Center for Empathy and Technology Seed Grant RFA (FY2025-FY2026)

Background 

The Center for Empathy and Technology, operating within the T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion, invites applications for seed grant research proposals. The mission of the Center is to make compassion toward others the default practice in medicine, public health, and society at large. Technology is tightly woven into the fabric of the world today; therefore, the work of the Center is focused on using technology in ways that promote – rather than undermine – empathy, compassion, and well-being.  

Proposal Description 

The intention of this one-year seed grant funding is to foster projects that: 

  • Use advanced technology (such as artificial intelligence, digital health or precision medicine) to study, measure, or enhance empathy and compassion. 
  • Investigate how technology shapes empathy and compassion in health-related contexts, including impacts on individuals’ well-being, social relationships, healthcare delivery, medical education, institutions, and broader societal outcomes. 

Projects may be proof-of-concept, pilot, or early stage and may be de novo or add-ons to existing studies. Studies that also address the concerns of vulnerable or special populations are encouraged.

Eligibility

Applicants must be UC San Diego faculty or research scientists. Projects that include faculty from at least two schools or divisions (e.g., Health Sciences and Engineering, Health Sciences and Social Sciences) are encouraged.  

About the Award 

Awards are non-renewable and for a period of one year. The level of funding for projects supported under this RFA is not to exceed $30,000.  Funding awarded may be less than the requested amount and will be determined based on the availability of funds.  Awards are anticipated to begin on or around February 1, 2026. 

Application Deadlines and Notices of Awards

❖  First Stage Application due date:                                  October 15, 2025, by 5pm (Pacific Time)

❖  Notice of Invitation for Second Stage Application:      October 20, 2025 (Pacific Time)

❖  Second Stage Application due date:                            November 17, 2025, by 5pm (Pacific Time)

❖  Notice of award:                                                             January 9, 2025 (on or around)

❖  Project start date:                                                           February 1, 2026 (on or around)

Submission Guidelines

First Stage Application – Letter of Intent

The goal of the first stage application is to determine whether your project is aligned with our Center’s mission, as well as the general feasibility of the project. Proposed projects should not be longer than 12 months in duration.

Please submit a 500-word abstract that will be scored by the review committee. The abstract should include:

    a) the project title

    b)  a list of research team members (please include a NIH biosketch or equivalent for each investigator); 

    c)  the research question;

    d)  the relevance of the project outcomes to empathy, compassion, and technology; 

    e)  proposed methodologies.

 

All applicants will be notified of the outcome of the review, and those selected to submit a second stage application will receive further instructions at this time. 

  • The second stage application will require a more thorough description of the project’s research plan and methods and a detailed budget and budget justification. Second stage proposals will be reviewed by a committee comprised of UC San Diego faculty and members of Center leadership. 
  • The Center hopes to fund proposals likely to lead to follow-on studies supported by external funding. Therefore, applicants are encouraged to articulate a plan for how the pilot funds would result in the submission of at least one proposal for external funding (i.e., to federal, state, and/or private source(s)) within two years of the date that funds are made available. 

Expectations for Funded Projects

  1. Research teams will be expected to communicate regularly with Center staff, and progress reports will be required at the half-way point (6-months) and at the conclusion (12-months).
  2. Any data or software developed as a part of the proposed project will be made available under an open source license (e.g., see http://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/).
  3. In the Research Plan, awarded proposals will include a section describing any project outcomes that relate to empathy and compassion and how those outcomes will be assessed/measured.
  4. Faculty whose applications are funded will be asked to (a) have their names and a description of their projects listed on the Center’s website, (b) acknowledge the Center and Institute in all products that arise from work funded by the award, (c) be willing to serve as a reviewer for future Seed Grant RFAs, and (d) disseminate research findings via periodic research presentations to Center interest groups. 


For Inquiries

Kimberly Center, M.A. (kcenter@health.ucsd.edu)

Research Project Manager, Center for Empathy and Technology 

T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion

 

Cinnamon Bloss, Ph.D. (cbloss@ucsd.edu)

Director, Center for Empathy and Technology

Associate Director, T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion

Professor, Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science

We use Submittable to accept and review our submissions.
Apply