This call seeks proposals from teams developing transformative platform technologies that enable new forms of AI integration in physical systems, including robotics, autonomous systems, advanced sensing, and human-machine collaboration.

Topic 3 focuses on foundational challenges that currently limit the ability of intelligent systems to perceive, learn, adapt, and operate effectively in complex real-world environments. Proposed efforts should target platform-level solutions, such as distributed learning and swarming technologies, edge AI systems, advanced human-robot interfaces, cyber-physical systems, digital twin technologies, or next-generation robotics platforms, with the potential to create broadly deployable capabilities and reshape entire fields of research and technology.

Internal NOI Deadline: Oct. 18

Internal Pre-Proposal Deadline: Oct. 26

Support for early-career scientists. Please note that we do not have a full proposal stage. Projects will be evaluated solely through the LOI.

FAQ & Eligibility Info

• MD, Ph.D., or MD-Ph.D. degree (or equivalent) is required.
• Must have at least two (2) years of experience running their own laboratories but no more than six (6) years of experience by the start date of the Prize (July 2027).

Award: $250,000 a year 

Duration: 3 years

Submit Letter of Intent by: Oct. 26 at 5 p.m. ET

Support for Ph.D. students and their faculty advisors. Award includes annual stipend, discretionary allowance, institutional allowance to support tuition and fees. Duration: Up to 3 years PhD support; (eligible to apply for 4 yrs as Gilliam Postdoc Fellow).

Apply by: Oct. 27 at 11:59 p.m. ET

The nation’s most competitive doctoral fellowship in applied sciences, engineering and mathematics is open for applications. There is no requirement to submit a proposed research project as part of the application process. Unofficial transcripts are accepted in your initial application. 

FAQ & Eligibility Info

Open to college seniors, first-year graduate students, or individuals in a gap year preparing to apply to graduate school, who intend to pursue a Ph.D. in the applied physical and biological sciences, mathematics, or engineering.

Award: up to $250,000 for full tuition and personal stipends, $5,000 stipend for fellows with dependent children. Lifelong professional support, mentorship, networking events

Duration: up to 5 years

Apply by: Oct. 30

This program will advance scientific community datasets to enable scientific discovery and innovation using artificial intelligence (AI) and other methods. Its goal is to increase the value that can be derived from existing scientific datasets by leveraging novel methods and artificial intelligence (AI). Proposals should address dataset security and integrity. Governance and the process for scientific communities to contribute to the datasets should also be addressed. Proposals are encouraged to leverage existing resources.

Anticipated Funding Amount: $60,000,000 to $100,000,000

Apply by: Nov. 4

Collaborative Catalyst Research Awards are designed to accelerate progress in pancreatic cancer through collaborative, multi-institutional team science. The award convenes leading investigators across disciplines to tackle the field’s most challenging problems — problems that demand coordinated expertise and are unlikely to be addressed by any single laboratory or investigator alone. The proposed research team must include at least three Principal Investigators (PI) from at least two different institutions. The contact PI must be affiliated with an academic institution in the United States.

Award: $300,000 over two years to the contact PI and collaborating PIs for a total award amount up to $900,000

Duration: 2 years

Apply by: Nov. 9 at 11:59 p.m. ET

Announcing the Bliss Family Fund to Advance Cellular Therapies for WM – a Request for Proposal (RFP). IWMF seeks to support independent investigators affiliated with academic institutions in conducting investigator-initiated trials (IITs) of cellular immunotherapies and related immune-redirection strategies with potential to significantly advance the treatment of WM. 

 FAQ & Eligibility Info

• Must have a doctoral degree (MD, Ph.D., MD/Ph.D., DO, DVM, or equivalent doctoral degree)
• The PI will be required to submit a biosketch illustrating their work as a clinician or researcher.

Award: up to $1,000,000 USD

Duration: 3-5 years

Apply by:  Nov. 9

Early-career student’s Primary Research Investigator or Mentor (or someone at the educational institution) will need to apply on behalf of the student. 

Award:  $50,000 per year

Duration: 2 years maximum

Apply by: Nov. 9

Funding for scientists who are committed to an academic career in pregnancy research. We ask that you submit an NIH-style biosketch, but we do not require that it is made and certified in SciENcv.

Award: $700,000 over four years

Deadline: Nov. 17 at 3 p.m. ET

Grants distributed from Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation are designed to fill critical voids in current pediatric cancer research. The Young Investigator grant is a three-year award designed to support early career researchers, such as postdoctoral fellows, clinical fellows or instructors, pursuing promising childhood cancer research ideas. These grants aim to cultivate the best and brightest researchers of the future who demonstrate a commitment to a research career in pediatric cancer. A mentor is required, and a career development plan must be included.

Award: $60,000/yr in direct costs

Duration: 3 years, with optional one no-cost extension.

Submission deadline: Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. ET

Funding available to contribute to the development of new therapies or therapeutic strategies to treat cystic fibrosis (CF), with an emphasis on identifying and advancing methods to deliver to human epithelia CFTR gene repair and replacement technologies. Applicants must be independent investigators (an individual who is out of fellowship training and whose institution allows them to submit applications for research funding as a Principle Investigator). Applicants must speak with program staff prior to submission to ensure the research aims are in alignment with the sponsor’s research priorities.

Award: $1,000,000/yr

Duration: up to three (3) years

Presubmission Approval Deadline: Nov. 15 from CF Foundation Staff

Deadline: Dec.15 by 5:00 p.m. ET

The application must consist of at least two (2) projects, each led by an independent investigator.

Award includes Full salary and benefits and yearly research budget, access to capital equipment program. Duration: Up to 10 years (5 year term renewable for a second term).

Competition Opens: Nov. 3

Apply by: Dec. 15 at 11:59 PM ET

Award: 2 years of salary or stipend support, additional support to cover certain expenses associated with their fellowship, and tailored professional development, including personalized support for their faculty search. Duration: Up to 4 years (2 yr term renewable for a second term).

Competition Opens: Nov. 3

Deadline: Dec. 15 at 11:59 PM ET

These competitive research awards provide seed money for junior faculty members that often result in additional funding from other sources. The award amount provided by ORAU is $5,000. The applicant’s institution is required to match the award with at least an additional $5,000. 

Eligibility for the Powe Awards is open to full-time assistant professors at ORAU member institutions within two years of their tenure track appointment at the time of application.

Submit by: Jan. 6, 2027 at 12 p.m. EST

Inspired by the founding purpose to support research into the causes and treatment of cancer , the Fund’s mission has broadened to support fundamental scientific research that advances our understanding of the causes, treatments, and cures for human disease. See the JCC website for full eligibility criteria and award amounts. 

Apply by: Feb. 1, 2027

The Georgia CTSA K12 Program (formerly the KL2 Program) supports and enhances the career development of early-career faculty investigators (MD, PhD, MD/PhD, or PharmD) who are pursuing careers in clinical and translational research and clinical and translational science (CTS). A two-part Georgia CTSA K12 Application Workshop will be held on Oct. 8 AND Oct. 15. Georgia CTSA K12 applicants are highly encouraged to attend.

Apply by: Feb. 1, 2027

Established in 1985, MURI supports high-impact, high-risk basic research conducted by multidisciplinary university teams to address future challenges relevant to DOD. It is jointly administered by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Army Research Office (ARO), and Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). The program brings together faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students across scientific disciplines and is intended to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and develop a technically advanced, defense-aware scientific workforce.

View individual opportunities on the respective websites for the Navy, Army, and Air Force. 

White Papers Due: Nov. 20 at 5 p.m. EST

Full Solicitations Due: April 9, 2027 at 5 p.m. EST

In August, the NSF sent notice of 12 new funding opportunities, including some for biological sciences and bioengineering. The opportunities have varying criteria and timelines. Find more information through the links below. 

Core Research in Biological Sciences

Engineering: Chemical, Bioengineering, Energy, and Transport