This page contains links to descriptions of many of the facilities and resources available to UCSF investigators.

Resources are arranged alphabetically within each organizational type (Department, Center, Institute, etc.). You can also use the "find" function of your internet browser (Ctrl+F / command+F) to search for the desired resource by document title.

Do you have suggestions for other descriptions to add, or see something that needs to be updated? Please let us know by emailing the Research Development Office (rdoinfo@ucsf.edu).

Getting Started

Looking to overhaul your Facilities and Other Resources document? Specific updated descriptions are shown below.  Start by reviewing these general documents:

Why do I need to pay attention to the Facilities/Resources section on the NIH grant application form?

Reviewers need to be able to assess the availability and capability of the organizational resources to perform the work you propose. Under the NIH scoring system, this section is aligned with the scoring criterion “Environment,” and it contains information relevant to potential for success (the essence of the “Overall Impact” score).

Make certain you customize the information you supply (don’t just drop in boilerplate material without   revising it to be specific to your proposal). Describe the organizational resources (people and equipment, organizational units and buildings) available to perform the specific work you are proposing to do. You may use this space to provide details that do not quite fit into other sections of the application. Guidelines do not limit length of this section as long as the material relates back to facilities and resources.

What information must I provide in the Resources section?

Make certain you answer the following questions:

• What facilities will be used? Include the following subheadings (indicate N/A if not applicable):

  • Laboratory

  • Animal

  • Computer

  • Office

  • Clinical

  • Other, e.g., machine shop, electronic shop.

• Biohazards or Other Potentially Dangerous Substances – If you are using anything classified as Select Agent, describe here any special facilities used for working with these substances.

• How will the scientific environment in which the research is to be done contribute to the probability of success? Describe:

  • Institutional support;

  • Physical resources; and

  • Intellectual rapport

• For Early Stage Investigators describe:

  • Institutional investment in your success, e.g., resources for classes, travel, training;

  • Collegial support, e.g., mentors provided through campus, college, division, departmental, or other process; career enrichment programs; assistance and guidance in the supervision of trainees involved with the project; and availability of organized peer groups; and

  • Logistical support, e.g., administrative management and oversight and best practices training; and

  • Financial support such as protected time for research with salary support.

Hints for Writing Effective, Score-Boosting Facilities and Other Resource Sections

When applicable, remember to:

• Elaborate on any collaborations and trans- or interdisciplinary aspects of the proposal (part of the intellectual rapport).

• Emphasize the unique population of the state of California that UCSF serves, i.e., diverse, underserved, high incidences of a particular disease, etc.

• Discuss how the UCSF campus has a well-connected network of sites with access to resources through its geography or layout. If a resource is on the same campus, or next door, emphasize the accessibility.

• Provide ample proof of institutional support, especially if you are a New Investigator or Early-stage Investigator, e.g., mentoring, lab management advisement, intramural RAP grants, Clinical Translational Science Institute, access to equipment via the Research Resource Program, etc.

• Wherever possible in the text of the Research Strategy section refer reviewers to the Resources section. Also, make certain Facilities and Other Resources text aligns with budget requests of the proposal.

• Use adjectives (when true) in describing the resources, e.g., “modern laboratory,” “for high- performance imaging,” “specially constructed unit,” “multifaceted clinical operations,” or “high- throughput analysis.” Other descriptive words: “fully accredited,” “specialized,” “centralized.”

 

SAMPLE FULL DOCUMENT for General UCSF Facilities and Resources (09302024 rev)

 

GENERAL ENVIRONMENT AT UCSF

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), one of the ten campuses of the University of California, is devoted solely to graduate education and research in the health sciences. In both size and number of students, UCSF is the smallest of the UC campuses. Nevertheless, its relative size belies its distinction as one of the leading biomedical research and health science education centers in the world. In addition, UCSF is a major health care delivery center in northern California with a high volume of regional, national, and international patient referrals. In keeping with our overarching mission of advancing health worldwide, UCSF is devoted at every level to serving the public. Over the last century, the original nucleus of affiliated academic schools and divisions (now the Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry) has grown to include a School of Nursing and a Graduate Division. UCSF is one of the leading biomedical research and graduate education centers in the world, and it ranks in the top group of institutions of higher learning in total federal funding for research and training. UCSF has an annual budget of over $9.45 billion to support its various research, teaching, and patient care activities. We are committed to serving as an anchor institution, leveraging this budget as well as substantial human and intellectual resources to improve the long-term health and social welfare of San Francisco. It also significantly contributes to the local economy, employing 22,179 staff and 5,063 faculty, generating 43,000 jobs, directly supporting over 100 community engagement programs, and generating nearly $9 billion in revenue.

Commitment to Research Excellence

UCSF is renowned for its pioneering work in biomedical discovery and translation. Among faculty members are six Nobel laureates and 11 Lasker Foundation awardees, including recipients of the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award and Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award. Among UCSF faculty are also 74 American Academy of Arts and Sciences members, 108 National Academy of Medicine members, 58 National Academy of Science members, 68 American Association for the Advancement of Science members, and 17 Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators or Faculty Scholars. By revealing the fundamental mechanisms of biology, UCSF researchers unlock the secrets of health and disease, forging new paths of investigation and developing innovative technologies to better prevent, treat and cure even the most intractable illnesses. We are deeply committed to a culture of data sharing, the exchange of creative ideas and the development of cross-sector, innovative collaborations. This mix of diverse expertise, technology development, collaboration and entrepreneurial spirit, is leading the way in scientific breakthroughs, discovery and translation to therapies, and is transforming prevention and patient-centered care. UCSF is rapidly emerging as the nexus of a new Bio-Silicon Valley and leader in Precision Medicine. This is where the best and brightest innovators in science, medicine and tech are coming together to redefine possible and improve health worldwide.

The majority of extramural funds received is allocated for biomedical research. Research funding primarily is obtained on a competitive basis from the federal government, particularly NIH. In 2023, UCSF received nearly 1,500 grants and contracts totaling more than $789 million from NIH – the top spot among all public U.S. universities.  In 2018, UCSF was the first public university to surpass the $600 million mark, a feat that has now been repeated for the last five years. In 2023, UCSF’s Schools of Dentistry, Medicine and Pharmacy were first among their national peers, and the School of Nursing was second among public nursing schools and third overall in NIH funding. The School of Pharmacy received $37M, School of Medicine received $700M, School of Dentistry received $27M, and the School of Nursing received $19M in 2023 NIH funding. There are 40 academic departments and over 70 NIH-funded multidisciplinary research center grants including 10 Research Program Projects (P01), 19 Center Core Grants (P30), 4 Specialized Center Grants (P50), and 23 Program (U19)/Center (U54)/Complex Structure Program (UM1) Cooperative Agreements. Additional research funding is received annually from the State of California, the University of California Office of the President, private research foundations, state and local government agencies, private philanthropy, and industry.

Commitment to Outstanding Patient Care

The UCSF Health is a medical center network of more than a half-dozen campuses across the San Francisco Bay Area, and includes approximately 18,000 staff and physicians, maintains 1,290 beds, admits 41,000 patients and has over 2.5 million outpatient visits yearly, and has annual revenue of more than $7 billion. The three main campuses are the UCSF Helen Diller Medical Center at Parnassus Heights, the UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion and the UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay. UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay is an innovative 289-bed complex featuring three separate hospitals, specializing in serving children, women, and cancer patients, as well as a green energy center and a helipad. UCSF faculty have also treated patients and trained students at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital since the school's founding.

In 2023, UCSF Medical Center ranked No. 12 on the US News and World Report’s Best Hospitals Honor Roll. To help patients decide where to receive care, U.S. News generates hospital rankings by evaluating data on nearly 5,000 hospitals in 16 adult medical specialties, 9 adult medical procedures or conditions and 10 pediatric specialties. To be nationally ranked in a specialty, a hospital must excel in caring for the sickest, most medically complex patients. The ratings in procedures and conditions, by contrast, focus on typical Medicare patients. Hospitals that do well in multiple areas of adult care may be ranked in their state and metropolitan area. UCSF Medical Center is ranked nationally in 15 adult specialties and 10 children's specialties. It also achieved the highest rating possible in 8 procedures or conditions. It is nationally ranked in 14 adult and 10 pediatric specialties and rated high performing in 17 adult procedures and conditions. Regionally, UCSF Health-UCSF Medical Center is ranked No. 4 in California. Similarly, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals (San Francisco and Oakland) in 2023 ranked nationally in 10 children’s specialties, and No. 3 in California in the News & World Report annual survey of Best Children’s Hospitals, reflecting the quality of care offered to patients throughout Northern California and beyond.

Commitment to Outstanding Education and Training

The Graduate Division functions as the administrative and quality control unit for more than ~1,166 postdocs and ~3,215 students enrolled in 33 PhD and master’s programs, in disciplines ranging from bioengineering to chemical biology, from biopharmaceutical sciences and pharmacogenomics to nursing, and from global health to sociology (Fall 2020). Alongside these postdocs and students, UCSF trains another ~1,713 clinical residents or fellows, all together representing 94 countries. UCSF’s professional schools (Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy; U.S. News does not rank dental schools) are ranked in the top 12 institutes (measured by academic quality, publication citations of faculty, and amount of extramural support for research and education). In the 2024 medical school rankings, UCSF School of Medicine was the only medical school ranked Tier 1* Best Medical School for primary care and research and #11 for Most Diverse Medical School by US News & World Report.

In 2023 the Graduate Division received more than $32M in training grants, the largest amount given to a public institution. These funds support 19 science and social science doctoral programs, 11 science and health master’s programs, two professional doctorates, and over 1,000 post-doctoral scholars. Graduate programs are organized around several interdisciplinary research areas that often contain members from several departments. UCSF also offers a CTSI-supported Advanced Training in Clinical Research Certificate program and a Master’s Degree in Clinical Research. UCSF has taken national leadership in the establishment of quality standards for the selection, appointment, compensation, and education of postdoctoral scholars. UCSF is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse population. Of the 21,070 UCSF staff, 66% are minorities and 69% are women. Of the approximate 3.800 faculty, 15% are minorities and 50% are women. Of the approximate 6,300 students, postdocs, residents and trainees, 23% are minorities and 58% are women. UCSF is one of the leading biomedical research and graduate education centers in the world, and it ranks in the top group of institutions of higher learning in total federal funding for research and training.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

UCSF Office of Diversity and Outreach

The UCSF Office of Diversity and Outreach (ODO) serves as the campus leader in building diversity in all aspects of the UCSF mission through ongoing assessment, development of new programs and building consensus. ODO collaborates with the four professional schools, the Graduate Division, and the medical centers, to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion across UCSF.

The mission of the Office is to build a broadly diverse faculty, student, trainee and staff community, to nurture a culture that is welcoming and supportive, and to engage diverse ideas for the provision of culturally competent education, discovery and patient care. ODO’s priority is to develop and execute a comprehensive strategic plan for diversity and outreach that supports UCSF’s mission of advancing health worldwide, and the recruitment and retention of talented employees and students who contribute to our commitment to diversity and excellence. Specifically, the Office:

•     Leads outreach efforts to increase the number of underrepresented students at all levels of the educational pipeline, to increase the diversity of the pool for faculty, staff and leadership positions, and to engage the community;

•     Educates others on many issues impacting LGBT populations, communities of color, women and people with disabilities and implement strategies to mitigate negative impact;

•     Facilitates the implementation of equitable and inclusive admission and hiring practices and provide a welcoming climate for all through various programs and initiatives; and

•     Maintains AA/EEO, ADA and Title IX compliance to ensure that all members of our campus are heard and protected.

•     Maintains the Diversity Hub—a database that houses UCSF's ongoing diversity & outreach related initiatives, allowing the community to explore different ways to support and engage in diversity efforts.

•     Operates the Unconscious Bias Education and Training Program that continues to provide a key foundation for improving our awareness of self as it relates to race, gender and other personal identifiers, understanding unintentional consequences in hiring, assessments and promotions processes, and calling us into action to eliminate microaggressions and bias.

School of Medicine Differences Matter Initiative

As the School with the largest number of faculty and trainees, UCSF’s School of Medicine is leading the way in transforming our culture for equity and inclusion so that all may thrive. Differences Matter is a multi-year, multi-faceted School of Medicine initiative designed to make UCSF the most diverse, equitable and inclusive academic medical system in the country. Differences Matter has six focus areas, each led by faculty and staff leaders: Leadership, Climate and Recruitment, Education, Clinical Care, Research, and Pipeline, Outreach and Pathways. The CTSI serves as an essential partner with this initiative, contributing to the overall UCSF goal of diversity and inclusive excellence in all aspects of its clinical, research and educational missions.

 

Campus-Wide Resources

Building Descriptions

UCSF PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS

UCSF SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Established in 1864, the School of Medicine (SOM) is the oldest continuously operating medical school in the western states. Consistently ranked as one of the top five medical schools in the country, it operates facilities at eight major sites in the San Francisco Bay Area and Fresno. Led by Talmadge E. King, Jr., MD, Dean of the SOM and Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs, SOM was ranked number one in NIH funding, receiving $700M in total NIH funding in 2023. With 28 departments, eight organized research units and six interdisciplinary centers, medical school faculty and staff reach beyond the neighborhood to bring cutting-edge scientific research and complex clinical care to the nation and the world. Consistently ranked among the nation's top medical schools in NIH dollars awarded, the UCSF School of Medicine earns its greatest distinction from its outstanding faculty – among them are seven Nobel laureates, 12 Lasker awardees, six Shaw Prize holders, three Breakthrough Prize in Life Science awardees, 118 National Academy of Medicine members, 64 American Academy of Arts and Sciences members, 51 National Academy of Sciences members, 14 Royal Society members, 68 elected Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and 17 Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators.

UCSF SCHOOL OF PHARMACY

Founded in 1872, the School of Pharmacy was the first college of pharmacy established in the west and the tenth in the US. It continues to be ranked as the best Doctor of Pharmacy degree program in the nation by US News and World Report and has been the largest school of pharmacy recipient of NIH research funding every year since 1979 (with over $37M in 2023). The UCSF School of Pharmacy is led by Dean Kathy Giacomini, BS Pharm, PhD, and houses three departments (Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, Clinical Pharmacy, and Pharmaceutical Chemistry) that collectively work to improve the health of people everywhere through leading therapeutics-related research, education, and patient care, and public and professional service. The School of Pharmacy is also home to the Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI), led by Dr. Nevan Krogan. QBI fosters collaborations across the biomedical and the physical sciences, seeking quantitative methods to address pressing problems in biology and biomedicine. The School of Pharmacy was the first to train pharmacists as clinical health care providers who specialize in a patient's comprehensive drug therapy and management. The School of Pharmacy administers the California Poison Control System and responds to approximately 600,000 poisoning inquiries each year, saving $30 million annually in medical treatment costs.

UCSF SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY

Founded in 1881, the UCSF School of Dentistry student dentists, residents and faculty handle over 120,000 patient visits a year in their comprehensive UCSF Dental Center, and their students staff numerous community-based externship sites. It has ranked as a top US dental school in research funding from the National Institutes of Health for over 25 years; it received $27M in NIH-funding in 2023. It is also the home to several leading translational research programs exemplified by the multidisciplinary research centers in Sjögren’s syndrome, oral health disparities (Center to Address Children's Oral Health Disparities or CAN DO), and oral HIV/AIDS (OHARA), and is the administrative home of the UCSF Healthforce Center for Research and Leadership Development. The school is led by Dean Michael Reddy, DMD, DMSc, and is comprised of four academic departments -- Orofacial Sciences, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Preventive and Restorative Dentistry, and Cell and Tissue Biology -- and employs approximately 593 faculty members, including three members of the Institute of Medicine and one member of the National Academy of Sciences.

The school has strong cross-campus research activities in stem cell research, craniofacial biology, oral/head and neck cancer, tobacco regulatory science, health disparities, and dental quality improvement, and conducts basic sciences research in several important areas, including biomaterials/bioengineering, cell and tissue biology, and hard tissue biology. The school has been a pioneer in AIDS research, with more than 25 years as the repository of the San Francisco AIDS Specimen Bank. New cross-campus research activities that have the School of Dentistry as primary home include the Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Group, which seeks to discover new mechanisms of pathogenesis and develop novel therapeutic approaches that can be translated to the clinic, and the UCSF Correlative Microscopy Facility, which integrates traditional high resolution light with electron and X-ray microscopy techniques to visualize biological systems from atoms to tissues to organs – linking structure to function.

UCSF SCHOOL OF NURSING

Founded in 1939 as the first autonomous school of nursing in any state university, the USCF School of Nursing (SON) was the first university west of the Mississippi to offer a doctoral degree in nursing and is now led by Dean Carol Dawson-Rose, PhD, RN, FAAN, who is also UCSF Associate Vice Chancellor for Nursing Affairs. The school ranks number one in NIH funding, with $19.2 million in 2023, with another $40 million in grants and contracts coming from regional and state agencies and foundations.  The administrative structure of the SON includes Associate Deans for Research, Diversity, Inclusion and Outreach, Education Programs, Clinical Affairs, Academic Affairs and Administration and Finance, all of whom report to the Dean. A Center for Symptom Management promotes cross-departmental and multidisciplinary research focusing on interventions to prevent and alleviate symptoms. Several other centers of research excellence investigate significant problems in acute and chronic care and policy. The SON has 72 faculty researchers who produced 518 peer-reviewed publications in fiscal year 2021-2022. The SON earns its greatest distinction from its outstanding faculty: eight endowed chairs, 50 Faculty inducted as Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing, nine faculty are named Living legends by the American Academy of Nursing, and eight are members of the Institute of Medicine. The latter achievement is unequaled by any other nursing school. The UCSF School of Nursing houses four academic departments and one organized research unit: Community Health Systems, Family Health Care Nursing, Institute for Health & Aging, Physiological Nursing Social & Behavioral Sciences, and one organized research unit, Institute for Health & Aging.

SON Office of Research. The Office of Research offers an array of research resources, including: (1) reviews of Specific Aims pages; (2) mock reviews of grants prior to submission; (3) access to a grant writing coach for early-stage faculty; (4) a Collaborative Learning Environment (CLE) intranet with resources and templates to assist with proposal submission and post-award implementation and management of research projects; (5) a grant writing library of successful research and training grants; (6) a research office website highlighting research themes and information; (7) research design and methods workshops for faculty development; (8) regular reports of the research status of the SON; and (9) research space and research core facilities.

Institute for Health & Aging. The Institute for Health and Aging (IHA) was established as the Aging Health Policy Center by the School of Nursing in 1979 to foster multidisciplinary collaborative research, education, and public service in the fields of health policy and aging. In 1985, the Institute became an Organized Research Unit of the University of California and was re-designated as the IHA. Funding of IHA programs is provided by the University and State of California, the federal government, private foundations, corporations, and individuals. Since being established in 1985, IHA has been successful in obtaining $326 million in extramural funding. Faculty at the Institute represent multiple disciplines and health professions, including sociology, psychology, anthropology, political science, economics, public administration, public health, social work, nursing, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, and law.  There are 26 Institute faculty members and more than 60 research and administrative staff.  Institute research includes aging and chronic illness, health promotions, health economics, bioethics, Medicare and Medicaid, health care financing, social security and elder economic security, long term services and supports, home and community-based caregiving services, health of diverse populations, and women’s health.  In each of these areas, Institute faculty examine a range of basic and applied issues.  IHA is home to two centers of research excellence. The Dorothy Pechman Rice Center for Health Economics was established in May 2000 to provide training and mentoring to health economics professionals, conduct research, and disseminate health economics information to professional and lay audiences. The Community Living Policy Center is aimed at identifying methods of improving the long-term services and support system in the states, improving data collection on community living policy, and developing a strategic plan for community living research. 

Departments