Over 25 life science funding opportunities are now open across some of today’s most critical disease research areas — including Alzheimer’s, ALS, breast, ovarian, and pancreatic cancer, arthritis, and autism.
Awards range from $100,000 to over $1 million and span every stage of research, from early-stage discovery to clinical trials.
TITLE: Simons Foundation 2026 New Ideas Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Simons Foundation
BUDGET RANGE: $500,000 – 1,000,000 (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This call supports high-risk, early-stage research on autism spectrum disorders, including novel biological mechanisms, biomarkers, and therapeutic hypotheses. Teams should prioritize bold, innovative concepts with potential for transformative insights rather than incremental advances.
TITLE: DoW Alzheimer’s Transforming Research Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $500,000 – 1,000,000 (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This award supports transformative, non-incremental AD/ADRD research focused on one of two areas: advancing understanding of risk and protective factors, or developing methods and strategies to reduce risk and prevent disease — with clinical research allowed but clinical trials and animal studies prohibited. As with other AZRP mechanisms, preliminary data are required, community collaboration is mandatory for prospective human subject research, and the CIT Partnership Option is available to support early-career investigator partnerships.
TITLE: DoW Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research Program, Clinical Outcomes and Biomarkers Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $1,000,000 and up (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This award funds the development and validation of clinical biomarkers and/or clinical outcome measures intended to enrich ALS clinical trials, including susceptibility, diagnostic, prognostic, predictive, and safety biomarkers, as well as clinician-, observer-, or patient-reported outcomes and performance measures — with digital health tools and wearables explicitly encouraged. Applicants must articulate how the research question or study design was informed by the ALS lived experience community, making meaningful patient and community collaboration a formal requirement rather than an optional element.
TITLE: DoW, Ovarian Cancer, Investigator-Initiated Research Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $1,000,000 and up (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This award supports high-impact ovarian cancer research addressing a critical need, spanning any phase from basic laboratory through translational research, with a strong scientific rationale and preliminary data required. Organizations should note that clinical trials are excluded, but a Partnering PI option is available to enable two investigators to work synergistically on a single project, potentially strengthening the competitiveness of the application.
TITLE: DoW Alzheimer’s Transforming Care Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $1,000,000 and up (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This award supports clinical research and clinical trials evaluating non-pharmacological interventions and innovations in dementia care for individuals living with AD/ADRD and their care partners — making it well-suited for organizations working on care delivery models, caregiver support, or symptom management approaches. Applicants should note that trials limited solely to pharmacological interventions are explicitly excluded, animal studies are not allowed, preliminary data are required, and community collaboration is mandatory for prospective human subject enrollment.
TITLE: DoW Breast Cancer, Era of Hope Scholar Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $1,000,000 and up (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Unlike traditional project-based grants, this award centers on the individual investigator rather than a specific research project, recognizing early-career scientists with exceptional creative potential and a demonstrated ability to think beyond conventional approaches in breast cancer research. Organizations should ensure the nominated PI can commit at least 25% effort to breast cancer research under this award, has a track record of successful collaborations, and that the team includes two or more breast cancer consumer advocates.
TITLE: DoW Pancreatic Cancer Research Program, Focused Pilot Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $100,000 – 500,000 (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This award supports early-stage, patient-centered pancreatic cancer research with the goal of generating robust preliminary data that can underpin future clinical or real-world research. Preliminary data are not required to apply, clinical research studies are permitted, but clinical trials and preclinical animal studies are explicitly excluded — making this best suited for organizations with human-focused, observational, or translational work at an exploratory stage.
TITLE: DoW Breast Cancer, Clinical Research Extension Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $1,000,000 and up (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This award is specifically designed to extend the data collection, follow-up, or analysis of existing breast cancer clinical studies — particularly where value was lost due to early trial termination, limited patient follow-up, or gaps in sample or data collection. Organizations with completed or ongoing breast cancer clinical studies that have untapped or underanalyzed data are the primary audience; as with other BCRP mechanisms, two or more breast cancer consumer advocates must be embedded in the research team.
TITLE: DoW Alzheimer’s Transforming Diagnosis Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $1,000,000 and up (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This award funds non-incremental, solutions-oriented Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (AD/ADRD) research specifically aimed at reducing barriers to obtaining a diagnosis, improving disease monitoring, and enabling more accurate prognosis — with clinical research permitted but clinical trials and animal studies prohibited. Community collaboration is required for any research prospectively enrolling human subjects, and applicants should note the Career Initiation or Transition (CIT) Partnership Option, which allows newer investigators to partner with established PIs under separate awards to the same or different institutions.
TITLE: DoW Breast Cancer, Breakthrough Award Level 4
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $1,000,000 and up (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This is the most advanced level of the Breakthrough Award series, requiring a clinical trial as a mandatory component of the proposed breast cancer research — making it appropriate only for organizations with clinical infrastructure and trial-ready interventions that address a FY26 BCRP overarching challenge. As with Level 3, inclusion of two or more breast cancer consumer advocates on the research team is required, and this award is structured as a cooperative agreement rather than a standard grant, signaling a higher degree of government collaboration and oversight.
TITLE: DoW Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research Program, Therapeutic Development Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $500,000 – 1,000,000 (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This award supports preclinical-to-IND-enabling research for ALS therapeutic candidates, requiring that applicants already have lead compounds in hand with proof-of-concept efficacy data in at least one validated preclinical model system — making this unsuitable for early discovery-stage work or for candidates that have already received an IND. A critical and non-negotiable component of this mechanism is the parallel development of mechanism-specific biomarkers tied directly to the therapeutic approach, to inform patient selection, target engagement, and trial efficiency.
TITLE: DoW, Ovarian Cancer, Pilot Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $100,000 – 500,000 (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This award supports highly innovative ovarian cancer research that challenges or expands current thinking, with the goal of generating foundational discoveries that move the field forward — scientific merit alone, without innovation, is not sufficient for this mechanism. A notable consideration is the blinded pre-application process, which requires applicants to carefully omit any identifying information about the PI, collaborators, or institution at the pre-application stage.
TITLE: DoW Arthritis Translational Research Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $500,000 – 1,000,000 (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This award supports high-impact, hypothesis-driven translational research in arthritis — across all arthritis types — focused on moving critical findings into clinically relevant solutions through preclinical or animal model studies, with clinical research and basic research explicitly excluded. Organizations should be prepared to clearly articulate the pathway from proposed research outcomes to clinical application, as demonstrating real-world impact is a central evaluation criterion.
TITLE: DoW Breast Cancer, Transformative Breast Cancer Consortium Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $1,000,000 and up (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This highly competitive mechanism funds large-scale, multi-investigator, multi-institutional breast cancer consortia tackling a major problem that no single investigator or team could address alone — requiring a synergistic, multidisciplinary team of up to five PIs including a Consortium Director, alongside at least one consumer advocate per project team. The complexity of coordinating this structure is significant: only the Consortium Director submits the pre-application, but all PIs must submit coordinated full applications, and failure by any one team member to meet the deadline can result in the entire consortium application being withdrawn.
TITLE: DoW Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research Program, Therapeutic Idea Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $1,000,000 and up (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This award supports high-risk, high-gain early-stage ALS drug or therapy discovery ideas, with the goal of generating foundational preliminary data for future therapeutic investigation — and unlike most mechanisms, preliminary data are not required if the proposed approach is sufficiently rigorous and compelling on its own. Organizations with innovative but early-stage ALS therapeutic concepts, including those without established proof-of-concept data, are the target audience, with the strength of the scientific rationale and approach carrying primary weight in the review.
TITLE: DoW, Ovarian Cancer, Ovarian Cancer Clinical Trial Academy – Early-Career Investigator Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $1,000,000 and up (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This award supports early-career investigators in conducting translational research and small-scale, early-phase clinical trials in ovarian cancer, embedded within a structured academy that provides intensive mentoring, national networking, and professional development led by an established Dean and Career Guides. Applicants should note strict eligibility requirements — the ECI must be within 12 years of their terminal degree or fellowship, commit at least 25% effort for the first two years, and be paired with a Designated Mentor who has a strong clinical trial mentoring track record.
TITLE: DoW Pancreatic Cancer Research Program, Idea Development Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $500,000 – 1,000,000 (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This award funds high-risk, high-reward pancreatic cancer research with the potential for critical discoveries that meaningfully improve patient outcomes, with applications required to address at least one FY26 PCARP Focus Area. Preliminary data are required, clinical trials are not permitted, and applicants should be aware of an optional Partnering PI structure specifically designed to pair experienced investigators with early-career researchers — which comes with a higher funding tier.
TITLE: DoW Pancreatic Cancer Research Program, Translational Research Partnership Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $1,000,000 and up (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This award accelerates the movement of promising pancreatic cancer research toward clinical application by funding collaborative partnerships between clinicians, population scientists, and/or basic scientists — at least one of whom must have pancreatic cancer expertise. Applicants should note the mandatory two-PI structure (Initiating and Partnering), the requirement for preliminary data, and that while retrospective tissue analysis, correlative studies, and pilot clinical trials are supported, large-scale clinical trials are not.
TITLE: DoW Breast Cancer, Breakthrough Award Level 3
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $1,000,000 and up (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This level of the Breakthrough Award targets late-stage, high-impact breast cancer research with a path toward clinical application, with small-scale clinical trials permitted (but not required) under a dedicated Clinical Trial option. A distinctive and mandatory requirement is the inclusion of two or more breast cancer consumer advocates on the research team, making active patient and community engagement a formal component of the proposal — not an afterthought.
TITLE: DoW, Ovarian Cancer, Ovarian Cancer Academy – Early-Career Investigator Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $1,000,000 and up (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This award places early-career ovarian cancer researchers within a long-standing virtual academy structure that combines independent research with mandatory engagement — including monthly webinars, annual workshops, and active collaboration with fellow scholars, mentors, and the patient advocacy community. Organizations should understand this is not a traditional research grant; the ECI’s participation in the academy’s collaborative and career development activities is a core requirement alongside the scientific work.
TITLE: DoW Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research Program, Pilot Clinical Trial Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $1,000,000 and up (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This award funds phase 1 through small-scale phase 2 ALS clinical trials addressing either biomarker-driven therapeutic interventions or improvements in clinical care and symptom management, with all therapeutic intervention studies required to incorporate mechanism-specific biomarkers into the trial design. Organizations should be prepared to submit both a detailed Regulatory Strategy plan and a separate Transition Plan outlining how trial results will be advanced to the next development phase — and trials must be initiated within 12–18 months of the award date.
TITLE: DoW Arthritis Clinical Research Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $1,000,000 and up (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This award funds clinically-focused arthritis research — covering any and all arthritis types — under two research levels: Level 1 for early-phase or pilot clinical trials, and Level 2 for full-scale randomized controlled trials, with both levels addressing either prevention and early diagnosis or treatment and mitigation of disease progression. A community collaborator (e.g., patient, care partner, or community-based organization) is encouraged for Level 1 and required for Level 2, so organizations should ensure this partnership is well-established and documented in the application.
TITLE: DoW Breast Cancer, Breakthrough Award Levels 1 and 2
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $1,000,000 and up (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This mechanism funds breast cancer research with high breakthrough potential across two scopes: Level 1 for earlier-stage, foundational research and Level 2 for more advanced work, with Level 2 also accommodating population science studies that may request additional funding and time. Applications must explicitly address at least one FY26 BCRP overarching challenge (or justify an exception), and organizations should be prepared for either a single-PI or a two-PI partnering structure, with the Partnering PI option requiring coordinated submission by both parties.
TITLE: DoW Breast Cancer, Transformative Breast Cancer Consortium Development Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $100,000 – 500,000 (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This is a planning and development award — not a full research grant — designed to give investigators the time and resources to assemble a consortium team, establish a collaborative framework, and generate the preliminary research needed to compete for a future full Transformative Breast Cancer Consortium Award. Organizations should note this mechanism is mutually exclusive with the full Consortium Award for FY26 (the same Consortium Director cannot apply to both), and consumer advocates must be active participants in the development work itself, not simply listed as team members.
TITLE: Massachusetts Life Sciences Center – Impact Catalyst
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $100,000 – 500,000 (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This call supports translational life sciences projects advancing therapeutics, diagnostics, and platform technologies toward commercialization. Teams should emphasize strong scientific rationale, industry alignment, and clear paths to clinical or market impact.
TITLE: DoW Ovarian Cancer, Clinical Trial Award
FUNDING ORGANIZATION: Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
BUDGET RANGE: $1,000,000 and up (USD)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This award is specifically designed to fund the rapid implementation of clinical trials — ranging from small proof-of-concept or first-in-human studies to large-scale efficacy trials — aimed at improving the treatment or management of ovarian cancer. Eligible projects may evaluate drugs, biologics, devices, or emerging clinical approaches, making this a strong fit for organizations with trial-ready interventions and existing clinical infrastructure.