External Funding

OPPORTUNITY: Neuromodulation/Neurostimulation Device Development for Mental Health Applications (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

FUNDING AGENCY: NIH

AWARD AMOUNT: Varies

FULL PROPOSAL DEADLINE: October 5, 2026

DESCRIPTION: The purpose of this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is to encourage applications seeking to develop the next generation of brain stimulation devices for treating mental health disorders. Applications are encouraged that will either 1) develop novel brain stimulation devices or 2) significantly enhance, by means of hardware/software improvements, the effectiveness of brain stimulation devices that are currently U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved or cleared. Applications to this NOFO are not expected to be hypothesis-driven, but should propose design-directed, developmental, or discovery-driven technology research using integrative approaches. Although the application should focus on the engineering development and bench top testing of the tool, animal and limited, non-clinical trial human testing necessary to demonstrate initial proof of concept is allowable. This NOFO uses the R01 grant mechanism, encouraging longer term projects.

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OPPORTUNITY: Translational Bioinformatics and Experimental Approaches to Advance Drug Repositioning and Combination Therapy Development for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

FUNDING AGENCY: NIH

AWARD AMOUNT: $1,000,000–5,000,000

FULL PROPOSAL DEADLINE: October 6, 2026

FULL PROPOSAL DEADLINE: Deadline Varies

DESCRIPTION: This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) invites applications that combine computational and experimental approaches to enable rigorous preclinical testing of drugs or drug combinations currently used for other conditions, as well as investigational drugs at various stages of clinical development, predicted to be efficacious in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and AD-related dementias (ADRD). This initiative will also support preclinical testing of repurposable or investigational drug candidates in combination with non-pharmacologic interventions leading to robust translational outcomes. The central goal of this NOFO is to establish robust proof of concept in mouse models or cell-based models of AD/ADRD that will enable rational drug repositioning and the development of precision combination therapies for the treatment and prevention of AD/ADRD.

NOTE: Additional deadlines in 2027

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OPPORTUNITY: Awards Program in Alzheimer’s Disease Drug Discovery Research

FUNDING AGENCY: Edward N. and Della L. Thome Memorial Foundation

AWARD AMOUNT: $125,000–$275,000

FULL PROPOSAL DEADLINE: October 13, 2026

DESCRIPTION: Supports preclinical and translational research aimed at developing therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, emphasizing underserved populations. Eligible studies include cell/animal models, human tissue samples, and computational simulations, focusing on clinically relevant biomarkers and endpoints to bridge basic science and clinical application.

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OPPORTUNITY: Pilot Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Trials for Mental Health Interventions (R01 Clinical Trial Required)

FUNDING AGENCY: NIH

AWARD AMOUNT: $750.000

FULL PROPOSAL DEADLINE: October 15, 2026

DESCRIPTION: This NOFO seeks pilot hybrid effectiveness implementation research consistent with NIMH’s priorities for: 1) refining and optimizing preventive and therapeutic interventions with previously demonstrated efficacy for use with broader target populations or for delivery routine care, school, community, or online settings, and 2) research on implementation strategies that support the delivery and sustainability of evidence supported interventions in accessible settings. This NOFO supports pilot research designed to generate the preliminary data needed as a prerequisite to a well powered clinical trial. This includes research designed to assess the feasibility, acceptability, safety, and fit of approach, and explore the impact of the approach on both the outcomes of interest and at least one hypothesized mechanism of action.

NOTE: Future deadlines in 2027

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OPPORTUNITY: Science Track Award for Research Transition (START) Program (R03, Clinical Trial Optional)

FUNDING AGENCY: NIH

AWARD AMOUNT: $100,000

FULL PROPOSAL DEADLINE: October 16, 2026

DESCRIPTION: The purpose of this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is to facilitate the entry of investigators into multiple high-priority areas of substance use research, including comorbidity with HIV. The Science Track Award for Research Transition (START) Program aims to provide investigators with the opportunity to gather preliminary data that will assist them in securing future research grants and advancing their scientific careers.

NOTE: Future deadlines available; see solicitation for details.

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OPPORTUNITY: Advancement and Innovation in Measurement of Language Development and Predictors (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

FUNDING AGENCY: NIH

AWARD AMOUNT: $275,000

FULL PROPOSAL DEADLINE: October 16, 2026

DESCRIPTION: The purpose of this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is to encourage community-engaged research that broadens the conceptualization of qualities of the environment that can support language development in children and that focuses on the development of novel measures of children’s language development. The overall goal is to build the number of strengths-focused, culturally and linguistically responsive, and generalizable tools to further our understanding of children’s language development and/or impairment, and predictors thereof.

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OPPORTUNITY: https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/359270

FUNDING AGENCY: NIH

AWARD AMOUNT: $450,000–$800,000

FULL PROPOSAL DEADLINE: October 19, 2026

DESCRIPTION: The purpose of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to catalyze the development and testing of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled, image-centered, multimodal Clinical Decision Support (CDS) tools, developed in pursuance as Software as a Medical Device (SaMD). These projects are expected to have high potential for demonstrable, positive impact on patient outcomes and/or healthcare processes.

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OPPORTUNITY: Development of Biomarkers or Composite Biomarkers for Neurological and Neuromuscular Disorders (R61/R33 – Clinical Trial Optional)

FUNDING AGENCY: NIH

AWARD AMOUNT: Varies

FULL PROPOSAL DEADLINE: October 20, 2026

DESCRIPTION: The purpose of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to promote the development of fit-for-purpose candidate biomarkers and composite biomarker that enable more efficient clinical trials advance therapeutic development or clinical practice help guide clinical care decisions. Specifically, the goal of this phased funding mechanism is to first identify or confirm candidate biomarker(s) or biomarker signatures using human samples and/or data, followed by an independent retrospective or prospective clinical study to conduct initial clinical validation of the biomarker/signature’s clinical utility for one or two defined Context(s) of Use. In the first phase, applicants are expected to demonstrate that the biomarker acceptably identifies or predicts the concept of interest and may include optimization of the detection method using carefully standardized human samples or datasets. The overarching purpose of this initiative is to deliver candidate biomarkers or biomarker signatures that are ready for definitive analytical and clinical validation studies.

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OPPORTUNITY: HEAL Initiative: Pain Research Enhancement Program (PREP) (R15 Clinical Trial Optional)

FUNDING AGENCY: NIH

AWARD AMOUNT: $375,000

FULL PROPOSAL DEADLINE: October 27, 2026

DESCRIPTION: The purpose of this HEAL Initiative program is to: (1) support basic and mechanistic pain research from R15-eligible undergraduate-focused serving institutions, health professional schools or graduate schools; (2) promote integrated, interdisciplinary research partnerships between Principal Investigators (PIs) from R15-eligible institutions and investigators from U.S. domestic institutions; and (3) enhance the pain research environment at the R15-eligible institution for health professional students, undergraduate and/or graduate students through active engagement in pain research.

Applications in response to this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) should include plans to accomplish these goals. Specifically, applications should include a rigorous plan for conducting basic and mechanistic pain research in the Research Strategy section of the application. In addition, a research partnership between the PI’s institution and at least one investigator from a separate U.S. domestic institution that provides resources and/or expertise that will enhance the proposed pain research program must be included in a separate Team Management Plan. The proposed partnership will be a sub-award agreement(s) with at least one partnering institution, which does not need to be R15-eligible. The budget of all sub-awards must not exceed one third of the total budget. Furthermore, applications must include a Facilities & Other Resources document that demonstrates active involvement of health professional students, undergraduate and/or graduate students from the R15-eligible institution(s) in the proposed pain research projects.

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OPPORTUNITY: Special Initiative: Implications of the 2023 Supreme Court Decision to Ban Race-Conscious Admissions at Colleges and Universities for Educational Attainment and Economic Mobility

FUNDING AGENCY: Russell Sage Foundation

AWARD AMOUNT: $200,000

LETTER OF INTENT DEADLINE: October 28, 2026

FULL PROPOSAL DEADLINE: February 22, 2027

DESCRIPTION: The Russell Sage Foundation, in collaboration with the Hewlett, Spencer, and William T. Grant foundations, seeks to support innovative research on the effects of the Supreme Court decision on a diversity of outcomes, from who attends college and where and the extent to which alternatives to race-conscious policies contribute to educational attainment and economic mobility among different groups in the population.

Our interests extend beyond the effects on applications, admissions, enrollment, and degree completion and include the downstream effects, including whether and how the decision alters the college-to-career pipeline that many employers rely on to diversify their workforce, and the factors associated with public opposition to and support for race-conscious policies.

We are particularly interested in analyses that make use of newly available data or demonstrate novel uses of existing data. We also support original data collection and encourage methodological variety and inter-disciplinary collaboration.

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OPPORTUNITY: Frontiers Planet Prize to Accelerate Scientific Solutions for Healthy Lives on a Healthy Planet

FUNDING AGENCY: NASEM

AWARD AMOUNT: $1,000,000

FULL PROPOSAL DEADLINE: October 30, 2026

DESCRIPTION: The Frontiers Research Foundation (FRF) is organizing the “Frontiers Planet Prize”, a program with the goal of accelerating scientific solutions for healthy lives on a healthy planet. The program will begin in the area of sustainability science through the launch of the Frontiers Planet Prize competition for scientific breakthroughs that have the greatest potential to stabilize the planet’s ecosystem.

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OPPORTUNITY: GREGoRi Innovation Projects

FUNDING AGENCY: NIH

AWARD AMOUNT: $1,500,000

FULL PROPOSAL DEADLINE: October 30, 2026

DESCRIPTION: The Genomics Research to Elucidate the Genetics of Rare Diseases:innovation (GREGoRi) initiative seeks to accelerate a paradigm shift in rare disease diagnosis by reimagining the tools, molecular technologies and analytical approaches used to identify the causal gene(s) and/or variant(s) underlying rare genetic disorders.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity is intended to stimulate the development and testing of highly innovative experimental or computational approaches for rare disease diagnosis, that have the potential to make transformative improvements to the current state of the art. Projects should focus on either Technology Innovation or Computational Innovation as described below:

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OPPORTUNITY: Multilateral Partnerships Leveraging Excellence (MultiPLEx)

FUNDING AGENCY: NSF

AWARD AMOUNT: Varies

FULL PROPOSAL DEADLINE: Rolling Deadline

DESCRIPTION: Many of the most pressing challenges in research and innovation require collaboration across national and disciplinary boundaries to achieve important advances. A growing number of topics are best addressed on a multilateral basis, building partnerships that leverage diverse expertise, data, infrastructure, and perspectives to advance understanding on critical topics of regional or global importance. At the same time, funders, research organizations, and researchers alike typically have limited experience with multilateral partnerships.

The Office of International Science and Engineering’s MultiPLEx program seeks to support visionary, and ambitious international multilateral research partnerships that are required to hasten progress in addressing grand challenges by leveraging research excellence in the U.S. and around the globe. The program also seeks to advance understanding of effective multilateral collaboration

MultiPLEx welcomes proposals that: Address urgent research and/or societal challenge of global importance (including but not limited to critical and emerging technology research) and require an inherently international multilateral approach to achieve impactful research results, partnering with at least two countries other than the U.S. Proposals that engage partners across distinct geographic regions are an area of interest. Make clear how the proposed international collaboration will enable research advances and broader impacts that go beyond what can be accomplished by a narrower team. Include a diverse group of U.S. institutions and/or individuals, leveraging the full range of talent that society has to offer

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OPPORTUNITY: McKnight Scholar Awards

FUNDING AGENCY: McKnight Foundation

AWARD AMOUNT: $225,000

FULL PROPOSAL DEADLINE: November 3, 2026

DESCRIPTION: The McKnight Scholar Awards are given to exceptional young scientists who are in the early stages of establishing an independent laboratory and research career. The Scholar Awards have been given annually since 1977. They were the McKnight Foundation’s earliest means of supporting neuroscience research. The intent of the program is to foster the commitment by these scientists to research careers that will have an important impact on the study of the brain. The program seeks to support scientists committed to mentoring neuroscientists from underrepresented groups at all levels of training. Applicants for the McKnight Scholar Award must demonstrate their ability to solve significant problems in neuroscience, which may include the translation of basic research to clinical practice. They should demonstrate a commitment to an equitable and inclusive lab environment.

McKnight Scholars have generated some key findings about neuroscience, including: The discovery of receptors that encode the senses of smell, taste, and thermal pain. The first crystal structure of one of the ion channels that control the excitability of neurons. The discovery of neurotrophic factors that promote neuronal survival. The identification of molecules that promote axon growth and regeneration in the nervous system. The discovery of proteins in the nerve terminal that mediate the release of neurotransmitters. The identification of genes that control short- and long-term memory.

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OPPORTUNITY: DOD Parkinson’s, Early Investigator Research Award

FUNDING AGENCY: DOD

AWARD AMOUNT: $1,000,000.

LETTER OF INTENT DEADLINE: October 23, 2026

FULL PROPOSAL DEADLINE: November 26, 2026

DESCRIPTION: Supports early-career investigators in advancing Parkinson’s disease research, focusing on medical treatments, biological markers, and sensor mechanisms. Offers tailored funding levels for postdoctoral fellows, clinical fellows, and independent researchers within 10 years of training completion.

Solicitation >