Funding Opportunities
The Corporate and Foundations Relations Office is able to work with faculty applying for corporate and foundation opportunities below. Please contact them by email or by phone at 919.962.2867. For all applications, please be sure to work with your Department of Pediatrics division grants administrator. Headlines are linked for more information.
Angelman Syndrome Foundation Research Grants
The Angelman Syndrome Foundation (ASF) is accepting proposals to fund pilot projects to test new ideas about pathogenesis and therapeutics of Angelman syndrome, translational research and clinical research studies. Deadlines – October 15 and April 15.
American Heart Association: Pilot Grants
The American Heart Association (AHA) is accepting applications to support pilot projects aimed at predicting and understanding protein-protein and protein-small molecule interactions involved in key biological processes associated with cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic diseases, including obesity. The proposed projects are encouraged to utilize the American Heart Association (AHA) Protein Portal. A successful proposal will integrate the AHA Protein Portal and may focus on computational modeling, proteomics, network biology, and systems biology to deliver predictive insights for therapeutic development in these disease areas. Applications are due May 1, 2025. For more information, please visit the AHA website.
American Society of Hematology Scholar Award
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) is accepting Letters of Intent (LOIs) to support researchers by helping to ease the transition between training and the establishment of an independent career in hematology research by providing partial salary or other support during that critical period. The award offers three funding opportunities for hematology researchers. Applicants are eligible to receive the award in each level one time. Proposals must fall within the categories of basic research, translational research, patient-oriented clinical research and outcomes-based research.
- Fellow Scholar Award: Up to $100,000 over 2-3 years Applicants must be in mentored, postdoctoral training positions with five or fewer years of research experience following completion of their terminal doctoral degree.
- Fellow to Faculty Scholar Award: up to $125,000 over 2-3 years Applicants must be in mentored, postdoctoral training positions, possess five to eight years of research experience following completion of their terminal doctoral degree, and have available no more than $150,000 annually in research funding.
- Junior Faculty Scholar Award: Applicants must have between eight and 13 years of research experience following completion of their terminal doctoral degree. Applicants who hold independent faculty level positions must apply for the Junior Faculty Award.
Letters of Intent are due May 1, 2025. For more information, please visit the ASH site.
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative: Accelerating and Scaling Biological Sciences With AI
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) invites proposals to build large-scale AI/ML models that cannot be created with conventional university resources. CZI is the only philanthropic organization to fund and build one of the largest computing systems dedicated to nonprofit life sciences research in the world. CZI’s cluster is optimized for AI and machine learning training at scale and comprises 1,024 Nvidia H100 GPUs in an NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD configuration with access to VAST fast data storage. Priority will be given to proposals that aim to create models that align with CZI’s work to build virtual cells, but all proposals relating to CZI’s mission to cure, prevent, or manage all diseases by the end of the century will be considered. Learn more about CZI’s work to build AI-powered virtual cells. Applications are due at 3 p.m. on June 18, 2025. For more information, please visit the Chan Zuckerberg site.
Children’s Research Institute Research Grant Initiative
As part of the mission of the Children’s Research Institute (CRI) to coordinate and support pediatric research, we are thrilled to support 3 research funding opportunities: 1) Carolina for the Kids (CFTK) Research Grant Awards; 2) UNC Children’s Development Early Career Investigator Grants; and 3) IQVIA Pediatric Clinical Scholars Award. Please look for information on next year’s cycle in fall 2024.
The Commonwealth Fund’s Advancing Health Equity program, established in 2021, aims to advance equity in U.S. health care. Its goal is to eliminate unequal treatment, experience, and outcomes in health and health care for people of color by reducing systemic racism in health care policy and practice through three focus areas: promoting antiracism in health care delivery systems, promoting antiracism in health care policy, and changing the mindset of health care leaders and professionals. This is an open RFA with no deadline.
COVID-19 Funding Opportunities
Information about funding opportunities related to COVID-19 will be added to the UNC Office of Research website as they become available. These include opportunities from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mark Foundation for Cancer Research: Emerging Leader Award
The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research is accepting Letters of Intent (LOIs) to support innovative high-impact, high-risk cancer research from early career investigators. Projects for this award must be centered on evidence-based laboratory, data, and/or medical science. This award is not intended to be the main source of funding for the applicant’s laboratory. Applicants must demonstrate multi-year independent funding that sustains the central activities of the laboratory (e.g., at least one or two grants such as NIH/R01, NSF/CAREER, or equivalently substantial multi-year awards). Letters of Intent are due May 5, 2025. Please see the Mark Foundation website for more information.
The new application deadlines for NCBiotech’s Grant Programs have been published. Updated guidelines and materials will be available online before each program’s first deadline.
- Biotechnology Event Sponsorships and Meeting Grants: NCBiotech’s event and meeting grants support North Carolina-based events and meetings that bring information and networking opportunities on diverse topics to the life sciences community statewide. Proposal deadlines are 5/28/2025, 8/27/2025, 11/19/2025, and 2/25/2026.
- Flash Grants: The Flash Grant program aims to identify and energize creative ideas that exhibit early indications of commercial potential. Like a flash of inspiration, Flash Grants infuse a quick jolt of funding at a critical early point when a small, targeted influx of funds can be crucial to shaping innovative research ideas into high potential life sciences technologies. Deadlines are 9/17/2025, 12/3/2025, and 3/25/2026.
- Innovation Impact Grants: The Innovation Impact Grant (IIG) program supports the purchase of shared-use research equipment for core facilities at academic or nonprofit institutions that foster innovation within North Carolina’s life sciences ecosystem. Applications are due 10/1/2025.
- Translational Research Grants: The Translational Research Grant (TRG) program funds projects that explore commercial applications or initiate the early commercial development of university-held life sciences inventions. The technology must have the potential to solve a real-world problem as a commercial product in the life sciences sector. Due dates are 8/6/2025 and 1/28/2026.
NC TraCS Clinical and Translational SCIENCE Pilot Program
The NC TraCS Clinical and Translational Science (CTS) Pilot Program is seeking proposals that focus on understanding a scientific or operational principle underlying a step of the translational research process with the goal of developing generalizable principles to accelerate translation. Projects must be feasible within a one-year time frame and have high scientific and methodological quality. Prospective applicants are required to meet with Pilot Program staff to discuss their project prior to submission. Staff can advise on how to best present the translational science problem to be addressed, the general methodological approach, and whether any NC TraCS services might be useful to the project. Applications are due July 8. For more information, visit the NC TraCS website.
NC TraCS Pilot Funding Program
The North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute (NCTraCS) provides a variety of pilot funding opportunities to facilitate the transfer of research findings to clinical practice in order to improve the health of the people of North Carolina. Multiple grant mechanisms are available.
This notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) encourages innovative research to develop, improve, characterize, and preserve animal models as well as animal model related biological materials, technologies, and new approach methodologies (NAMs) for studies relevant to human health and disease. This NOFO also seeks projects aimed at improving the diagnosis and control of diseases that could confound or interfere with animal use in biomedical research. The proposed project must have broad applicability to multiple NIH Institutes or Centers (ICs) to align with the NIH-wide mission of the Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP). The proposed studies must include animal models and explore multiple body systems or multiple categories of diseases. Applications that develop models focused on a specific disease or area of research, or only propose studies primarily relevant to a single NIH IC, will be considered not acceptable to this NOFO and will be withdrawn. For more information, please see the NOFO linked here.
The goal of the NIAMS clinical trial program is to support research leading to the prevention or reduction of symptoms and improve outcomes and function in patients with rheumatic, musculoskeletal, or skin conditions or diseases. The purpose of the Exploratory Clinical Trials Grants Program is to foster clinical trials that will lead to meaningful improvements in prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of these conditions or diseases. This Exploratory Clinical Trials Grants Program is designed to facilitate the execution of short-term, interventional studies. The Program is intended to support a range of exploratory studies, from proof-of-concept/first in human to Phase I and Phase II clinical trials. Such studies must meet the NIH definition of a clinical trial and be feasible within the time and budget constraints of this NOFO. A high priority is the use of such studies to stimulate the translation of promising research developments from laboratory, preclinical, and early human testing into clinical practice. The proposed study should be supported by a strong scientific rationale. Preliminary data specifically related to clinical effect of the proposed intervention in the targeted condition are not required for R61 applications; however, they may be included if available. All preliminary data included will be evaluated by the reviewers. The earliest submission date is February 4, 2025. For more information, please see the full funding announcement.
NIH Research Opportunities for New and “At-Risk” Investigators to Promote Workforce Diversity
This notice is soliciting R01 grant applications that would support independent research projects within the scientific mission areas of the participating NIH Institutes or Centers from a diverse cohort of New Investigators and At-Risk Investigators. The first deadline is February 5, 2025. For more information, please see the NIH website.
PCORI: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Funding Announcements
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) intends to release PCORI Funding Announcements (PFA) on April 1, 2025, seeking to fund studies that address high-impact methodological gaps in patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research. Letters of intent are due May 13, 2025 at 5PM.
PCORI seeks to fund projects that address important methodological gaps and lead to improvements in the strength and quality of evidence generated by CER studies. PCORI has identified the following areas as program priorities: Methods To Improve the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in CER; Methods To Improve Study Design; Methods To Support Data Research Networks; and Methods Related to Ethical and Human Subjects Protections Issues in CER. More information can be found on the PCORI website.
For this PFA, developmental disabilities (DD) are chronic disabilities that originate at birth or in the developmental period and result in differing levels of support in physical, learning, language and/or behavioral areas. Intellectual disabilities, which fall under the umbrella term of DD, involve differences in cognitive function (i.e., reasoning, learning, problem solving) and adaptive behavior. Data estimate that 17.8 percent of U.S. children and adolescents and approximately 0.5 to 1.5 percent of U.S. adults have an IDD diagnosis, impacting 7 to 8 million Americans. Compared to people without IDD, a higher proportion of people with IDD have co-occurring physical and mental health conditions and unmet healthcare needs. Several barriers are associated with a lower level of participation in school, work and play for people with IDD. More information can be found on the PCORI site.
People experience fatal and non-fatal injuries each year resulting in hospitalizations, emergency department visits or primary and urgent care visits. While the types of traumatic experiences vary, any exposure to trauma, especially in childhood, can have adverse effects on mental and physical health. For those with mental health or substance use conditions, psychological trauma is an almost universal experience. Given that both psychological and physical trauma negatively impact health outcomes, PCORI is interested in studies addressing both aspects, either separately or concurrently. In addition, PCORI recognizes the importance of leveraging trauma-informed care as part of a multi-level approach to psychological and physical trauma. Trauma-informed care acknowledges the prevalence of trauma and the impact of trauma on individuals who experience it and cultivates healthcare practices based on this understanding. More information found on the site.
All applications must align the proposed research with at least one of PCORI’s National Priorities for Health described within the PFA and below. PCORI’s Research Project Agenda includes a set of Topic Themes that are also included in this funding opportunity. Applicants have the option to choose up to three Topic Themes within the Research Project Agenda based on how their proposed research aligns with the themes. However, aligning with a Topic Theme is not required. To be considered responsive, applications must propose research meeting the distinctive requirements of this PFA and address at least one of the following National Priorities for Health: Increase Evidence for Existing Interventions and Emerging Innovations in Health; Achieve Health Equity; Accelerate Progress Toward an Integrated Learning Health System; or Advance the Science of Dissemination, Implementation and Health Communication. More information can be found here.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Evidence for Action—Innovative Research to Advance Racial Equity
Evidence for Action prioritizes research to evaluate specific interventions (e.g., policies, programs, practices) that have the potential to counteract the harms of structural and systemic racism and improve health, well-being, and equity outcomes. This funding is focused on studies about upstream causes of health inequities, such as the systems, structures, laws, policies, norms, and practices that determine the distribution of resources and opportunities, which in turn influence individuals’ options and behaviors. Research should center on the needs and experiences of communities exhibiting the greatest health burdens and be motivated by real-world priorities. It should be able to inform a specific course of action and/or establish beneficial practices, not stop at characterizing or documenting the extent of a problem. This is an open RFA with no deadline.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Pioneering Ideas—Exploring the Future to Build a Culture of Health
Pioneering Ideas: Exploring the Future to Build a Culture of Health seeks proposals that are primed to influence health equity in the future. We are interested in ideas that address any of these four areas of focus: Future of Evidence; Future of Social Interaction; Future of Food; Future of Work. Additionally, we welcome ideas that might fall outside of these four focus areas, but which offer unique approaches to advancing health equity and our progress toward a Culture of Health. This is an open RFA with no deadline.
Thrasher Research Fund – Early Career Awards
The Thrasher Research Fund is accepting concept papers to support young investigators in pediatric research. The program’s aim is to encourage the development of medical research in child health by awarding small grants to new researchers. The grant cycle is an ongoing process throughout the year.
UNC Office of Research Development: Idea Seed Grant Program
The program provides pilot funding between $5,000 – $20,000 and/or pre-proposal support for UNC scholars and researchers to approach novel ideas addressing important problems or roadblocks in a current line of inquiry. This unique program provides “right place, right kind” resources by coupling seed funding and person time to support competitive teams of UNC researchers. In addition to funding for preliminary data collection, travel, and team-building activities, awardees will receive expert guidance in planning and preparing grant applications for extramural funding opportunities. This competition is now accepting applications anytime and will receive initial review upon receipt. It is planned that awards will be made promptly after internal review by OVCR leadership and offered on a deliverables oriented schedule. Up-to date instructions will always be kept on the ORD website.
UNC School of Medicine: Boost Funding
UNC School of Medicine (SOM) faculty are extremely successful in their efforts to obtain funding for their research, even though the funding climate has become increasingly competitive. The SOM recognizes that it often takes multiple submissions and additional experimental data to get a new project funded, particularly as a new investigator, or with a more complex, multi-PI project. In support of these efforts, the SOM Office of Research is inviting applications from faculty for Boost awards, which are designed to boost the chances of funding for an NIH grant (or similar) that has been reviewed favorably but needs additional revisions and preliminary data in order to be funded on resubmission. For more information, please visit the OoR Funding site.
UNC School of Medicine: Bridge Funding
The School of Medicine is opening the first round of applications for Bridge Funding for this fiscal year. Bridge Funding provides continued support for successful research projects that suffer a lapse in funding. Investigators eligible for funding in this round should have had a competing renewal application for an R01 or equivalent grant reviewed in the most recent review cycle. Bridge funding is a critical resource for SOM faculty, and a high proportion of bridge funding recipients have been successful in renewing their NIH support. Thus, a competitive bridge funding application must demonstrate a high likelihood of receiving NIH funding upon resubmission. Please visit the OoR Funding site for more information.
UNC School of Medicine: Parachute Fund
The School of Medicine is committed to supporting SOM labs that have been impacted by recent delays in the NIH grant pipeline. To assist with this temporary need, the SOM will administer the Parachute Fund (PF). The fund is targeted for R01/R35, U, and P competitive renewals which received highly fundable scores in study section (within institute paylines) but have not yet received a Notice of Award (NOA) due to the current delay in council meetings. In keeping with the principle of putting people first, the PF program will help support lab personnel as research labs await an NOA. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis to OoR_submissions@med.unc.edu. For questions, please contact Janelle Cross. For more information, please see the announcement attached.