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.
Brain Research Foundation - Scientific Innovations Award (SIA) │ April 22
FUNDING INFORMATION: Up to $150,000 (direct costs) over two years. Exact dates will be provided by the Brain Research Foundation upon application approval. Funds must be utilized within the grant period.
More information about funding is available in the 2026 SIA Guidelines.
ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS:
- BU may nominate one senior faculty member (associate or full professor) working in the area of neuroscience and brain function in health and disease.
- Investigators at institutions that are affiliated with a medical school or university are eligible to apply only through the institution where they hold a full-time faculty position.
- Current major NIH or other peer-reviewed funding is preferred, but evidence of such funding in the past three years is essential. Former SIA recipients may not receive another award until five years has elapsed since the beginning date of the prior award.
INTERNAL SELECTION PROCESS: Interested BUMC faculty should submit the following materials listed below via InfoReady Review by Tuesday, April 22, 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 15, 2025.
- Questions outlined in InfoReady Review application
- Two-page Project Proposal by the candidate describing their scientific achievements and proposed project including mention of relevant NIH/peer-reviewed funding
- Up-to-date CV or biosketch
A faculty committee drawn from both campuses will review the internal proposals and select a nominee. Foundation Relations will work with the nominee to develop and submit the Letter of Intent by June 3, 2025.
DEADLINES:
- Internal Materials Due: Tuesday, April 22, 2025 by 11:59 p.m.
- Anticipated Notification Date: Friday, May 9, 2025
- Letter of Intent Due: Tuesday, June 3, 2025 by 4 p.m. CT
- Full Application Due: Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025 by 4 p.m. CT
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.
William T. Grant Scholars Program │ April 25
Awards are based on applicants’ potential to become influential researchers, as well as their plans to expand their expertise in new and significant ways. Applications should make a cohesive argument for how the applicant will expand their expertise. Proposed research plans must address questions that are relevant to policy and practice in the Foundation’s focus areas: reducing inequality and improving the use of research evidence.
FUNDING INFORMATION: $425,000 over five years, including up to 7.5% indirect costs. Awards begin July 1 of the award year (2026).
ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must have received their doctoral degree within seven years of submitting their application (2018-2025). In medicine, the seven-year maximum is dated from the completion of the first residency.
Applicants must be employed in career-ladder positions, which can mean holding a tenure-track position, or being in a pathway to advancement in a research career at the nominating organization and the organization is fiscally responsible for the applicant’s position.
INTERNAL SELECTION: Each college at BU may nominate a single applicant and will be managing its own internal submission process. Investigators based at the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine who are interested in participating in the internal selection process should submit the following materials listed below combined into a single PDF document to Diana Lehman at dlehman@bu.edu by Friday, April 25, 2025.
- A brief statement (up to two pages) by the candidate describing their scientific achievements and proposed project
- A brief budget outline for the proposed research
- Up-to-date CV or NIH biosketch
If you are a faculty who works in BMC space or your research mentor is a BMC investigator and wish to apply, please contact the Director of Strategic Research Growth Jessica Howard, at Jessica.howard@bmc.org, by Monday, April 7, 2025.
Medical Campus investigators may contact David Gillerman, Senior Director of Foundation Relations, Medical Campus (dgillerm@bu.edu).
The Office of Research will provide Letters of Independence (required by the foundation) if multiple major academic units are nominating individuals for this opportunity. As such, the Office of Research (research@bu.edu) and Joe Loftus (joloftus@bu.edu) must be notified of any nominees by 5 p.m. Monday, May 12, 2025.
DEADLINES:
Internal Material Due Date: Friday, April, 25, 2025
College-level Nominations Due: Monday, May 12, 2025 by 5 p.m.
Sponsor Deadline: Tuesday, July 1, 2025 by 3 p.m. EST
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.
NCI - Pathways to Independence Award for Early-Stage Postdoctoral Researchers │ May 8
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.
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.