Seed Grant Programs

The Department of Surgery's Seed Grant Programs support work that addresses a clear and important gap in knowledge. Proposed studies must offer a unique or previously unpublished contribution to the field and will be assessed based on potential for seed grant to lead to follow on funding. 

Eligibility:

• All Department of Surgery faculty are eligible—including affiliated faculty (i.e.,VAMC, etc)

• Trainees are NOT eligible

• All types of research are eligible: basic, HSR, clinical trials, technology development, education, global surgery

• Can fund personnel, equipment, reagents, consultants, etc. (justification must be included in proposal)

Funding: 

• Total first round funding $250,000, 3-6 proposals selected

• Accepting proposals with budgets ranging from $10,000 - $50,000

• Funding duration: 12 months

*Amounts subject to change based on financial circumstances

Research Seed Grants

Research seed grant proposals include hypothesis-driven projects in the categories of (1) basic and translational science, with potential for future applications to a clinical condition, and (2) health services/outcomes/education research with potential for a future interventional study. At least one research grant will be reserved for a proposal that addresses the topic of racial justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.  All Research Seed Grant proposals should be oriented toward generating pilot data for an external funding proposal. In the case of the racial justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion proposals the planned external funding proposal should seek to advance our knowledge or to develop an intervention to address racial equity and social justice in medicine.

Technology/Innovation Seed Grants

Technology/Innovation projects are focused on the development of technology such as new medical devices, drugs, and apps intended to improve the care of patients. 

These projects do not include “hypothesis-driven” research on commercially available technology/devices, such as an early observational study of devices from outside vendors.

These projects should typically involve some form of IP development, and resources should be used to further the development of the technology. Examples include prototyping of medical devices, engaging clinical/regulatory consultants, developing an intellectual property strategy, medicinal chemistry formulation work, and many others. 

At the end of the period of funding, it is anticipated that grantees will be able to secure further innovation-focused funding from Stanford-specific programs (Coulter Foundation, Spectrum, SPARK, etc.), federal sources (SBIR/STTR grants, FDA grants), or private investors (VCs, Angel investors, strategics). The ultimate goal of this program is to enable the translation of Stanford Surgery ideas into “first-in-human” or “proof of concept” clinical trials at Stanford. These proposals will be reviewed and graded by the Innovation Council (IC). 
Apply

Apply

All seed grant applications (both research and technology development) Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at 11:59 pm.  The complete application should be no more than 2 pages including figures, single-spaced with a minimum of 11-point font. Applications are limited to one per faculty member. Priority will be given for applications that have a clear path to future funding mechanisms. Applications should be submitted via this form.

Feel free to direct questions regarding research proposals to Drs. Olivia Martinez (omm@stanford.edu) or Arden Morris (ammsurg@stanford.edu) and innovation proposals to Dr. Carla Pugh (cpugh@stanford.edu)

Awardees

HSR-Clinical Category

"PLEDGE to end childhood gun deaths" -Stephanie Chao, MD Pediatric Surgery

Basic-Translational Category

"TollGut: a functional map of human intenstinal epithelial cell activity in response to microbial components in IBD" -Alma-Marina Cepika, MD PhD General Surgery

Transdisciplinary Seed Grant Program

Overview

The Departments of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine and Surgery invite applications for the Transdisciplinary Seed Grant Program, designed to catalyze novel research collaborations between departmental faculty in UML, UTL, NTL, and CE lines and experts in fields outside of medicine (e.g., computer science, engineering, physics, mathematics, chemistry, design, or the social sciences).

This initiative supports high-risk, high-reward pilot projects that integrate novel insights, tools, or approaches to address challenges in perioperative care, surgical innovation, pain management, critical care, and related fields.

Program Goals

  • Foster new collaborations between investigators in Anesthesiology, Surgery and external disciplines.
  • Enable early-stage, exploratory projects that are not yet supported by traditional funding.
  • Lay the groundwork for extramural grant applications (e.g., R01, U01, Smart Health, or industry partnerships).
  • Promote innovative solutions to clinically relevant problems.

Funding Details

  • Award Amount: Up to $50,000
  • Project Duration: 24 months
  • Funding Start Date: January, 2026

Eligibility Criteria

  • Faculty in UML, UTL, NTLR, and CE lines
  • Proposals must have at least three PIs:
  • One PI with a primary appointment in anesthesiology and another PI with a primary appointment in surgery.
  • One PI with expertise outside of medicine or surgery (e.g., Computer Science, Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Design, Data Science, etc.).

Application Instructions

Applications should be submitted as a single PDF and include:

1. Cover Page

- Project title
- Names, titles, departments, and emails of Multi-PIs
- Total budget requested

2. Project Proposal (3 pages max)

  - Specific aims
  - Background and significance
  - Innovation and transdisciplinary approach
  - Preliminary data (if applicable)
  - Proposed methods
  - Anticipated impact and future funding plans; include specific target funding mechanism (R or U grant, industry, etc)

3. Lay Summary (200 words - for internal communication and donor updates)

4. NIH Biosketch for each PI (5 pages max per PI)

5. Budget and Justification (1 page)

- Allowable expenses: personnel (non-faculty), supplies, computing costs, core facility costs, pilot studies

- Not allowable: PI salary, conference travel

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be reviewed by a multidisciplinary committee using the following criteria:

  • Transdisciplinary scope and novelty of collaboration through shared aims and mixed methods not achievable by one discipline alone.
  • Innovation and risk-taking beyond traditional grant mechanisms
  • Scientific merit and clarity of hypothesis
  • Clinical relevance and potential for impact
  • Feasibility of approach within the funding period
  • Path to future extramural funding

Key Dates

  • RFA Release: August 12, 2025
  • Application Deadline: November 14, 2025
  • Funding Decisions Announced: December 12, 2025
  • Funding Start Date: January 5, 2026

Post-Award Expectations

  • Participation in annual research symposium
  • Submission of a brief annual progress report. Carry forward is contingent on satisfactory progress.
  • Presentation at a departmental seminar/grand rounds upon completion

Submission and Contact

Email completed applications as a single PDF to:
Flora Truong, Department of Surgery
ftruong@stanford.edu

Barbara Chargin, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine bchargin@stanford.edu

Any questions about this opportunity can also be referred to the same administrative contacts.