Limited Submission Funding Announcements

These research funding opportunities have a submission limit, meaning only a certain number of applications can be submitted. Faculty interested in applying must submit a preliminary proposal for review by an internal selection committee. Below are the available funding opportunities along with their respective internal submission deadlines.

NCI - Pathways to Independence Award for Early-Stage Postdoctoral Researchers │ May 8

The goal of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Pathways to Independence Award is to help postdoctoral researchers complete necessary mentored training in order to transition to independent tenure-track (or equivalent) faculty positions, particularly in cancer control, cancer prevention and cancer data sciences.

While the postdoctoral researcher is solely responsible for submitting their materials for internal review, both the researcher (candidate) and mentor are involved in submitting the external application. The mentor(s) the candidate identifies should be active investigators in the area of the candidate’s proposed research. Additionally, the mentor(s) are expected to propose a well-conceived plan for one-two years of substantive mentored research training and career development that will help their investigators become competitive candidates for tenure-track faculty positions and prepare them to launch robust, independent research programs.

FUNDING INFORMATION: Up to five years of support in two continuous phases:

Initial/K99 phase: up to two years of mentored postdoctoral research training and career development
Independent/R00 phase: up to three years of independent research support, contingent on satisfactory progress during the K99 phase and an approved, independent tenure-track (or equivalent) faculty position

In the K99 phase, candidates receive up to $100,000 per year for salary along with other research development benefits (up to $30,000 per year). Salary for mentors is not allowed.

In the R00 phase, total costs can be up to $249,000 per year, including salary, fringe benefits, research costs and applicable indirect costs.

ELIGIBILITY: BU may submit up to four applications, one in each of the following areas (see NCI website for specific information about each):

Cancer Data Science
Cancer Control Science
Molecular/Precision Cancer Prevention
Other Cancer Research

There is no citizenship requirement for applicants. Additionally, candidates must:

Have no more than two years of postdoctoral research experience as of the external application deadline
Be in mentored, postdoctoral training positions
Have a clinical or research doctorate. Though, clinicians in a clinical faculty position that indicates independence in clinical responsibilities but not in research may also be eligible

Individuals are NOT eligible if they:

Have currently or previously held an independent research faculty or tenure-track faculty position, or its equivalent, in academia, industry or elsewhere
Have more than two years of related postdoctoral research training at the time of initial application or resubmission
Have been an independent PD/PI on NIH research grants (e.g. R01, R03, R21), NIH career development awards (e.g., K01, K07, K08, K23, K25) or other peer-reviewed NIH or non-NIH research grants over $100,000 direct costs per year, or project leaders on sub-projects of program project (P01) or center (P50) grants or the equivalent

INTERNAL SELECTION: Interested BUMC faculty should submit the following materials listed below via InfoReady Review by Thursday, May 8, 2025. If you are a faculty who works in BMC space or your research mentor is a BMC investigator and you wish to apply, please contact the Director of Strategic Research Growth Jessica Howard, at Jessica.howard@bmc.org, by Tuesday, April 29, 2025.

Short questions outlined in InfoReady Review
Two-page proposal describing the candidate’s past research and how it contributes to future research plans, identifying areas for professional development, and summarizing the proposed clinical trial
Up-to-date CV or biosketch

As needed, a faculty committee will review internal applications and select candidates to submit their materials by June 16, 2025.

DEADLINES:

Internal Materials Due: Thursday, May 8, 2025 by 11:59 p.m. ET
Anticipated Notification Date: Friday, May 30, 2025
External Application Due: Monday, June 16, 2025

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.

Karen Toffler Charitable Trust's Scholar Program │ June 2

The Karen Toffler Charitable Trust’s Toffler Scholar Program supports groundbreaking neurological research at its earliest stages by providing early career university-based researchers with essential funding and access to a supportive network. The Trust favors innovative projects that often face difficulty obtaining traditional funding.

ELIGIBILITY: PhD students, assistant professors, clinical fellows and postdocs may apply. Applicants whose projects have been declined by the Toffler Trust or have already received or will receive significant extramural funding (NIH, NSF, DOD, commercial entities, other foundations, etc.) will not be considered. BMC investigators are not eligible.

FOCUS: Applicants must be working in areas related to neuroscience, neurodegenerative or associated human systems that (may) affect brain development and health. Proposed research projects may be basic or translational in nature. Key focus areas are:

Biomarker research for early detection
Translational research for new science
Emerging technology tools for precision understanding
Disease mechanism research for prevention and proactive health
Population and epidemiology to understand future shocks in brain health

FUNDING INFORMATION: $40,000-$50,000 per project.

INTERNAL SELECTION PROCESS: Interested BUMC faculty should submit the following materials listed below combined into a single PDF document, via email to Diana Lehman at dlehman@bu.edu by Monday, June 2, 2025.

A letter of recommendation from the appropriate department chair or dean
A brief statement (up to two pages) by the candidate describing their achievements and proposed project
A brief budget outline for the proposed project
Up-to-date CV or NIH biosketch

A medical campus faculty committee will review the internal proposals and select nominees. Foundation Relations will work with the nominees to develop and submit material by June 30, 2025.

INTERNAL CONTACT: David Gillerman, senior director, Foundation Relations at dgillerm@bu.edu , (617) 359-8089.

DEADLINES: Internal Materials Due: Monday, June 2, 2025 | Sponsor Deadline: Monday, June 30, 2025.

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.