2024 Awards

Community-based research to reduce the incidence of cancer among California firefighters

Eight applications, co-led by California-based firefighters and UC researchers, were awarded as a result of the 2024 California Firefighter Cancer Prevention and Research Program. University of California (UC) awarded nearly $6 million in state funding through this grant program to advance research aimed at understanding the causes of cancer, reducing cancer risk, and preventing cancer among firefighters. Projects started in December 2024 and will run for 2 years (pilot awards) or 3 years (full awards). Read more about the funded projects in the award announcement.

View project abstracts and additional information in our funded research database:

Search Funded Projects

Understanding occupational exposures to PFAS among Orange County firefighters (Full Award: F01FF8764)
Derek Biering, Orange County Fire Authority
Veronica Vieira, UC Irvine

Examining longitudinal changes in DNA methylation in firefighters exposed to products of combustion (Full Award: F01FF8767)
Thomas Sullivan, Los Angeles County Fire Department
Janine LaSalle, UC Davis

Firefighter indirect smoke exposure (Full Award: F01FF8773)
Gerald May, San Jose Fire Fighters IAFF Local 230
Aris Polyzos, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

The California firefighter cancer research study: Harmonizing cohorts to elucidate cancer risks (Full Award: F01FF8805)
Jamie Gabriel, Los Angeles County Fire Department
Shehnaz Hussain, UC Davis

Firefighters’ perceptions and behavioral patterns: a social science approach to cancer prevention (Pilot Award: F01FP8716)
Andrew Violante, San Marcos Professional Firefighters Association
Wei Zhao, UC Riverside

Identifying carcinogenic chemical exposures in firefighters to reduce cancer risk (Pilot Award: F01FP8725)
Jeffrey Kimura, Los Angeles County Fire Department
Brigitte Gomperts, UC Los Angeles

Characterization of mutagen-driven landscapes and signatures of tumors arising in firefighters (Pilot Award: F01FP8745)
Jeff Meston, California Fire Chiefs Association
John McPherson, UC Davis

Individualized exposure assessment of firefighters to airborne carcinogens (Pilot Award: F01FP8765)
Ryan Tripp, Los Angeles County Fire Department
Cristina Davis, UC Davis

Request for Proposals

In 2024, the California Firefighter Cancer Prevention and Research Program invited applications from teams of CA-based fire service professionals and UC academics for community-based participatory research that “will have a positive, direct, and timely impact on the California fire service."

Review the 2024 Request for Proposals information below. The invited application deadline has passed.