Table of Contents
- Limited Submission Opportunities
- Federal
- Foundation
- Industry
- Research Funding Events
- Resources & Updates from Federal and Foundation Relations
This monthly newsletter is compiled by the Research Development team in the Office of Research. Questions or feedback? Email research@bu.edu.
Limited Submissions
Limited submission opportunity updates are moving to a weekly digest!
Research Development will hold an informational webinar on Thursday, April 30, 2026 at 12 pm with more information about these changes. See the Events section below for more details.
STEM
NSF TechAccess: AI-Ready America – Round One (4/27)
Up to $3 million to establish a State/Territory Coordination Hub to expand access to AI literacy, tools, and resources. Apply by Monday, April 27, 2026 via InfoReady Review.
NSF Major Research Instrumentation Program (4/30)
Up to $4 million to acquire critical and/or next-generation research instrumentation that supports advances in fundamental science and engineering research. Apply by Thursday, April 30, 2026 via InfoReady Review.
Medicine
Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation Grant (5/7)
$225k to support early-career researchers conducting basic biomedical research focusing on advancing the understanding, diagnosis, or treatment of disease. Apply by Thursday, May 7, 2026 via InfoReady Review.
Limited submissions are funding opportunities that limit the number of applications an institution may put forward. Faculty may not apply directly for an opportunity without institutional endorsement. All current competitions can be found at bu.infoready4.com.
Federal
May
- ARPA-H Systematic Targeting of Microplastics (STOMP)
- Topic Area: STEM, Medicine
- Award: Up to $144 million total
- Deadline: May 6, 2026
- More Information | Proposer Day April 22, 2026
- National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Research and Evaluation on Violence Against Women
- Topic Area: Social Sciences
- Award: Up to $3.7 million
- Deadline: May 11, 2026
- More Information
- NIJ Research on the Abuse, Neglect, and Financial Exploitation of Older Adults
- Topic Area: Social Sciences
- Award: $1.6 million
- Deadline: May 19, 2026
- More Information
June
- National Institutes of Health Advancing Bioinformatics, Translational Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Research (R01)
- Topic Area: Medicine, STEM
- Award: Up to $1 million
- Deadline: June 5 and October 5, 2026
- More Information
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Development of Interventions to Prevent and Treat Substance Use Disorders and Overdose (UG3/UH3)
- Topic Area: Medicine
- Award: Up to $3 million per year
- Deadline: June 22 and October 20, 2026
- More Information
September
- National Science Foundation (NSF) Pathways to Enable Secure Open-Source Ecosystems
- Topic Area: STEM, Translation
- Award: $300,000 – 1.5 million
- Deadline: September 1, 2026
- More Information
Rolling
- NSF STEM K-12
- Topic Area: STEM, Education
- Award: $25,000 – 750,000
- Deadline: Rolling
- More Information
Foundation
May
- Environmental Research & Education Foundation Strategic Priorities
- Topic Area: STEM
- Award: $500,000
- Deadline: May 1, 2026 (Pre-Proposal)
- More Information
- Arnold Ventures Causal Research on the Impacts of Cell Phone Policies in K-12 Schools
- Topic Area: Education, Social Sciences
- Award: Approximately $500,000
- Deadline: May 1, 2026 (Letter of Intent)
- Website | More Information
- Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation Accelerating Drug Discovery for Frontotemporal Degeneration
- Topic Area: Medicine
- Award: $300,000
- Deadline: May 11, 2026
- More Information
- Simons Foundation Pivot Fellowship
- Topic Area: STEM
- Award: $50,000
- Deadline: May 14, 2026
- More Information
- March of Dimes Reproductive Scientist Development Program
- Topic Area: Medicine, Early-Career
- Award: $200,000
- Deadline: May 15, 2026 (Letter of Intent)
- More Information
- Craig H. Neilsen Foundation Spinal Cord Injury Research on the Translational Spectrum
- Topic Area: Medicine
- Award: $400,000
- Deadline: May 22, 2026 (Letter of Intent)
- More Information
- Schmidt Sciences AI Interpretability
- Topic Area: STEM
- Award: $300,000 – 1 million
- Deadline: May 26, 2026
- More Information
- Phrma Foundation Translational Medicine Faculty Starter Grant
- Topic Area: Medicine, Early-Career
- Award: $100,000
- Deadline: May 27, 2026 (Letter of Intent)
- More Information
June
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Exemplary Pathways to STEM Graduate Education
- Topic Area: Education – Partnership, STEM
- Award: $500,000
- Deadline: June 1, 2026
- More Information
- Alex’s Lemonade Stand “A” Award
- Topic Area: Medicine, Early-Career
- Award: Up to $800,000
- Deadline: June 16, 2026
- More Information
- Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research Disease Therapeutics Pipeline Program
- Topic Area: Medicine – Clinical
- Award: $250,000 – 2 million
- Deadline: June 25, 2026
- More Information
- American Philosophical Association Diversity and Inclusiveness Grant Program
- Topic Area: Humanities, Early-Career
- Award: $20,000
- Deadline: June 30, 2026
- More Information
July
- Research Corporation for Science Advancement Cottrell Scholars Award
- Topic Area: STEM – Teacher-Scholar, Early-Career
- Award: $120,000
- Deadline: July 1, 2026
- More Information
- Wellcome Trust Mental Health Award: Physical Activity and Circadian-Based Interventions
- Topic Area: Medicine
- Award: £1 million – 4 million
- Deadline: July 14, 2026
- More Information
- Thrasher Research Fund E.W. “AI” Awards
- Topic Area: Medicine – Pediatrics
- Award: $600,000
- Deadline: July 14, 2026 (Concept Paper)
- More Information
- William T. Grant Foundation Improving the Use of Research Evidence – Major Research & Officers’ Research Grants
- Topic Area: Social Sciences, Medicine
- Award: $25,000 – 1 million
- Deadline: July 29, 2026 (Letter of Inquiry)
- More Information
Reach out to the Foundation Relations team member for your academic unit for support with foundation opportunities.
Industry
May
- Pfizer Transthyretin Cardiac Amyloidosis Fellowship
- Topic Area: Medicine
- Award: $80,000
- Deadline: May 6, 2026
- Website | More Information
June
- Sony with Nature Women in Technology Award
- Topic Area: STEM
- Award: $250,000
- Deadline: June 5, 2026
- More Information
- Gilead HIV Research Grants
- Topic Area: Medicine, STEM
- Award: $180,000
- Deadline: June 25, 2026
- More Information
Reach out to Industry Engagement for support finding industry partners or other related questions.
Events
Meet the Funded: Building Authentic Relationships with Foundations (4/27)
In this webinar, Foundation Relations will share practical advice on how faculty can identify relevant program officers, reach out for meetings, prepare for conversations, and develop meaningful partnerships with foundations. The session on Monday, April 27 at 12 pm will provide an overview of BU resources to support faculty engagement with foundations, and will feature a panel discussion with principal investigators who have successful multi-year partnerships with foundations, including: Barr, ClimateWorks, Ford, Hewlett, Open Society, Walmart, Bob Woodruff, and many others. Register here.
Meet the Funder: RRF Foundation for Aging (4/29)
The RRF Foundation for Aging is a nonprofit funder devoted exclusively to issues related to aging and retirement. In this Meet the Funder webinar held on Wednesday, April 29 from 12-1 pm, RRF Senior Program Officer and Director of Research Dr. Amy Eisenstein will share insights about grant types, priority areas, and review processes. Dr. Deborah Carr, professor of Sociology and a past RRF grantee will also share her experience applying to and securing funding from the foundation. Register here.
Find Funding: Updates to BU’s Internal Limited Submissions Process (4/30)
Hosted by Research Development, this informational webinar held on Thursday, April 30 from 12-1 pm will discuss updates to BU’s internal process for selecting institutional applicants and address common questions about limited submission opportunities (LSOs). Whether you have applied for many LSOs before or this is your first time hearing about them, faculty and investigators across BU, including the Medical Campus and Boston Medical Center, will come away with a clear understanding of this process, recent changes to it, and the potential for funding your research. Register here.
NSF CISE CAREER Proposal Writing Workshop (5/11)
NSF Computer and Information and Engineering (CISE) is hosting a comprehensive, full-day workshop program featuring presentations and panel discussions led by NSF program directors, insights from previous NSF CAREER award recipients, and focused breakout sessions tailored to various programs, where attendees will have the opportunity to interact with NSF CISE program directors in smaller groups. Register here for the workshop held on Monday, May 11.
Resources
All proposals for external funding must be submitted to Sponsored Programs at least five business days before the sponsor deadline.
Foundation Funding
BU Foundation Relations provides compilations of foundation grants by category, including:
- Neuroscience
- Education
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Environment and Sustainability
- Biomedical and Life Sciences
Curated Primers & Updates from Federal Relations
BU Federal Relations has curated primers of federal grant opportunities on their website (Kerberos login required), including:
- Microelectronics
- Supporting Graduate Students
- Artificial Intelligence
- STEM Education
- Behavioral and Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities
- Department of Energy Outlook & Updates
The NIH is streamlining the landscape for Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs). Review NIH’s Path to a Simpler Funding Opportunity Landscape for more information.
Pivot-RP Database
All faculty and staff have a free subscription to Pivot-RP, a database updated daily with a wide variety of federal, non-federal, foundation, and private funding opportunities in every discipline. With the BU subscription, members can save search criteria and receive weekly updates on new and upcoming funding opportunities.
Learn how to set up your account to get started on the Office of Research website.
More Funding & Grants