2026 Maternal Smoking Cessation Initiative Award

The Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP), operated by the University of California's Research Grants Program Office, is soliciting applications for its 2026 Maternal Smoking Cessation Initiative (MSCI) Award. The program seeks to address urgent public health needs by funding innovative, culturally-tailored interventions aimed at supporting smoking cessation among pregnant individuals in California’s communities disproportionately burdened by tobacco-related disease and poor maternal health outcomes. The MSCI Award is grounded in the 2024 Surgeon General’s call to action and is structured to address the compounded effects of structural inequities, environmental factors, and targeted commercial tobacco marketing that drive these health disparities. The MSCI Award includes two funding mechanisms. The Partnered-MSCI Award funds equitable research partnerships between a Community Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) and an Academic Co-PI. This two-year, split-budget award supports the collaborative development and evaluation of smoking cessation interventions tailored to specific cultural, social, and geographic contexts. The maximum direct cost is $500,000 per year, evenly split between the academic and community institutions. The design must be rooted in community-partnered participatory research principles and include a Community Advisory Board. Required expenses include mandatory travel to the TRDRP conference and potential dissemination activities. Indirect costs are fully allowed for non-UC institutions, and capped for UC institutions at 35% on-campus and 25% off-campus. Eligibility for the Partnered-MSCI requires a California-based Community Co-PI affiliated with a community-serving organization and an Academic Co-PI based at a California university or nonprofit research institution. Both PIs must hold appropriate authority or PI status in their respective institutions. Applicants must demonstrate capacity for equitable collaboration, community engagement, and intervention sustainability. Community-based organizations may include school districts, health clinics, tribal entities, and other nonprofits serving California residents. Both Co-PIs are required to be registered in the SmartSimple grants management system and collaborate on all aspects of the research proposal. Applicants must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) by August 21, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. PT. Invitations to submit full applications will be issued on September 8, 2025. Final applications are due by October 30, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. PT. Award notifications will be made in April 2026, with project funding beginning July 1, 2026. A required applicant webinar will be held on July 22, 2025. A recording will be available on the TRDRP website for those unable to attend. Proposals will be evaluated based on research design, partnership collaboration, and resource environment. Review criteria include the clarity of goals, cultural appropriateness, potential impact on health equity, and rigor of community engagement. Evaluation includes a scoring breakdown of 40% for research, 40% for partnership quality, and 20% for resources. Required documentation includes a research plan, biosketches, budget justifications, and multiple partnership and community engagement forms. Additional optional funding is available through the Cornelius Hopper Disparities Supplement (CHDS) to support training and pipeline development for underrepresented scholars and community members. For questions or technical assistance, applicants may contact TRDRP staff at trdrp@ucop.edu. All applications must be submitted through the SmartSimple portal at https://rgpogrants.ucop.edu. Detailed guidance on submission, formatting, and document preparation is provided in the RFA and SmartSimple instructions.

Contact TRDRP early for technical assistance and ensure equitable collaboration is demonstrated.