Population Health

Funding and awards

The Population Health Initiative either offers or cross-promotes a number of funding opportunities for undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty.

Undergraduate students

Recognition and travel awards are available through partnerships with Undergraduate Academic Affairs and the Odegaard Undergraduate Library. Undergraduates are also welcome to apply for Mary Gates scholarships.

Undergraduate Research Symposium recognition awards

Recognition awards are available for innovative, interdisciplinary and well-presented research ideas relevant to population health as part of the Undergraduate Research Symposium each spring. The awards were created in partnership with the Undergraduate Research Program and are for students from all three campuses planning to present at the annual symposium.

Interested students will have the option to submit a 250-word description of how their research aligns with the theme of population health. Leaders of the Population Health Initiative will select standout applications, each of whom will receive a recognition gift with value of approximately $100.

Meet the 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 awardees.

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Undergraduate research conference travel awards

The Population Health Initiative has partnered with the Undergraduate Research Program to offer funding for travel awards. Requests for up to $750 will be considered for travel to conferences specific to population health.

Applicants from all three UW campuses will complete the normal travel award application. They will also be asked to submit a 250-word description of how their research aligns with the theme of population health. Leaders of the Population Health Initiative will review applications and offer their input into the selection of the awardees. Meet the 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2021-22 awardees.

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Library Research Award for undergraduates

Recognition awards of $250 each will be available for innovative, interdisciplinary or well-written research papers or creative projects relevant to population health. The awards are offered each spring in partnership with University Libraries as part of its Library Research Award for Undergraduates program.

Applicants from all three UW campuses will have the option to submit an additional 250-word description of how their research aligns with the theme of population health. Leaders of the Population Health Initiative will select standout applications.

Meet the 2017, 20182019, 2021, 2022 and 2023 awardees.

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Mary Gates scholarships

The Mary Gates Endowment for Students provides financial support to undergraduates from all disciplines who are involved in research or leadership activities on campus or in the community.

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Graduate students

We offer pilot awards to support research projects as well as travel awards for graduate students who have been accepted to present their work at a conference. Graduate students can also apply for travel awards through the Graduate School and Latino Center for Health, and for project funding through the UW’s Northwest Center for Public Health Practice.

Pilot research grants

The Population Health Initiative seeks to create a world where all people can live healthier and more fulfilling lives.

In support of that vision, the initiative is pleased to offer population health pilot research grants of up to $25,000 each to University of Washington graduate students and post-doctoral scholars.

Applications for the next round of funding can be submitted beginning in early 2022.

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Population health conference travel awards

Population Health Graduate Student Conference Travel Awards of up to $1,500 are available to further students’ academic, research, or professional goals as they strive to become the next generation of leaders in population health. The application periods were postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic and have not been restarted. Meet the 2017, 2018 and 2019 award winners.

These awards are open to graduate students on all three UW campuses who:

  1. Are currently enrolled in a graduate or professional degree program.
  2. Have been accepted to present a population health-related paper, poster, or exhibit, or to serve as an invited speaker, at a conference, symposium, or other professional and academic meeting. Students in the arts may request funding for invited performances or installations.

Applicants cannot apply for retroactive reimbursement for a conference or other meeting already attended. Travel expenses for this award will be reimbursed after being incurred, with the exception of airfare, which can be purchased in advance by working with the UW’s preferred travel agency.

In order to apply, an applicant must be nominated by a faculty member. Once nominated, applicants will receive an email with a link to their portion of the application. Students are encouraged to invite their faculty mentors to consider a nomination.

Applications will be reviewed by leaders of the Population Health Initiative to select successful applicants. Selection criteria include:

  • Quality of the application
  • Importance of participation in the conference to the applicant’s long-term goals
  • Demonstrated need for funding

Faculty Nomination Form

Graduate Funding Information Services

Graduate Funding Information Services (GFIS) works with current and admitted UW graduate students, helping them identify and locate funding opportunities for graduate school-related expenses including tuition, research, conference and research travel.

Students can visit GFIS during drop-in advising hours, schedule individual appointments or request information by email. Students can also visit the GFIS Funding Resources Guide and blog to learn about campus funding resources, databases, search strategies and events.

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Graduate School travel awards

The UW Office of Postdoc Affairs supports the professional and career development of the university’s postdocs by supporting travel to professional meetings.

Limited funds are available each quarter to help postdocs defray some conference registration and travel costs under certain circumstances.

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Northwest Center for Public Health Practice project awards

The Northwest Center for Public Health Practice supports health professions students in completing practice-based projects.

Stipends are distributed directly to students and are intended to help them defray living expenses during their hands-on training experience.

Awards of up to $3,500 are typically available.

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Faculty

The Population Health Initiative offers pilot research grants to interdisciplinary teams of UW faculty who seek to address major challenges we face in population health. We also offer a Population Health Innovation Award in partnership with CoMotion.

Pilot research grants

The Population Health Initiative seeks to create a world where all people can live healthier and more fulfilling lives.

In support of that vision, the initiative is pleased to offer three tiers of population health pilot research grants ranging in size from $25,000 to $200,000 each to University of Washington faculty.

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Population Health Innovation Award

The Population Health Initiative partners every spring with CoMotion to offer a Population Health Innovation Award through its Innovation Fund.

The Population Health Innovation Award funds projects that both support the vision of the Population Health Initiative and fulfill CoMotion’s criteria of eventually becoming sustainable commercial or social ventures.

Funds of up to $40,000 will be awarded to researchers for direct project costs for 12 months, with an additional $10,000 for business development. All applicants must adhere to CoMotion’s application process. Details regarding the winning applications from 2018, 2019, 20202021, 2022 and 2023 can be found by visiting our latest news page.

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Chronic disease pilot program

The Population Health Initiative partnered with Novo Nordisk and the University of Washington’s Engineering Innovation in Health program to launch a pilot grant program intended to catalyze innovative projects seeking to prevent, mitigate or reverse the impact of chronic disease on domestic and international populations.

Two awards of $100,000 and one of $50,000 across two areas of focus were available to support UW researchers in testing scalable ideas that seek to better understanding at the intersections of biology, data, digital tools, behavior and financial implications.

Applications were due on Tuesday, May 31, 2022.

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Climate change planning grants

The Population Health Initiative is seeking planning grant applications from the University of Washington research community to support investigators in launching new collaborations that will take on pressing climate-related challenges.

Awards of up to $10,000 each are available with a project period of no more than two months. Applications are due by May 1, 2023.

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The University of Washington’s Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute, CoMotion, Office of Global Affairs, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Institute of Translational Health Sciences and the Office of Research, as well as the Gates Foundation, also offer their own funding mechanisms that support similar work.

UW Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute

The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute seeks to stimulate and facilitate substance abuse research at the University of Washington. One way this is accomplished is through the Small Grants Program, which awards grants of up to $30,000 each to UW researchers for pilot studies and developmental research.

Substance abuse research is interpreted broadly to include everything from basic studies of the pharmacology of drugs of abuse to studies of clinical treatment strategies, prevention and social policy issues. Application deadlines are March and October 15.

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UW CoMotion

CoMotion is the UW’s collaborative innovation hub, delivering the tools and connections that UW researchers and students need to accelerate the impact of their innovations.

The CoMotion Innovation Fund is a partnership between CoMotion and the Washington Research Foundation to provide up to $1 million per year for applied research. CoMotion also supports several competitions.

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UW Global Innovation Fund

The UW Office of Global Affairs provides initial support for initiatives and programs that enhance the University’s global engagement and reach in areas such as population health.

Offers funding of up to $20,000, with awards covering up to 75% of the total program cost. The balance must be matched by departments.

Applications are accepted during Fall Quarter.

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UW Institute of Translational Health Sciences

The UW’s Institute of Translational Health Sciences offers a variety of funding for novel, innovative and collaborative translational and clinical research.

Areas of specific focus include supporting junior investigators, incentivizing new collaborations, improving the conduct of clinical trial research and supporting collaborations between academic and community investigators.

Applications for funding are accepted at different time periods throughout the year.

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UW Royalty Research Fund

The Royalty Research Fund, managed by the Office of Research, supports UW faculty seeking to establish new research programs.

These one-year awards of up to $40,000 are funded from royalty and licensing fee income generated by the University’s technology transfer program.

Submissions are accepted on the last Monday of September and the first Monday in March every year.

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Gates Foundation Grand Challenges Explorations

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation seeks to foster early-stage discovery research through its Grand Challenges Explorations grants. Initial grants of $100,000 each are available, with projects that show promise eligible to receive additional funding of up to $1 million.

These grants are intended to grow the pipeline of ideas for solving the most challenging global health and development issues. Applicants can be at any experience level, in any discipline, and from any organization.

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