Opportunity Overview
The University of Washington Population Health Initiative Tier 1 Grants: Laying the Foundation support interdisciplinary teams preparing future proof-of-concept population health work. The program can fund population-based research, needs assessments, partnership and grant-development work, exploration of new research directions, community-partner capacity building, and small-scale proof-of-concept projects.
Funding and Deadline
Awards are available for up to $25,000 per project, with the Autumn Quarter 2026 project period running January 1 through August 31, 2027. Applications are due October 1, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific.
School, college, and departmental matching funds are encouraged but are not required. Matching funds may be cash or in-kind, but other sponsored research projects cannot be counted as match.
Eligibility and Team Requirements
Eligible applicants include University of Washington faculty, PI-eligible research scientists, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars from the Bothell, Seattle, and Tacoma campuses. Graduate-student and postdoctoral applicants must include a faculty mentor or faculty collaborator.
Each application must be submitted by an interdisciplinary team consisting of either at least two UW principal investigators with primary appointments in different academic departments, or at least one UW principal investigator and one principal investigator from a community-based organization. Proposed work must address at least two of the Initiative’s three population-health pillars and explain how the work positions the team for future proof-of-concept activity.
Allowable and Unallowable Costs
Allowable expenses include personnel, equipment, materials and supplies, travel and per diem, graduate tuition, and other justified direct project costs. Unallowable costs include indirect or overhead costs, publication and patent costs, office supplies, administrative support, hosting expenses, and marketing efforts. All expenses remain subject to University of Washington policies.
Application Requirements
The application is submitted as a single PDF through the official online portal. Required sections include a completed cover sheet, a one-page research plan, a combined one-page evaluation plan/project timeline/brief investigator biographies section, and a one-page budget and budget justification. Verification is required if matching funds are proposed. Letters of support are optional, with a limit of two. Office of Sponsored Programs review is not required before submission.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 86/100. The program is a current, clearly defined Washington health-related research funding pathway with a precise deadline, modest but useful award ceiling, broad population-health scope, and explicit eligibility for equipment and community-based partnerships.
N9+ Fit Score: 72/100 conditional. Equipment, materials, and supplies are allowable, and prior Population Health Initiative projects demonstrate interest in technology-enabled and community-based health research. A legitimate role for the Nonagon N9+ device and platform could exist only within a specific eligible UW-led research concept requiring remote physical examination or related data collection. The program does not specifically prioritize telehealth or remote examination, so Atlas should not force device fit or imply preapproval of any technology.
QC Healthcare / Dr. Miltie direct-applicant fit: 0/100. Eligibility is controlled by the University of Washington PI and team requirements. Any external vendor or community-partner role would have to arise from an applicant-led project and comply with UW rules.
Next Action
Identify a specific eligible UW investigator or interdisciplinary team with a genuine population-health project before considering applicant outreach. Verify project-specific equipment need, budget treatment, community-partner role where applicable, and all CRM send gates before any outreach.
Official source: University of Washington Population Health Initiative – Tier 1 grants.