About Us

The IRS unit of the Office of Research coordinates the preparation of major grant proposals for large-scale, interdisciplinary research programs. The team works on grants and contracts that involve multiple schools, colleges, divisions, or institutions to support new research units, programs, or centers at UC Davis that are funded by major extramural research sponsors. Examples of funding sources include National Institute of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), California Energy Commission, National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), MacArthur Foundation, and Packard Foundation.

The IRS staff consists of the Director and Editorial Coordinator (Sheryl Soucy-Lubell), a Budget Analyst (Alyssa Bunn), and an Editorial Specialist (Erin Houston). The IRS team works through the principal investigator to assist the research team in developing a schedule for preparation of the grant or contract; identifying the components required in the application; developing an outline for the intellectual content of the application; coordinating the assembly of contributions from the participating researchers; reviewing drafts for consistency of style and content, clarity, and responsiveness to the requirements of the funding agency; editing and proofreading the application; preparing the proposal budget, including programmatic justifications of budget elements; preparing funding agency “boilerplate”; collecting and editing biographical sketches for the participating researchers; and assembling the complete application.