTLR faculty appointments) and Clinical Educator (CE) faculty with an approved PI waiver.
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PIs must be members of the SCI. Co-investigators are not required to be members of SCI.
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Clinical instructors, instructors, graduate students and post-doctoral scholars (clinical and non-clinical) may serve as co-PI or co-investigator, but are required to include a PI-eligible faculty member as lead PI on the application.
Please note, University Research Agreements (URAs) now require COI (OPACS) for all Co-PIs. As a Co-PI on this project, your Conflicts of Interest (COI) form must be completed before this award amendment can be released in SERA. Please be sure to go into OPACS https://opacs.stanford.edu/ to complete your COI declarations for the noted project if you haven't done so
Brief progress reports will be required at 6 and 12 months after funding begins. Off-cycle progress reports will be requested if the award recipient is leaving the University. All recipients will be asked to present the proposal and final results of their funded research project to the SCI Community Advisory Board and to participate in a workshop to facilitate community engagement.
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A cover sheet (1-page limit; upload as a single PDF) that includes:
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Title of proposal
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PI name title, email and department
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Co-PI, Mentor name (if applicable) and co-investigator names, departments and emails
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4-sentence summary of proposed project
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Amount of funding requested
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Body of proposal (3-page limit; upload as a single PDF)
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Specific Aims (1 page)
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Approach, including research design, team members and areas of expertise, data, settings, subjects, and analysis plan. (2 pages)
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Timeline (1/2 page)
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Methods. How will the proposed study design and methods ensure you are able to achieve your project goals and objectives?
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Timeline and budget. What is your plan for completing the project within the one-year time frame? What is your proposed high-level budget?
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Contribution to investigator’s training. Will the project facilitate new collaborative work for the investigator in cancer disparities research?
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Potential to lead to longer-term projects. What steps will you take to help ensure the project develops into a long-term, comprehensive, collaborative project?
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Human subjects. If applicable, have you applied for or received approval for human subjects’ research (please provide your application, approval, or exemption reference information)?
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Budget (not part of 3-page limit; upload as a single Excel file) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Qu_-LJ0rKcMaI_DU4wH2yd35YZ5XOz1C/editusp=sharing&ouid=109573846026859517863&rtpof=true&sd=true
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Allowable expenditures include investigator’s salary, research personnel salaries, travel (if project-related) and project supplies.
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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).
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Unallowable expenditures include capital equipment costing more than $5,000, intellectual property services, and food.
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Do not include indirect cost expenses.
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Use of gift cards will not be permitted.
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Budget Justification (not part of 3-page limit; upload as a single PDF).
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Proposal Routing Form (not part of 3-page limit). Please download, complete, and attach the Proposal Routing Form (available at https://med.stanford.edu/cancer/research/funding.html).
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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
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Figures and tables included within the body of the proposal will count towards the 3-page limit.
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References may be included and are not part of the page limit.
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Do not include appendices to the proposal.
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If human subjects are involved, you must submit your eProtocol application or approval reference information before funds can be distributed.
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Applications that do not comply with the above requirements will not be considered for review.
Awards will be granted for 2 years and up to $70,000. The award period is October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2028. We anticipate funding 2-3 total awards in 2026.
In accordance with University research guidelines, funds may be used for:
- PI Salary Support (minimum of 1% of the NIH salary cap ($221,900) not to exceed 10% of total award)
- Other personnel directly supporting the proposed project
-
Equipment and supplies
- SCI will allow up to 5K for capital equipment
- Once awarded, compliance documents (IRB or APLAC) will need to be obtained to process the PDRF in the Stanford Electronic Research Administration (SERA) system
- Only DIRECTS should be shown in the budget
