# Learners to LeAders in benign Urology, benign Nephrology, and non-Cancer Hematology

> **NIH NIH U2C** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2024 · $749,339

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Program Overview
This is a single consolidated U2C/TL1 training program (the Learners to LeAders in benign Urology, benign
Nephrology, and non-Cancer Hematology [LAUNCH] Program) that seeks to integrate, expand, and transform
kidney, urologic, and hematologic (KUH) biomedical research training in Northern California. Based at four
institutions with outstanding research resources and training accomplishments—University of California San
Francisco (UCSF), University of California Berkeley (UC Berkeley), University of California Davis (UC Davis),
and Stanford University—we propose an innovative approach to train 22 (4 pre- and 18 post-doctoral) trainees
annually across adult and pediatric KUH disciplines. We will identify and recruit the most promising and diverse
group of trainees to enable them to conduct KUH research and provide these LAUNCH Program trainees with
outstanding basic, translational, or clinical research training. Our overall goal is to establish a unified training
program that promotes interdisciplinary collaboration and training of the most promising junior investigators
across our four institutions. Thus, we expect that the LAUNCH Program will graduate scientists who are well-
trained, able to compete successfully for research funding, and able to think creatively and collaboratively to
generate novel and impactful science. The LAUNCH Program will be led by the U2C multi-PI’s (Drs. Elaine
Ku, Marshall Stoller, and Kathleen Sakamoto) as well as the TL1 multi-PI’s (Drs. Chi-yuan Hsu, Philip Beachy,
and Mark Walters), each of whom possess complementary expertise in research and research training within
the disciplines of nephrology, urology, and hematology. The world-class training faculty whom we have
included in our program were selected not only based on their own scientific and scholarly achievements but
also their track record of mentorship and commitment to training. The LAUNCH Program is modeled after
several highly-successful training programs at our institutions that have trained numerous exceptional
scientists from a wide range of disciplines using a team science approach.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10918200
- **Project number:** 5U2CDK133488-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Elaine Ku
- **Activity code:** U2C (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $749,339
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2028-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10918200

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10918200, Learners to LeAders in benign Urology, benign Nephrology, and non-Cancer Hematology (5U2CDK133488-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10918200. Licensed CC0.

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