PRE-Proposal Application REview (PREPARE)

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

The primary mission of PREPARE is to improve funding success through pre-submission grant proposal review for faculty submitting NIH or foundation grant proposals. Eligible grant types include the following: R01, R21, R34, U01, and Ks.

The program will provide expert peer-review of:

  1. Full drafts of grant proposals: Please request this review as early as you can. Grant materials will be due to reviewers one week before the review, which will be scheduled at your convenience.
  2. Proposal concept sheets (one to two pages): Suggested lead time for these requests is at least two months before the submission deadline; the review will occur approximately one month before the submission deadline. Materials will be due to reviewers one week before the scheduled review.
  3. Proposal summary sheet: Reviewers will review the summary sheets together with the corresponding application and strategize with you about ways to respond and resubmit. Suggested lead time for these requests is at least two months before the submission deadline; the review will occur approximately one month before the submission deadline. Materials will be due to reviewers one week before the scheduled review.
  4. Rapid Response: Requests submitted after the deadlines noted above will be accommodated on a case-by-case basis. 


Faculty in the Department of Medicine are encouraged to serve as reviewers and reviewees.

 APPLY TO BE A REVIEWER                    REQUEST review 

For more information, click here to contact us. 


Meet the Team

Program Co-Directors

Lawrence Fong, MD is the Efim Guzik Distinguished Professor in Cancer Biology and leads the Cancer Immunotherapy Program at the UCSF.  He also co-directs the Parker Institute of Cancer Immunotherapy at UCSF and co-leads the Cancer Immunity Program in the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.  He is a physician-scientist in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology directing both a translational research program and an NIH funded research lab. He has served on multiple NIH study sections, the NCI Steering Committees for Genitourinary Cancer (GUSC), the NCI Investigational Drugs (IDSC)-Immunotherapy Task Force, and the Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP) Vision Setting Committee.

Judith Hahn, PhD is a Professor of Medicine in the HIV, ID, and Global Medicine Division in the Department of Medicine. She leads multiple studies to reduce the harmful impact of alcohol use on HIV outcomes, primarily in east Africa, and is a pioneer in the use of biological markers as objective measures for alcohol use. She has been the PI on numerous NIH-funded grants. Judy co-leads a workshop on writing R01 grant proposals, conducts one-on-one mentoring within the CTSI K Scholars Program, and directs a course on writing training grants as part of the doctoral program in Epidemiology and Translational Science and is an experienced NIH study section reviewer.

 Program Coordinator

Ilona ParedesIlona Paredes is a Project Manager in the Chair’s Office for the Department of Medicine. She provides analytical support to the central administration team to ensure the smooth functioning of DOM’s activities to plan, coordinate, and implement departmental initiatives. In addition, she organizes and hosts high visibility division Chief recruitments, facilitates space and facilities projects, compiles the monthly research newsletter, and provides administrative support to the DOM’s Senior Advisor for Strategy and Policy; Chris Cassel, whose work is related to bioethics and new technologies.