Professional Development
- Conferences
- Call for Proposals: Physician Wellness Culture Awards
- Fellowship Opportunities
- Wellness Library
This Call for Proposals is intended to solicit applications for investigations that will advance the UC San Diego physician wellness culture.
In an effort to enhance empathy and compassion in healthcare, the Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion has generously committed funding to support UC San Diego Health’s research and education on physician wellness. This commitment supports multiple educational initiatives, including UC San Diego Health Physician Wellness Grants, which study the drivers of and interventions for wellness.
Award Type |
Funding Level |
Timeline (begins at the time of initial fund transfer) |
Pilot |
Up to $15,000 |
12 months |
Project |
Up to $40,000 |
Up to 2 years |
The UC San Diego Physician Wellness Steering Committee (without conflict for the application under consideration) will review and score applications based on both sets of criteria below:
Proposals may be returned by the Steering Committee to the investigator if they:
If a proposal is reviewed favorably by the Physician Wellness Steering Committee, they will recommend the proposal for review by the Sanford Institute’s grant reviewers. The Sanford Institute’s reviewers will communicate directly with the investigators once they’ve received a proposal from the Steering Committee.
Deadlines |
Review Meeting |
Sept 24, 2025 Feb 25, 2026 Generally, each Fall & Spring |
Oct 1, 2025 Mar 4, 2026
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Please include the following required documents as a full application package and email to physicianwellnessadm@health.ucsd.edu.
Award Type
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Required elements
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Pilot
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Project
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SANFORD INSTITUTE FOR EMPATHY AND COMPASSION
The Institute represents an unprecedented blending of two parallel themes: employing the unyielding rigor and tools of science to establish the neurological basis for empathy in the brain to identify the mechanisms that transform compassion from biology to behavior, and experimenting with and developing new ways to teach and instill empathy and compassion in clinicians currently practicing and in the teaching of future generations of health professionals.
The Institute aims to:
Recipients | Project | Cycle |
Julie Celebi, MD, MS, FAAFP, Habib Sabbagh, MHA | Optimizing Resident and Fellow Wellness with GME Well-being Champions |
May 2025 |
Tatyana Vayngortin, MD, Elise Zimmerman, MD, Joelle Donofrio-Odmann, MD, Rachna Subramony, MD, Alicia Minns, MD, Desiree Shapiro, MD, Sidney Zisook, MD | Improving Peer Support and Access to Mental Health Care for Emergency Medicine Physicians |
May 2025 |
Ryan Moran, MD, Habib Sabbagh, MHA, Ottar Lunde, mD | Non-Face-to-Face Time and Electronic Health Record Monitoring: Primary Care Expansion to Understand Burden, Burnout, and Equity |
February 2025 |
Habib Sabbagh, MHA, Sidney Zisook, MD, Desiree Shapiro, MD | Optimizing Health Worker Engagement with Mental Health Resource Marketing: The Impact of Actionable Content Placement |
February 2025 |
Michele Kowalski-McGraw, MD, MPH, Ian Diaz, MD, Lisa Coles, MD, Shauna Conry, MD, Tyson Ikeda, MD | Implementation of a Mentoring Program in CommUnity Care |
November 2024 |
Jennifer Berumen, MD | Mental Performance Training to Improve Burnout and Fulfillment in the Department of Surgery |
August 2023 |
Caitlin Carter MD, Ami Doshi MD, & Kyung Rhee MD | Pediatric Division Chief Retreat to Improve Faculty Wellness |
November 2023 |
Jennifer Berumen, MD | Mental Performance Training to Improve Burnout and Fulfillment in the Department of Surgery |
August 2023 |
Minh Hai Tran, MD & Claire Soria, MD | Improving working relationships in the operating room: Interprofessional simulation training with general surgery and anesthesiology residents |
August 2023 |
Sidney Zisook, MD, Judy Davidson DNP, & Neal Doran, MD | Understanding Physician Peer Support: A Mixed-Model Study of Feasability and Effects on Givers and Receivers of Peer Support |
August 2023 |
Alicia Minns, MD & Rachna Subramony, MD | Evaluation of Emergency Department flow facilitator effectiveness and identification of areas for potential improvement |
May 2023 |
Ryan Moran, MD & Ottar Lunde, MD | General Internal Medicine as a pilot to better capture/understand the work-burden of patient care including comprehensive measurement of non-face to face time. |
February 2023 |