Limited Submission Funding Announcements
These are research funding opportunities where there is a limit to the number of applications that can be submitted. Faculty interested in applying are asked to provide a preliminary proposal for an internal selection committee. Please see below the current available funding opportunities and their internal submission deadlines.
1907 Foundation Trailblazer Award │ April 5
The 1907 Foundation Trailblazer Award supports high-impact, step-change approaches to research in the brain and mind sciences for mental health. In addition to supporting a specific research project, the award intends to increase the size of the talent pool of early career investigators researching causes & cures for mental illness.
Projects must be grounded in the study of biological mechanisms underlying brain function, cognitive processes, and/or consciousness. The funder supports projects for basic science in addition to near-term applications (e.g. disruptive technologies and potential clinical interventions). The goal for the 1907 Trailblazer Award is to catalyze disruptive – but actionable – ideas which have the potential to unearth causes and cures for psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases and uniquely require the 1907 Trailblazer Award to see the light of day.
FUNDING INFORMATION: $120,000 over 2 years ($100,000 for research & administrative costs and $20,000 prize directly payable to the award recipient).
ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS: Applicants must be within ten years of the date when PhD/MD degree was awarded (whichever came later and with exceptions for maternity leave, paternity leave and other excused absences). For clinical scientists, the 10-year clock starts upon completion of all residency and fellowships. Please use February 23, 2024 as the end date for calculation of the 10-year period.
INTERNAL SELECTION PROCESS: Interested BUMC investigators should submit the following materials listed below via InfoReady Review by Friday, April 5, 2024. If you are a BMC investigator and wish to apply for this opportunity, please contact Jess Howard, associate director of Foundation Relations and Government Grants at Jessica.Howard@bmc.org by Wednesday, March 27, 2024.
- Questions outlined in InfoReady Review application;
- A brief statement (up to 2 pages) by the candidate describing their scientific achievements and proposed project;
- A brief budget outline for the proposed research;
- Up-to-date CV or biosketch.
A faculty committee drawn from both campuses will review internal proposals and select nominees. Foundation Relations will work with the nominees to develop and submit the institutional nomination letter and applicant materials by May 3, 2024.
DEADLINES: Internal Materials Due: Friday, April 5, 2024 | Sponsor’s Application Deadline: Friday, May 3, 2024
In requesting to be considered for this limited submission funding opportunity, you are making a commitment, if selected, to submit your proposal to the sponsor in a timely manner and to Sponsored Programs in accordance with the Proposal Submission Policy.
The VinFuture Prize │ April 8
FUNDING INFORMATION:
- A Grand Prize of $3M, awarded annually for breakthrough research and technological innovations that positively improve the quality of human life, and create a more equitable and sustainable world for future generations. The Grand Prize is open to all, regardless of the candidate’s nationality, age, gender, social status, or economic background.
- Three Special Prizes of $500,000 each with a focus on promoting diversity, equity, and new fields of study will also be awarded annually to:
- Innovators from Developing Countries
- Female Innovators
- Innovators with Outstanding Achievements in Emerging Fields
ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS:
The VinFuture Prize recognizes breakthroughs across all fields of science, technology and engineering that have already delivered impact or show the potential to deliver impact for real-world problems that align with at least one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
There should be clear evidence, or potential, for an end-product or service based on the solution, which has an everyday practical application;
Solutions should have already benefited millions of people in the past 10 years for the Grand Prize, or have the potential to benefit millions of people in the next 10 years for the Special Prizes;
Solutions should be aligned with one or more of the United Nation’s SDGs;
- Solutions must be scientifically proven (i.e., there should be clear evidence of passing relevant scientific trials, and in the case of research, it must be empirically proven or widely reviewed);
- Open to researchers or inventors who were involved in developing the underlying solutions, and not entrepreneurs or corporates who helped in commercialization/diffusion of the technology;
- End-products of the research should benefit people globally, including those from developing and less developed countries, as well as lower-income and disadvantaged communities;
- Open to individuals or teams of researchers/inventors;
- Preferences are considered for nominees in the active stages of their careers;
- Same individual/team can be nominated for one or more of the VinFuture Special Prizes if eligible;
- Research/Solution/Invention can be underpinned in any discipline of science, engineering, or technology, including potentially multi-disciplinary approaches.
INTERNAL SELECTION PROCESS: Interested BUMC investigators should submit the following materials listed below via InfoReady Review by Monday, April 8, 2024. If you are a BMC investigator and wish to apply for this opportunity, please contact Jess Howard, associate director of Foundation Relations and Government Grants at Jessica.Howard@bmc.org by Wednesday, April 3, 2024.
- Questions outlined in InfoReady Review application;
- A brief statement (up to 2 pages) by the candidate outlining scientific achievements, with specific consideration of the criteria highlighted by this program;
- Up-to-date CV or biosketch.
A faculty committee drawn from both campuses will review the internal proposals and select nominees.
DEADLINES: Internal Materials Due: Monday, April 8, 2024 | Sponsor Deadline: Wednesday, April 17, 2024
In requesting to be considered for this limited submission funding opportunity, you are making a commitment, if selected, to submit your proposal to the sponsor in a timely manner and to Sponsored Programs in accordance with the Proposal Submission Policy.
Pew Biomedical Scholars Program │ April 15
Ideas with the potential to produce an unusually high impact are encouraged. Selection of the successful candidates will be based on a detailed description of the work that the applicant proposes to undertake, evaluations of the candidate’s performance, and notable past accomplishments, including honors, awards, and publications. In evaluating the candidates, the National Advisory Committee gives considerable weight to evidence that the candidate is a successful independent investigator and has published significant work.
FUNDING INFORMATION: $300,000 over four years; not more than 8% ($24,000) of the total award value may be allocated for facilities and administration (F&A) charges or indirect costs (IDCs).
ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS: Candidates must meet all of the following eligibility requirements:
- Hold a doctorate in biomedical sciences, medicine, or a related field, including engineering or the physical sciences.
- As of Sept. 5, 2024, run an independent lab and hold a full-time appointment at the rank of assistant professor. (Appointments such as research assistant professor, adjunct assistant professor, assistant professor research track, visiting professor, or instructor are not eligible).
- Must not have been appointed as an assistant professor at any institution prior to June 10, 2020, whether or not such an appointment was on a tenure track. Time spent in clinical internships, residencies, in work toward board certification, or on parental leave does not count as part of this four-year limit. Candidates who need an exception on the four-year limit should contact Pew’s program office to ensure that application reviewers are aware an exception has been given.
- May apply to the program a maximum of two times. All applicants must be nominated by their institution and must complete the 2025 online application.
- If applicants have appointments at more than one eligible nominating institution or affiliate, they may not reapply in a subsequent year from a different nominating entity.
- May not be nominated for the Pew Scholars Program and the Pew-Stewart Scholars Program for Cancer Research in the same year.
INTERNAL SELECTION PROCESS: Interested BUMC faculty should submit the following materials listed below via InforReady Review by April 15, 2024. If you are a BMC investigator and wish to apply for this opportunity, please contact Jess Howard, associate director of Foundation Relations and Government Grants at Jessica.Howard@bmc.org by Feb. 9, 2024.
- Questions outlined in InfoReady Review application;
- A brief statement (up to 2 pages) by the candidate describing their scientific achievements and the proposed project;
- Up-to-date CV or biosketch;
- A brief budget overview for the proposed project.
A faculty committee drawn from both campuses will review the internal proposals and select nominees. Foundation Relations will work with the nominees to develop and submit the institutional nomination letter and applicant materials by May 15, 2024. Once selected, the nominee will have an option of participating in an internal mock review that will include past recipients of this award.
DEADLINES: Internal Materials Due: Monday, April 15, 2023 ⃒ Sponsor Deadline for nominations: Wednesday, May 15, 2024 ⃒ Applications submission deadline: Sept. 5, 2024
In requesting to be considered for this limited submission funding opportunity, you are making a commitment, if selected, to submit your proposal to the sponsor in a timely manner and to Sponsored Programs in accordance with the Proposal Submission Policy.
Pew-Stewart Scholars for Cancer Research │ April 15
FUNDING INFORMATION: $300,000 in flexible support, $75,000 per year for a four-year period.
ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS: Candidates must meet all of the following eligibility requirements:
- Hold a doctorate in biomedical sciences, medicine, or a related field, including engineering or the physical sciences.
- As of Aug. 28, 2024, run an independent lab and hold a full-time appointment at the rank of assistant professor. (Appointments such as research assistant professor, adjunct assistant professor, assistant professor research track, visiting professor, or instructor are not eligible.)
- Must not have been appointed as an assistant professor at any institution prior to June 10, 2020, whether or not such an appointment was on a tenure track. Time spent in clinical internships, residencies, in work toward board certification, or on parental leave does not count as part of this four-year limit. Candidates who need an exception on the four-year limit should contact Pew’s program office to ensure that application reviewers are aware an exception has been given.
- May not be nominated for the Pew Scholars Program and the Pew-Stewart Scholars Program for Cancer Research in the same year.
- Based on their performance during their education and training, candidates should demonstrate outstanding promise as contributors in science relevant to the field of cancer. This program does not fund clinical trials research. Strong proposals will incorporate particularly creative and pioneering approaches to basic, translational, and applied cancer research. Candidates whose work is based on biomedical principles but who bring in concepts and theories from more diverse fields are encouraged to apply.
- It is expected that Pew-Stewart scholars will spend at least 80% of their time in work or activities related to the accomplishment of their overall research goals (which are not restricted to the specific aims proposed for this award). However, Pew provides flexible support to the general research aims of the Pew-Stewart scholar and does not require effort reporting.
For more information about eligibility please read the eligibility page.
INTERNAL SELECTION PROCESS: Only BU faculty interested should submit the following materials listed below combined into a single pdf to Diana Lehman at dlehman@bu.edu by Monday, April 15.
- Letter of recommendation from the appropriate Department Chair or Dean
- One-page summary of proposed project
- CV should be in the current NIH biosketch format
A medical campus faculty committee will review internal proposals and select nominees.
DEADLINES: Internal Deadline: Monday, April 15│Nomination Deadline: Wed., May 15.
After the Pew program office has received the nomination from the University, application information will be emailed directly to the selected applicant on or around June 10, 2024. The online application website will open on June 12, and the submission deadline is Aug. 28, 2024.
In requesting to be considered for this limited submission funding opportunity, you are making a commitment, if selected, to submit your proposal to the sponsor in a timely manner and to Sponsored Programs in accordance with the Proposal Submission Policy.
NIH-Director's Early Independence Award │ April 24
FUNDING INFORMATION: $250,000 in direct costs per year for five years, plus applicable Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs.
ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS: Only up to two applications per institution are allowed. The receipt date of the terminal doctoral degree or end of post-graduate clinical training of the PD/PI must be between May 1, 2023, and September 30, 2025. The degree receipt date is that which appears on the official transcript for the degree. The end of post-graduate clinical training includes residency and fellowship periods. The PD/PI must not have served as a post-doctoral fellow for more than 12 months following a previous, non-terminal doctoral degree (i.e., a post-doctoral fellowship served before June 1, 2022).
The investigator must have received a PhD, MD, DO, DC, DDS, DVM, OD, DPM, ScD, EngD, DrPH, DNSc, ND (Doctor of Naturopathy), PharmD, DSW, PsyD, or equivalent doctoral degree.
Please read the full announcement at this link for further eligibility details.
INTERNAL SELECTION PROCESS: Interested BUMC investigators should submit the following materials listed below via InfoReady Review by Wednesday, April 24, 2024. If you are a BMC investigator and wish to apply for this opportunity, please contact Jess Howard, associate director of Foundation Relations and Government Grants at Jessica.Howard@bmc.org by Wednesday, April 3, 2024.
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- Questions outlined in InfoReady Review application;
- A letter of recommendation from the appropriate department chair or research mentor;
- A brief statement (up to 2 pages) by the candidate outlining early scientific achievements (if applicable) and the proposed project including a rationale for omitting/abbreviating the typical post-doctoral training period;
- A brief budget outline for the proposed research;
A faculty committee drawn from both campuses will review the internal proposals and select the nominees.
DEADLINES: Internal Materials Due: Wednesday, April 24, 2024 | Sponsor Deadline: Friday, Sept. 6, 2024
In requesting to be considered for this limited submission funding opportunity, you are making a commitment, if selected, to submit your proposal to the sponsor in a timely manner and to Sponsored Programs in accordance with the Proposal Submission Policy.
If you have any questions about these funding opportunities contact us.
View the list of annually recurring limited submission opportunities sorted by anticipated internal deadline.