Cancer Research Institute
CRI Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship Program: Training the Next Generation of Leaders in Immunology and Cancer Research

Deadlines: March 2, 2026, September 1, 2026

Funding: $228,000 over three years

Career Stage: Early career

Purpose:
The program emphasizes training through research, supporting hypothesis-driven, mechanistic studies in both fundamental immunology and tumor immunology. The applicant and sponsor are expected to demonstrate:

• How the proposed research will advance understanding of the immune system’s role in cancer.
• How the fellowship will provide the fellow with new skills, approaches and mentorship to expand their expertise.
• A clear trajectory toward independence, with training experiences designed to prepare the fellow for leadership roles in science.

Eligibility:

• Applicants must have a doctoral degree by the date of award activation and must conduct their proposed research under a sponsor who holds a formal appointment as an assistant professor or higher rank at the host institution.
• Applicants must be working in areas directly related to immunology or cancer immunology. An eligible project must fall into the broad field of immunology with relevance to solving the cancer problem.
• Applicants who will have five or more years of mentored research experience at the time of award activation are not eligible, with the exception of MD applicants, who should not include years of residency in this calculation. Applicants should use their doctoral degree conferral date when calculating eligibility.

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Cancer Research Institute
CRI Immuno-Informatics Postdoctoral Fellowship: Cultivating the next generation of leaders at the Intersection of immunology and data science.

Deadlines: March 2, 2026, September 1, 2026

Funding: $228,000 over three years

Career Stage: Early career

Purpose:
The CRI Immuno-Informatics Fellowship is designed to support:

• Computational biologists seeking to deepen their understanding of immunology.
• Cancer immunologists aiming to gain expertise in computational biology, data science and/or genomics.
• Researchers from diverse PhD backgrounds pursuing training at the interface of cancer immunology and computational biology.

Eligibility:

• Applicants must have a doctoral degree by the date of award activation and must conduct their proposed research under a sponsor who holds a formal appointment as an assistant professor or higher rank at the host institution.
• Applicants must be working in areas directly related to immunology or cancer immunology. An eligible project must fall into the broad field of immunology with relevance to solving the cancer problem.
• Applicants who will have five or more years of mentored research experience at the time of award activation are not eligible, with the exception of MD applicants, who should not include years of residency in this calculation. Applicants should use their doctoral degree conferral date when calculating eligibility.

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Brain & Behavior Research Foundation
Young Investigator Grants

Deadline: March 4, 2026, 11:59 p.m. ET

Funding: Up to $35,000/year for two years ($70,000 total)

Career Stage: Advanced postdocs, instructors and assistant professors (or equivalent)

Purpose:
The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation is the largest nongovernment, donor-supported organization that distributes funds for psychiatric brain and behavior disorder research. The Foundation’s BBRF Young Investigator Grant program offers up to $35,000 a year for up to two years to enable promising investigators to either extend their research fellowship training or to begin careers as independent research faculty. The program is intended to facilitate innovative research and supports basic, translational and/or clinical investigators. All research must be relevant to our understanding, treatment and prevention of serious psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar, mood and anxiety disorders, or early onset brain and behavior disorders.

Eligibility:

• Doctoral degree
• In research training or faculty post
• Mentors required in many cases
• R01 PIs ineligible

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Lung Cancer Research Foundation
2026 LCRF Research Grant on Prevention and Early Detection in Lung Cancer

Deadline:
LOI submission deadline is March 10, 2026. Applicants will be notified of their status on April 28, 2026, and the full proposal submission deadline is June 2, 2026.

Funding: $150,000 in funding over a period of two years.

2026 LCRF Research Grant on Overcoming Resistance in Lung Cancer

Deadline:
LOI submission deadline is March 10, 2026. Applicants will be notified of their status on April 28, 2026, and the full proposal submission deadline is June 2, 2026.

Funding: $150,000 in funding over a period of two years.

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METAvivor

METAvivor’s research program was established in 2009 to specifically fund research focused on treating established breast cancer metastases to improve outcomes for stage IV metastatic breast cancer patients.

METAvivor only funds research that has clear potential to benefit those who are living with metastatic breast cancer (i.e., the already-metastasized or stage IV patient). Preference for funding will be given to research with potential to lead directly to improved clinical outcomes, or that is meant to provide a clear conceptual foundation for improving the treatment of metastatic breast cancer in the future, as in the case of mechanistic or preclinical studies for example. Applications focused on quality of life, the prevention of or diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer will be administratively withdrawn. Strong applications must have a clear focus on and rationale for studying established breast cancer metastases. For example, research into novel methods to stop metastatic breast cancer progression, shrink existing breast cancer metastases or prevent metastases from forming in the already-metastasized patient.

Early Career Investigator Award: Two years, $200,000 award available to early career applicants.

Letter of Intent Due: March 15, 2026

The Early Career Investigator Award is meant to support novel, high-quality research in metastatic breast cancer performed by the most promising up-and-coming investigators (must be within 10 years of receiving their professional degree and must be within six years of starting their first independent, non-tenured faculty position if they have started one). The goal of this RFP is to provide a supporting foundation for basic, translational and clinical research designed to address critical problems or barriers to progress in the field of metastatic breast cancer.

METAvivor Translational Research Award: Three years, $450,000 award for established investigators.

Letter of Intent Due: March 16, 2026

The goal of this funding call is to support established investigators in creating a foundation for basic, translational and clinical research designed to address critical problems or barriers to progress in the field of metastatic breast cancer.

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Prostate Cancer Foundation
2026 PCF TACTICAL Awards: Targeting Mechanisms of Lethal Prostate Cancer

Deadline: The deadline for submitting the LOI form by email to lettersofintent@pcf.org is Monday, March 16, 2026.
Funding: TACTICAL Awards provide $5-$10 Million U.S.D. per award over three to five years.

Important: Applying for a PCF TACTICAL Award (Therapy ACceleration To Intercept CAncer Lethality) involves a two-stage process. PCF requires a letter of intent, followed by full application submission upon our invitation.

The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) is pleased to announce a request for LOIs for PCF TACTICAL Awards from qualified teams of investigators from academic and community institutions that will directly contribute to improved outcomes for patients with prostate cancer with lethal potential. These awards will be funded depending on the level of innovation and transformative potential in applications received. PCF seeks high-risk, currently unfunded projects from academic and community research institutions around the world.

Purpose:
PCF seeks applications for currently unfunded, large-scale multidisciplinary team science research projects that will directly contribute to reducing death and suffering from prostate cancer, and will deliver transformative and tangible outcomes in the three- to five-year funding period. This includes basic, translational, clinical and community-based research projects focused on strategies to prevent prostate cancer metastasis, morbidity or mortality, which addresses major unmet needs in a transformative way.

Institutional indirect costs are not allowed.

Eligibility:
TACTICAL Award teams are multidisciplinary, multi-institutional teams that work synergistically on a project with a shared primary vision and transformative high-impact goal.

Teams must be composed of at least five investigators from nonprofit academic research centers or community organizations, including two young investigators, capable of providing unique scientific expertise to the solution of this significant problem in prostate cancer research. To qualify as a young investigator, team members must have a doctoral-level degree and be within six years of completion of their terminal degree or subsequent mentored academic or clinical training program including postdoctoral or clinical fellowships.

Cross-disciplinary teams that are diverse and inclusive will be favored.

Investigators from for-profit companies and government institutions can be included as collaborative team members, but cannot receive any funds from this award mechanism.VA investigators are excluded from this exception, and can be included as funded team members, including as principal investigator.

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Sontag Foundation
The Distinguished Scientist Award

Deadline: March 18, 2026

Amount: $750,000 ($150,000 per year over five years)

Career Stage: Early career and emerging in field

Purpose:
The Distinguished Scientist Award (DSA) seeks to provide career and research support to early career scientists who demonstrate outstanding promise for making scientific and medical breakthroughs in the field of brain cancer research. Recipients of the award are inspired individuals with projects that show potential to generate new knowledge relating to causes, cure or treatment of primary brain tumors/brain cancer.

Eligibility

• Applicants must hold a doctoral degree in a discipline with applicability to brain cancer research.
• Applicants must have received their first independent faculty appointment no earlier than January 1, 2021 and no later than January 1, 2026 at a tax-exempt academic, research, or medical institution within the United States or an equivalent institution in Canada.
• If the institution grants tenure, the qualifying appointment must be on the tenure track.
• Applicant's career track and proposed research should demonstrate outstanding promise as contributors to science relevant to brain cancer research (basic science & related fields encouraged to apply).
• More than one individual from the institution may apply for this award.

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Charles E. Kaufman Foundation of The Pittsburgh Foundation

Deadline: March 27, 2026, 5 p.m., letter of intent. Full proposals must be received by July 24, 2026, at 5 p.m. ET.

The Charles E. Kaufman Foundation of The Pittsburgh Foundation will award annual research grants in 2026 to investigators at Pennsylvania colleges/universities to carry out fundamental research in the areas of biology, chemistry and physics. Learn more about this year's eligibility criteria and how to apply.
Grant programs include:

New Investigator Research Grants
Up to six awards at a maximum of $150,000 for two years ($75,000/year). 

New Initiative Research Grants
Up to four awards at a maximum of $300,000 for two years ($150,000/year). 

Review the frequently asked questions page and forward any questions to kaufmanapps@pghfdn.org or 412.394.2603. 

Pew Biomedical Scholars – Limited Submission

Deadlines:
Pending announcement from foundation: Early April 2026
Submission of online survey with name and contact information for nominated candidate: May 14, 2026
Online application website opens: June 11, 2026
Application deadline: September 3, 2026

Funding: $300,000; $75,000 per year for a four-year period.

Purpose: Based on their performance during their education and training, candidates should demonstrate outstanding promise as contributors in science relevant to human health. This program does not fund clinical trials research. Strong proposals will incorporate particularly creative and pioneering approaches to basic, translational and applied biomedical research. Candidates whose work is based on biomedical principles but who bring in concepts and theories from more diverse fields are encouraged to apply.

Eligibility:

• Hold a doctorate in biomedical sciences, medicine or a related field, including engineering or the physical sciences.
• As of September 3, 2025, 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 and run an independent lab at any institution prior to June 11, 2021, whether or not such an appointment was on a tenure track. Time spent in clinical internships, residencies, 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.
• Please note that the eligibility criteria above have been temporarily expanded to account for COVID-related lab shutdowns. This extension will end after this upcoming application cycle. Beginning next year, the eligibility window for the 2027 grant will revert to the three-year period. Please direct any questions to the program office at scholarsapp@pewtrusts.org.
• May apply to the program a maximum of two times. All applicants must be nominated by their institution and must complete the 2026 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.

One Mind Institute
Rising Star Research Awards

Deadline:

• Please check back soon for exact dates for 2026
• Application due date – Mid-May 2026*

Funding:  $300,000 over 3 years (plus mentorship/leadership development)

Career stage: Early career

Purpose:
One Mind invites early-career investigators in neuroscience, psychiatry and related disciplines to apply for $300,000 research grants designed to advance the understanding, detection, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental health conditions and psychiatric disorders.

Beyond funding innovative research, this award fosters the next generation of scientific leaders through personalized mentorship, executive coaching, leadership and communication training, and networking opportunities. It equips awardees with the skills and support to become visionary leaders — driving groundbreaking discoveries, shaping their fields, engaging the public in science and mentoring future innovators — to create lasting and meaningful impact in mental health and psychiatry.

Eligibility:
Applicants must be independent investigators (faculty or equivalent) already employed at the rank of assistant or associate professor (or equivalent).

• Applicants should be within six years of their initial independent appointment to qualify as an early-career investigator.
• Applicants must have a doctoral level degree (e.g., MD, PhD, PsyD, PharmD, etc.) with demonstrated academic excellence, leadership and research productivity in scientific fields relevant to mental health and psychiatry.
• Predoctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, instructor-level faculty, and professors are not eligible to apply.
• Applicants can apply for the award only one time per year for a maximum of three times in their career.

Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation – Limited Submission

Deadline: July 1, 2026

Funding: $75,000 per year for up to three years (no indirects)

Career stage: Tenure‑track faculty years one through four, not currently R01‑funded

Purpose
The funds are designed to provide to tenure track faculty members in their first to fourth year, at American institutions, who hold MD and/or PhD degrees, start-up support to move the project forward to the point where R01 or other independent funding can be obtained. Applicants with current R01 or similar funding should not apply. 

Eligibility

• U.S. tenure‑track years one through four
• MD and/or PhD
• One institutional nominee per session
• No overhead
• Annual progress reports required for years 2–3
  

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W.W. Smith Charitable Trust – Limited Submission

A maximum of one (1) proposal per parent organization may be submitted in each granting category (i.e., heart disease, cancer or AIDS) regardless of the number of EINs available under the organization.

Focus: Heart disease, cancer and AIDS research

Deadline: July 15, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EDT

Funding: $100,000 to $125,000

Purpose:
The Trust awards grants for basic medical research primarily related to heart disease, cancer and AIDS. The Trust invests in promising researchers having the potential to attract larger-scale awards (e.g., NIH, NSF, AHA) subsequent to Trust support.

Eligibility:
Each organization may submit no more than one grant application for each discipline – heart disease, cancer and AIDS. It is up to each organization to conduct an internal selection process to determine the one principal investigator/research project to represent the institution for each discipline.

Michael J. Fox Foundation
Parkinson’s Disease Therapeutics Pipeline Program

Deadline:

• Applicants may submit a pre-proposal application at any time. Pre-proposals will be reviewed by MJFF within three weeks of submission.
• If invited, full proposal is to be submitted through one of the five review cycles:
  • December 11, 2025
  • February 22, 2026
  • April 23, 2026
  • June 25, 2026
  • October 2026 (date TBD)

Funding: $250,000 for smaller, targeted programs to upwards of $2M for larger, multi-stage preclinical and/or clinical programs.

Purpose:
This program seeks to advance therapeutic development through pre-clinical and/or clinical testing of approaches addressing unmet needs of people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The program is set up to benefit therapeutics with clear potential to prevent, stop or delay disease progression or to reduce the burden of daily symptoms.

MJFF prioritizes pre-clinical and clinical programs that may slow, stop or prevent disease
progression, efforts that address moderate-to-advanced motor or non-motor symptoms of
Parkinson’s not well-managed by current treatments, such as advanced gait disturbances (e.g., balance issues linked to falls, freezing), and cognitive changes. Activities within scope of this program include:

• Pre-clinical: Identifying, validating and/or developing novel pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions through pre-clinical development from early screening to pre-clinical characterization and testing.
• Clinical: Progressing promising interventions with strong preclinical packages into/through initial clinical assessment exploring pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, safety/tolerability, or early proof of biology and/or clinical efficacy. For novel targets, MJFF is particularly interested in de-risking programs by supporting early proof of concept in patients to gain insight into the therapeutic potential, including exploration of biomarker-based or clinical endpoint-based efficacy

Eligibility:
The foundation is only accepting applications from industry groups or academic teams working in collaboration with a dedicated industry partner capable of further commercial development of a promising intervention. Further, our goal is to provide funding to de-risk therapeutic programs and catalyze investment by other funders. We do not anticipate serving as the sole funder for any program and encourage applicants to seek additional financial partnerships.

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Michael J. Fox Foundation

The Alzheimer’s Association and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research are launching the Bridge Funding for Disrupted Neurodegenerative Research (BFDN) grant program.

Deadline: 15th of the month (or the following Monday, if the 15th falls on a weekend).
If invited, full proposal deadline will be within four weeks of receiving the invitation by 5 p.m. ET. If invited, full proposal deadline will be within four weeks of receiving the invitation by 5 p.m. ET.

Funding: Principal investigators may apply for bridge funding spanning three to 12 months for U.S. and international projects impacted by changes in the NIH.

Career Stage: Early Career

Purpose:
This program specifically aims to 1) ensure support for early career researchers (based on NIH definition), who have not yet had the opportunity to fully establish their labs and position their projects for ongoing funding, and 2) provide bridge or interim funding for salary and other direct costs for research projects focused on Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, atypical Parkinson's and/or other related disorders that have been impacted by a series of changes at NIH.

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Cardiovascular Medical Research and Education Fund
Improving the Treatment of Pulmonary Diseases

Deadline: Rolling

Funding:
Preference will be given to proposals that have budgets below $100,000 and timelines less than two years.

Purpose:
The CMREF mission of the fund is to support educational activities that will enhance the knowledge of pulmonary hypertension and research projects that may help uncover the causes and pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) in pursuit of the ultimate goal of its treatment and cure. The CMREF does not have a formal application process to fund clinical research or educational projects but is always interested in potentially providing full or partial support to initiatives that are novel, innovative or address the spectrum of unmet medical needs related to pulmonary vascular diseases.

Interested parties should submit a letter of intent (maximum of two pages) that describes the project sufficiently so that the Research Advisory Committee can understand the proposed goals and methods. In addition, the letter should mention the length of time of the project and an estimated overall budget.

How to Apply:
To submit your letter, please use the form on this page. Please be sure to fill out all fields and upload your letter before submitting. You can also email your letter directly to Patt Wolfe (executive director) at patt.wolfe@ipahresearch.org.

After you submit your letter, the CMREF will respond within four weeks to inform you if a full application will be requested.

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American Federation for Aging Research
Medical Student Training in Aging Research (MSTAR) Program

Deadline:
Interested students should be in touch directly with the National Training Centers to for the program deadline and application materials.

Funding:
The stipend level is approximately $1,980 per month; actual amounts will vary based on the specific appointment period of individual students. Award period: Eight to 12 weeks.

Purpose:
The MSTAR Program provides medical students with an enriching experience in aging-related research and geriatrics, with the mentorship of top experts in the field. This program introduces students to research and academic experiences early in their training that they might not otherwise have during medical school. Positive experiences in the MSTAR program have led many physicians-in-training to pursue academic careers in aging, ranging from basic science to clinical research to health services research. They have joined the growing cadre of physicians and scientists whose specialized knowledge and skills are in great demand as our population ages.

Students participate in an eight- to twelve-week (or two- to three-month, depending on the training site) structured research, clinical and didactic program in geriatrics, appropriate to their level of training and interests. Research projects are offered in basic, translational, clinical or health services research relevant to older people. Most scholars will do their training and research during the summer months. They will also be invited to submit an abstract to present a poster at the annual meeting of the American Geriatrics Society.

Eligibility

• Any allopathic or osteopathic medical student in good standing, who will have successfully completed one year of medical school at a U.S. institution by June 2024. Evidence of good standing must be provided by the medical school registrar or dean when the student is notified of receiving the award.
• Applicants must be citizens or non-citizen nationals of the United States, or must have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence (i.e., in possession of a currently valid Alien Registration Receipt Card I-551, or some other legal verification of such status). Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible. Due to NIA restrictions, individuals holding PhD, MD, DVM or equivalent doctoral degrees in the health sciences are not eligible to apply to do the MSTAR Program.
• Additionally, applicants receiving a stipend or salary support from a federal source are not eligible for this program. Applicants may not hold another award or participate in another program concurrently with the MSTAR program, and must participate in the program full-time for a minimum of eight weeks and a maximum of 12 weeks.

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Infectious Diseases Society of America
Grants for Emerging Researchers/Clinicians Mentorship Program

Career Stage: Medical Students

Amount: Not specified

Deadline: Ongoing

Description
The G.E.R.M. Program was developed to provide grants to medical students to support a longitudinal, mentored clinical learning and/or research project for up to a year on infectious diseases-related topics, including HIV, under the mentorship of an IDSA or HIVMA member. This program replaced the IDSA Medical Scholars and HIVMA Medical Students Programs.

Eligibility

• Graduate students
• Applicants must be medical students (first-, second- or third-year and those in combined degree programs, including MD/MPH and MD/PhD) from an accredited allopathic or osteopathic medical school in the U.S.

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