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Funding for Faculty
Explore rolling grants and external funding opportunities for faculty.
Content on this page was last updated on Wednesday, October 28, 2026 at 12:42pm CST.
NOTE FOR EARLY CAREER INVESTIGATORS: Please be sure to consult the “Funding Opportunities for Med Students, Trainees, and ESIs” document (click to download – UPDATED 10/28/2026). This document contains a variety of opportunities available throughout the year for trainees and ESIs to browse.
CALENDAR OF INTERNAL COMPETITIONS IN CANCER: Be sure to consult the new “Calendar of Internal Competitions in Cancer Research” (UPDATED 10/27/2026) document. This calendar contains a variety of internal competition opportunities (i.e. limited to a certain number of applicants per institution) available throughout the year for cancer investigators to browse and plan ahead.
NOTE RE: FEDERAL RESEARCH PROPOSALS: The Office of the Vice Chancellor of Research (OVCR) has published a “Federal Research Updates” webpage to house information about how Executive Orders may impact agencies and their research. Please follow this webpage for updates.
Rolling Deadlines: Internal Grant Resources (≤$25K)
RFP Snapshot: The WUSTL Center for Drug Discovery offer the CDD Match Grant15 and Grant25 programs.
Match Grant15 is to advance translational small-molecule drug discovery research at Washington University. CDD offers a full suite of preclinical drug discovery services and know-how. Capabilities range from drug lead finding utilizing the High Throughput Screening Core to Medicinal Chemistry-driven drug lead optimization, ADME profiling, and in vivopharmacokinetics for proof-of-concept in vivo pharmacology studies, intellectual property (patent) filing, and drug development.
Match Grant25 is a follow-on award program meant only for those investigators who have successfully completed and met the objectives of a Match Grant15 (or the original CDD MicroGrant) award and request additional match funds to further advance the discovery research project. CDD offers a full suite of preclinical drug discovery services and know-how. Capabilities range from drug lead finding utilizing the High Throughput Screening Core to Medicinal Chemistry-driven drug lead optimization, ADME profiling, and in vivo pharmacokinetics for proof-of-concept in vivo pharmacology studies, intellectual property (patent) filing, and drug development.
Max Amount and Period:
Match Grant15 – $7,500 from CDD
Match Grant25 – $12,000 from CDD
Eligibility:
Match Grant15 – open to investigators with a faculty appointment at Washington University
Match Grant25 – open only to WashU faculty who have successfully completed a Match Grant15 (or CDD MicroGrant) and submitted a final research report.
Due Date: Rolling
RFP Snapshot: The purpose of the awards is to advance initial discovery pilots for Precision Health ICTS investigators. Proposals are not for developed projects but are to fund developmental or early stage work, including pilot data collection and analysis, in preparation for submission of future external funding.
Max Amount and Period: $25,000 for 1 year
Eligibility: Applicants must be full time faculty (instructor level or above) at Washington University in St. Louis or an ICTS partner institution. Applicant must be a member of the ICTS.
Due Date: Rolling
RFP Snapshot: The Just-In-Time (JIT) Core Usage Funding Program is designed to provide quick access to funding to use any of the JIT Cores (pdf) for research advancing medical knowledge that can improve human health. Siteman Cancer Center will co-sponsor cancer-focused proposals.
Max Amount and Period: Varies
Eligibility: Applicant must be a registered member of the ICTS and hold a faculty level appointment at WUSTL or an ICTS partner institution.
Due Date: Rolling
Rolling Deadlines: External Grant Resources
RFP Snapshot: The intent of the EDS Accelerator Award is to support the commercialization of an ongoing cancer research project and to validate and de-risk technologies. Proposals should address key experiments required to move findings toward commercialization, that do not easily fit into traditional funding mechanisms. This mechanism is not designed to initiate new projects or develop new directions for an ongoing project. The proposal should be commercially driven with the PI having a plan to license the technology, either to an established company or a start-up if the experiment(s) are successful.
Max Amount and Period: $75,000 for 1 year
Eligibility: Applicants must be current or former ACS grantees (including IRG pilot grant awardees) or former ACS postdoctoral fellows. Applicants must have a full-time faculty appointment and may be at any career stage. Applicant should be motivated to commercialize their technology.
Due Date: Rolling
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: We are seeking novel cancer agents approaching preclinical and/or clinical development with supporting in vivo efficacy data. We will consider all technology areas, including small molecule, biological and other therapeutics.
Max Amount and Period: This opportunity provides resources for clinical development of new cancer treatments.
Eligibility: Just need to be based at an academic insitution or pharmaceutical or biotech company in the UK or international.
Due Date: Rolling
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: Young Investigator Accelerator Awards aim to attract early career faculty with original ideas into the field of colorectal cancer research, thereby recruiting and supporting the next generation of CRC research leaders. Awardees will be provided funding to accomplish innovative and original, preclinical, translational, and/or early clinical research projects.
Max Amount and Period: $200,000 over 2 years
Eligibility: Applicants must be within the first five years of their first independent, full-time academic or nonprofit faculty appointment.
Due Date: Rolling
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The Team Science Accelerator Award will support team science, including public-private partnerships, that will accelerate CRC research to curative science. Research proposals will be considered that accelerate new therapeutic and technology innovations from bench to bedside and address unmet clinical needs.
Max Amount and Period: $500,000 over 2 years
Eligibility: Principal Investigator of a Team Accelerator Award proposal must be a senior investigator with more than five years of active research in colorectal cancer. Research teams may be from a single institution or multiple institutions. Research teams may include both academic, non-profit and industry (biotech/pharma) researchers.
Due Date: Rolling
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: Senior Investigator Accelerator Awards will fund potentially transformative ideas that will accelerate the translation of new therapies and technologies to the bedside by the end of the proposed research. Collaborations are highly encouraged.
Max Amount and Period: $500,000 over 2 years
Eligibility: Principal Investigator must be a senior researcher, past the initial five years of their first academic or non-profit faculty appointment. Key collaborators are not required to qualify as a senior researcher.
Due Date: Rolling
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: Pioneering Ideas: Exploring the Future to Build a Culture of Health welcomes proposals that are primed to influence health equity in the future. We seek ideas that address any of RWJF’s Pioneering Ideas for an Equitable Future team’s four current areas of focus described below: 1) Future of Evidence; 2) Future of Social Interaction; 3) Future of Food; and 4) Future of Work. Additionally, under Open Exploration, also described below, this call for proposals seeks ideas that might fall outside of these four focus areas but which offer unique approaches to advancing health equity and our progress toward a Culture of Health.
Max Amount and Period: No limit for 3 years, but budget must be reasonably supported by scope of project.
Eligibility: Applicant organizations must be based in the US or its territories. Preference will be given to applicant organizations that are either institutes of higher education, public entities, or nonprofits that are tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Due Date: Rolling
October Deadlines
RFP Snapshot: It aims to fund evidence-based interventional clinical trials (Phase I to II clinical trials are encouraged) in supportive care, specifically by investigators in their first to third year (at the time of the LOI deadline) of a full-time primary faculty appointment at an academic medical institution. This RFP is open to investigators worldwide.
Max Amount and Period:$245,000 over 4 years
Eligibility: Applicants are in their first to third year as of the LOI deadline. Applicants beyond year three due to parental leave, caregiving responsibilities, or part-time clinical appointments may be considered on a case-by-case basis and should provide justification in the application. Applicants have a full-time, primary academic appointment with a clinical position worldwide.
Due Date: October 30, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The Siteman Travel Award supports scholars and early-career faculty* in their career development related to cancer research by providing a reimbursement (i.e. registration, airfare, hotel, etc.) to present research at conferences and/or attend workshops/trainings. All eligible cancer-related research trainees and early-career faculty are encouraged to apply.
Max Amount and Period:$1,500
Eligibility: Scholar must be officially affiliated with a member of Siteman Cancer Center through Washington University, BJC, Children’s Hospital, SLU, or University of Missouri. Must actively be a pre-doctoral trainee (doctoral student), postdoctoral trainee, research fellow, or early-career faculty member at the institution of the affiliated Siteman member at the time of application and travel. Early-career faculty (Instructor or Assistant Professor who has not yet held an R01 award) must have an official existing affiliation similar to the scholar requirements above or be a Siteman Cancer Center member (list available here). Conference location must be within the domestic USA; includes Canada, Mexico, and US Territories. This award may be used as a supplement to other scholarships, but may not be used to duplicate other resources. Research must be cancer-related, but may be from any level of scientific translation, basic through public health sciences.
Due Date: October 31, 2026
November Deadlines
RFP Snapshot: The purpose of the Dr. Robert F. Vizza Clinical Accelerator Initiative (CAI) is to advance the mission of the Lustgarten Foundation by accelerating the translation of research discoveries into clinical trials. Through the CAI, the Lustgarten Foundation will provide academic, clinical researchers the opportunity to propose science-driven concepts seeking to advance the development of new therapies for pancreatic cancer patients while furthering our understanding of disease biology.
Max Amount and Period: $1.5M to $2M over 3 years
Eligibility: Applicants must hold an M.D., D.M.D., D.V.M., Ph.D., or equivalent degree and have a faculty position or equivalent at a college, university, medical institution, or other research facility.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: November 2, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
WashU has been invited to submit 1 applicant for this award.
Additional Details
RFP Snapshot: This grant is restricted to adult cancer research in the preclinical or translational space, with a focus on bench-to-bedside strategies. Research on ANY adult cancer type is eligible. The research must apply in a direct way to human beings within 3 years of the grant’s completion. If biomarker research is undertaken, a validation set or independent clinical trial is essential. Proposals must include a plan for biomarker validation, if applicable. The endpoint of the project should be the planning or initiation of a new clinical trial or conducting an investigator-initiated trial with laboratory correlates that test hypotheses. Research areas not included in this scope are epidemiology, behavioral science, and health services research.
Max Amount and Period: $800,000 over 4 years
Eligibility: Applicant must be a scientist in a tenure-track or tenured faculty position at their cancer research institution. Non-promotable, adjunct, affiliated, temporary, part-time or acting faculty positions are not eligible for Principal Investigator nomination to lead the Translational Research Team. Applicants must be either a US Citizen or Canadian Citizen or have a legal permit to work in the USA (either temporary or permanent).
Due Date: Internal Competition Materials Due: November 2, 2026 at 11:59pm CST
WashU has been invited to submit up to 4 applicants for this award.
Additional Details
RFP Snapshot: The goal of the Young Investigator Awards is to enable promising young investigators to initiate successful scientific careers. These awards are designed to nurture young scientists in the pursuit of independent hypotheses, and to enable them to develop the preliminary data necessary to successfully compete for major research grants. The Cancer Research Foundation is particularly interested in funding research focused on decoding the mechanics of cancer, its development, diagnosis and treatment, using epigenetics, genomics, informatics, molecular and biochemical engineering, or image-oriented research. Projects connected to cancer from related “bench science” fields, such as chemistry, will be considered.
Max Amount and Period: $100,000 over 2 years
Eligibility: Applicants must be within the first two years of their initial faculty appointment (Instructor, Assistant Professor) and must have not yet received significant external support at the time of submission. Applicants who have recently accepted career development awards, such as K awards, are eligible. Preference will be given to applicants with at least 50% of their time dedicated to research efforts.
Due Date: Internal Competition Materials Due: November 2, 2026 at 11:59pm CST
RFP Snapshot: The RWJF Health Policy Fellows program provides the nation’s most comprehensive midcareer learning experience at the intersection of health, science, and policy in Washington, D.C. Fellows participate in the policy process at the federal level and leverage that leadership experience to promote policies, practices, and systems changes that advance the health of the nation.
Max Amount and Period: $175,000 over 1-2 years
Eligibility: The fellowship requires a full-time commitment with a minimum 12-month residence in Washington, D.C., which prepares individuals to influence the future of health and its drivers in the nation. Exceptional midcareer professionals from academic institutions, not-for-profit organizations, or government. Applicants must have earned an advanced degree (master’s or doctoral degree). In addition, applicants must have developed deep subject matter experience in a health- related discipline and have at least 10 years of full-time work experience. Examples include but are not limited to medicine; nursing; public health; law; dentistry; economics and other social sciences (especially disciplines related to factors that influence population health, such as housing, transportation, nutrition, employment, education, and environmental and community conditions); health services and social work/behavioral health; and other health professions.
Due Date: November 3, 2026 at 2pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: Pilot Awards support senior investigators who propose potentially transformative ideas that do not have extensive preliminary data but articulate a clear hypothesis and translational goals. Resources for such “high-risk, high-reward” projects are important to establish proof-of-concept, which may then leverage additional funding through more traditional avenues.
Max Amount and Period: $100,000 over 2 years
Eligibility: Applicants must hold a full-time faculty appointment at the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent) or above. It is strongly recommended that Principal Investigators be beyond the first five years of their first faculty appointment.
Due Date: November 5, 2026 at 4pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The Core grants program funds early phase clinical trials (Phase 1 and 2) for cancers at renowned institutions around the world that have the potential to shift the paradigm for standard of care. We strive to fund treatment-based studies at the bedside, including all types of cancers.
Max Amount and Period: $200,000 to $1.5M over 2 to 5 years
Eligibility: Any investigator who is ready to conduct a novel, clinical trial in cancer research – one which will have an immediate impact on cancer patients.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: November 6, 2026 at Noon CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The Sarcoma Foundation of America Research Grants support investigators conducting pre-clinical, translational, and clinical research on the etiology, molecular biology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of human sarcomas. This program supports our mission to fund research and increase awareness and advocacy for sarcoma patients and their families. The goal of the SFA grant program is to support research that results in improved therapeutic options for sarcoma patients. The SFA encourages applications from ALL areas of sarcoma research.
Max Amount and Period: $75,000 for 1 year
Eligibility: Applicants must be an MD, DO, PhD, or international equivalent, inside or outside the U.S., with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed sarcoma research.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: November 6, 2026 at 10:59pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The Metastatic Brain Tumor Collaborative seeks applications from faculty who propose highrisk/high-impact projects with the potential to change current diagnostic or treatment paradigms for CNS metastasis patient care.
Max Amount and Period: $50,000 for 1 year
Eligibility: The PI must hold a full-time faculty position and cannot have held a full-time faculty appointment before September 1, 2020.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: November 3, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The Collaborative Catalyst Research Award is intended to support a multi-institutional project for a total of up to $900,000. Each sub-project can be awarded up to $300,000, with PIs representing at least two different institutions.
Max Amount and Period: $900,000 over 2 years
Eligibility: Research team must consist of a contact PI and up to two collaborating Pis. Teams must be multi-institutional. See RFA for more details.
Due Date: November 9, 2026 at 10:59pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: CDAs provide funding of up to $50,000 per year for two years to junior investigators. Researchers who are beginning a research career focused on melanoma are eligible.
Max Amount and Period: $100,000 over 2 years
Eligibility: Applicants who are postdoctoral fellows must be within 10 years of receiving their terminal degree (PhD, MD) at the time the grant is awarded and must not have previously received any major grant support (for example, from NIH, NCI, or DoD, ACS, or other foundations). Applicants who are not postdoctoral fellows may have a title of Research Associate/Scientist, Staff Scientist, Instructor, Assistant Professor, or equivalent at the time of the grant submission. Individuals in this category are not subject to the 10-year limit from their terminal degree.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: November 13, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The Mucosal Melanoma CDA will provide funding of up to $50,000 per year for two years to a junior investigator focusing on mucosal melanoma. The grant guidelines and application processes follow those of the regular CDA awards, but the proposed project must focus on mucosal melanoma.
Max Amount and Period: $100,000 over 2 years
Eligibility: Applicants who are postdoctoral fellows must be within 10 years of receiving their terminal degree (PhD, MD) at the time the grant is awarded and must not have previously received any major grant support (for example, from NIH, NCI, or DoD, ACS, or other foundations). Applicants who are not postdoctoral fellows may have a title of Research Associate/Scientist, Staff Scientist, Instructor, Assistant Professor, or equivalent at the time of the grant submission. Individuals in this category are not subject to the 10-year limit from their terminal degree.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: November 13, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: These grants are meant to fund basic and translational science projects and family education in pediatric brain tumor research. A final grant report is required. Dissemination of findings is required (poster, presentation, publication) and plans should be detailed in grant application. Funds may be used for new or existing research projects but all sources of funding for the project, including those pending, must be disclosed to the Foundation.
Max Amount and Period: $100,000 for 1 year
Eligibility: Applicants must be an MD or PhD at the rank of Instructor or Assistant Professor.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: November 15, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Batool Akhtar-Zaidi in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: These grants are meant to fund longer-term basic and translational science projects and family education in pediatric brain tumor research. Annual interim reports are required and must be submitted by January 15th. Reports must provide substantive and detailed evidence of progress made during the preceding year. Funds may be used for new or existing research projects but all sources of funding for the project, including those pending, must be disclosed to the Foundation.
Max Amount and Period: $450,000 over 3 years
Eligibility: Applicants must be an MD or PhD at the rank of Instructor or Assistant Professor.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: November 15, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Batool Akhtar-Zaidi in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The ASH Treating Fairly Research Award program was established in response to concerns about recent shifts in federal funding priorities, which have reduced support for research focused on hematologic diseases and disorders that disproportionately affect specific communities. ASH has long recognized the importance of addressing this and remains committed to advancing fair outcomes for all patients. Securing funding for research that supports this mission is essential.
Max Amount and Period: $200,000 over 1-3 years
Eligibility: Applicants must be MD/DO, or MD/DO-PhD, or PhD, or PharmD. Applicants must have completed their residency or terminal doctoral degree (if PhD or PharmD) more than 13 years prior to the application deadline. Applicants must hold a faculty appointment and have $500,000 or less in other resources available excluding institutional funding, salary/fringe, and donated clinical trial supplies.
Due Date: November 15, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: In honor of John A. Hansen, this grant is intended to provide financial support to promising young researchers to advance the understanding of complications and therapeutic strategies in the context of hematological diseases. The grant is funded by the foundation DKMS Stiftung Leben Spenden and administered by the DKMS Group gGmbH. The research proposal needs to address issues on hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or cell therapy for hematological diseases. Various aspects can be covered, including but not limited to: diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, transplant immunology, stem cell transplantation complications, donor selection, or cell manufacturing.
Max Amount and Period: €240,000 over 3 years
Eligibility: Applicants must have received a doctoral degree (PhD, MD, or equivalent achievements) in a field pertinent to the grant within the last 10 years from the grant call start date (for details please refer to the funding guidelines). Applicants do not need to hold a faculty position and may be trainees (Fellows, Postdoctoral Fellows, and Junior Faculties). Applicants from all countries are invited to submit an application.
Due Date: November 16, 2026 at 4:59pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The CRI Technology Impact Award is designed to support early-stage, pre-development concepts — innovations that have not yet been built or tested, but that hold the potential to transform the landscape of cancer immunotherapy. Technology Impact Awards are not intended to fund the continuation or refinement of existing technologies. Instead, they support visionary, high-risk/high-reward ideas that could lay the groundwork for a new generation of tools, platforms, and systems capable of overcoming the most critical barriers in the field.
Max Amount and Period: $600,000 over 2-4 years
Eligibility: Applicants must hold a tenure-track position at a not for profit research center or institution. Clinical cancer immunologists and technology developers are encouraged to collaborate. Co-PIs are eligible and encouraged to apply.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: November 16, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The Pathways for Health Research Collective is seeking bold, rigorous projects that can improve health in the real world. This funding opportunity seeks projects with potential to become exemplars of health solutions science in action. This means research to address the behavioral, clinical, social, economic, or environmental contributors to health and disease within the United States. We seek projects that are beyond proof-of-concept and have a credible evidence base, but that still require real-world implementation at greater-than-pilot scale to have threshold-level impact on health outcomes or their proxies. See RFA for more details.
Max Amount and Period: Budget must meet needs of project. 3 year project period.
Eligibility: Highly collaborative, cross-sectoral and multidisciplinary proposals are expected. Lead organizations may be knowledge users or producers, and are encouraged to apply through organizations with 501(c)3 status.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: November 18, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The purpose of this grants program is to advance the mission of WashU-ACCERT, which includes community-engaged research on social drivers (also referred to as social determinants) of health (SDOH) and cancer control outcomes. The ACCERT Community Responsive Research Program is driven by community input and leadership in its priorities and approaches to community-engaged cancer control research. Our objective is to support research that is co-led by WashU investigators and community partners. The expectation is that these pilots will lead to further NIH funded research, with a specific interest in cancer-focused multi-level intervention trials.
Max Amount and Period: $185,000 over 2 years
Eligibility: Applicants must hold a faculty appointment at Washington University. Fellows and postdocs in the final year of training with a letter of commitment from their WashU Department chair for a faculty position effective by the time of the award are also eligible. Each Research Project must be led by a minimum of two co-leaders: one university lead and one community partner. Both the WashU scientific PI and the community co-lead must commit a minimum of 15% effort to the project.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: November 1, 2026
RFP Snapshot: The AACR-Lustgarten Foundation Career Development Award for Pancreatic Cancer Research, in Honor of John Robert Lewis, has been established to honor the life and legacy of Representative Lewis, who worked tirelessly to advance the civil rights of all Americans, even while battling pancreatic cancer. The intent of this program is to support the development of promising talent working in pancreatic cancer research. The proposed project may be basic, translational, clinical, or population sciences related research and must have direct applicability and relevance to the understanding, detection, diagnosis, or treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Max Amount and Period: $300,000 over 3 years
Eligibility: See RFA for full details
Due Date: November 20, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The AACR-Lustgarten Foundation Career Development Award for Pancreatic Cancer Research, in Honor of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has been established to honor the life and legacy of Justice Ginsburg, who worked tirelessly to advance gender equality, even while battling pancreatic cancer. The intent of this program is to support the development of promising talent working in pancreatic cancer research. The proposed project may be basic, translational, clinical, or population sciences related research and must have direct applicability and relevance to the understanding, detection, diagnosis, or treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Max Amount and Period: $300,000 over 3 years
Eligibility: See RFA for full details
Due Date: November 20, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
WashU has been invited to submit up to 3 applicants for this award.
Additional Details
RFP Snapshot: The Mathers Foundation supports bold, high-risk/high reward, early-stage basic science research with the potential to transform human health. It prioritizes projects that drive innovation and lay the groundwork for future medical breakthroughs, particularly those unlikely to receive federal funding. While rooted in basic science, the Foundation also welcomes proposals with translational potential, made possible by advances in investigative tools and methodologies. Areas of interest include immunology, microbiome research, structural biology, cellular physiology, cancer biology, genetics and genomics, microbiology and infectious diseases, stem cell biology, and neuroscience.
Max Amount and Period: $700,000 over 3 years
Eligibility: Applicants may be at any level of professorship and must have their own fully equipped labs.
Due Date: Internal Competition Materials Due: November 23, 2026 at 11:59pm CST
RFP Snapshot: Clinical trials must be interventional, early to late stage (Phase 1, 2, and 3); they may include secondary non-clinical endpoints. Applications must have patient partner involvement.
Max Amount and Period: $500,000 over 5 years
Eligibility: Applicants must hold a doctoral degree and have a faculty appointment (or equivalent) with an academic institution, including research institutions that are not formally associated with a university, at the time of the award term. Both early-career and established investigators are encouraged to apply. An applicant must be an independent investigator with demonstrated experience and training to be able to organize, manage, and implement the clinical trial to meet milestones and timelines, and to protect the rights and welfare of the human subject participant. The application must convey the institution’s commitment to both the applicant and the proposed research activities. RTFCCR does not have any geographical or cancer type restrictions. International teams are welcome.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: November 23, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: Proposals should focus on research questions with the potential to significantly advance biological understanding, clinical implementation, or future development of RPTs and imaging agents.
Max Amount and Period: $150,000 over 2 years
Eligibility: Qualified individuals from institutions and organizations in the radiation oncology community are invited to apply. Pre-doctoral students are not eligible. Applicants enrolled in residency programs or post-doctoral fellowships require a faculty mentor.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: November 23, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: This challenge seeks to define the biological mechanisms that initiate, sustain and drive the progression of early oesophageal and gastric adenocarcinomas, and to use this understanding to determine whether early tissue changes can be reversed, durably halted or redirected away from malignant progression.
Max Amount and Period: £27.5m over 5 years
Eligibility: Teams must be international, with no more than 50% of the activity (and funding) being based in a single country. There is no requirement for teams to comprise team members who are based in the UK or US. Each team must consist of one designated Team Lead and up to seven Co-Investigators. The Team Lead must commit to a minimum of 25% of their research effort to the project. Co-Investigators must commit to a 10% minimum effort. Shortlisted and funded teams must recruit a pool of patient advocates and a programme manager.
Due Date: November 24, 2026
RFP Snapshot: This challenge seeks to move beyond descriptive epidemiology and establish the biological mechanisms through which regionally patterned exposures and host factors shape gastroesophageal cancer risk. Relevant factors could include environmental and occupational exposures (including during critical periods of life), infections, nutrition, metabolism, microbial communities, inherited susceptibility, immune fitness, tissue injury and repair, normal epithelial clonal dynamics, social determinants and sex-related biology. These examples are illustrative rather than prescriptive.
Max Amount and Period: £27.5m over 5 years
Eligibility: Teams must be international, with no more than 50% of the activity (and funding) being based in a single country. There is no requirement for teams to comprise team members who are based in the UK or US. Each team must consist of one designated Team Lead and up to seven Co-Investigators. The Team Lead must commit to a minimum of 25% of their research effort to the project. Co-Investigators must commit to a 10% minimum effort. Shortlisted and funded teams must recruit a pool of patient advocates and a programme manager.
Due Date: November 24, 2026
RFP Snapshot: The CRUK-ACS Biology to Prevention Award supports a team research project that aligns with the CRUK Prevention funding scheme. The application must clearly articulate how the team will synergize to accelerate scientific advancement and clinical benefit. Applicants are encouraged to clearly demonstrate the assembly of an interdisciplinary team across a wide variety of expertise, ensuring a comprehensive approach to addressing the research objectives. This partnership would welcome clear, well-defined, discrete project applications (up to 5 years) from joint UK and US-based research teams (each based at the respective eligible host institution). These applications are expected to be true, and where possible equal, intellectual partnerships between established UK and US-based lead applicants, each bringing complementary yet distinct expertise and thereby enabling a multidisciplinary approach to address a critical research question.
Max Amount and Period: $860,000 over 4 years for US-based team
Eligibility: Each team must consist of one PI at an eligible United States institution and one PI at an eligible United Kingdom institution. The U.K. investigator must meet CRUK’s eligibility guidelines.
Due Date: ACS Materials Due: November 24, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
December Deadlines
RFP Snapshot: Mission Boost Grants (MBG) are designed to support research projects that specifically focus on translation to human testing. MBGs are opportunities for independent investigators at all levels to apply for additional, or “boost,” resources for innovative, clinical-enabling projects. Stage I requires the investigator to develop outcome-specific, unequivocal milestones that reduce the risks of studying a new drug, device, or procedure in patients.
Max Amount and Period: $270,000 over 2 years
Eligibility: Applicants must work at an academic institution or nonprofit in the US and be an independent investigator with a full-time faculty appointment. Applicants may be at any career stage.
Due Date: December 1, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: Mission Boost Grants (MBG) are designed to support research projects that specifically focus on translation to human testing. MBGs are opportunities for independent investigators at all levels to apply for additional, or “boost,” resources for innovative, clinical-enabling projects. Stage II supports testing in cancer patients.
Max Amount and Period: $545,000 over 18 months
Eligibility: Applicants must have previously held or currently hold a Stage 1 Mission Boost Grant for a minimum of 18 months AND have completed Stage 1 milestones. They must work at an academic institution or nonprofit in the US and be an independent investigator with a full-time faculty appointment. Applicants may be at any career stage.
Due Date: December 1, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The ACS Research Scholar Grants provide support for independent, self-directed researchers. Grant proposals are investigator-initiated and may pursue questions across the cancer research continuum, as long as they fit within an American Cancer Society (ACS) priority research area.
Max Amount and Period: $860,000 over 4 years
Eligibility: Applicants must work at an academic institution or nonprofit in the US and be an independent investigator with a full-time faculty appointment. They must not have been the PI on more than 1 R01 or R01-equivalent grant at the time of application (meaning a grant that is more than $100,000 in direct costs per year for more than 3 years). For new RSG applications, applicants must have had their first appointment as an independent, full-time faculty members less than or equal to 8 years ago. Resubmissions from investigators beyond the 8-year cutoff require prior approval from ACS.
Due Date: December 1, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The Clinician Scientist Development Grant (CSDG) supports full-time faculty members in becoming independent investigators as clinician scientists. This grant is designed for people trained primarily as clinicians who want to maintain clinical practice and conduct cancer research.
Max Amount and Period: $405,000 to $675,000 over 3-5 years
Eligibility: Applicants must work at an academic institution or nonprofit in the US, have a doctoral degree, an active clinical license, and participate in clinical care. They must not currently or have been a PI of an individual mentored training grant. They must also not have been the PI of an independent extramural research grant that is more than 1 year AND more than $100k direct costs, including multi-PI awards.
Due Date: December 1, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The American Cancer Society (ACS) and the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) have partnered to co-fund one Clinician Scientist Development Grant (CSDG). The goal of the ASTRO-ACS CSDG is to foster the research career of a clinician scientist in radiation oncology. This grant is designed for people trained primarily as clinicians who want to maintain clinical practice and conduct cancer research. The investigator selected for funding will be required to become a member of ASTRO prior to grant activation.
Max Amount and Period: $405,000 to $675,000 over 3-5 years
Eligibility: Applicants must work at an academic institution or nonprofit in the US, have a doctoral degree, an active clinical license, and participate in clinical care in the radiation oncology field. Board-certified clinical medical physicists may also apply. They must not currently or have been a PI of an individual mentored training grant. They must also not have been the PI of an independent extramural research grant that is more than 1 year AND more than $100k direct costs, including multi-PI awards.
Due Date: December 1, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The CRI Clinical Innovator supports pioneering immunotherapy clinical trials designed and led by academic researchers. These investigator-initiated studies are vital to improving patient outcomes, addressing areas of high unmet need, and generating critical mechanistic insights that can guide the future of cancer treatment.
Max Amount and Period: $1M per trial
Eligibility: Candidates must be the Principal Investigator (PI) of the proposed study. CRI has no citizenship restrictions, and research supported by the award may be conducted at medical schools or research centers in the United States or abroad. Please note that CRI does not support research at for-profit institutions.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: December 1, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The CRI Clinic and Laboratory Integration Program (CLIP) supports innovative investigations at the intersection of laboratory discovery and clinical application in cancer immunology.
Max Amount and Period: $300,000 over 2 years
Eligibility: Candidates for a CRI CLIP Grant must hold a faculty appointment as a tenure-track assistant professor (or higher rank) at the time of award activation. If not, documentation from their institution must accompany the Letter of Intent indicating they will hold the position of assistant professor (or higher rank) by the time of award activation. CRI has no citizenship restrictions, and research supported by the award may be conducted at medical schools and research centers in the United States or abroad. Please note that CRI CLIP Grants do not support research at for-profit institutions.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: December 1, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: This award was created to help stimulate and inform important public policy debates around healthy air, climate change and other public health issues related to the lungs and lung health. This award supports research on and evaluation of existing public policy and public health programs, as well as projects that inject innovative ideas into public policies impacting lung health. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to: tobacco control, air quality, lung health policy, differences in health outcomes, access to care, modeling, and/or informatics.
Max Amount and Period: $100,000 over 2 years
Eligibility: Applicants must possess a doctoral degree and hold a full- time faculty position at an academic institution (or its equivalent in research institutions not formally affiliated with a university).
Due Date: December 1, 2026 at 10:59pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: AAI’s RESTORE Grant Program provides up to one year of funding for AAI member-led research projects funded by grants that were unexpectedly frozen or terminated by NIH or other federal government agencies for reasons other than scientific merit.
Max Amount and Period: $100,000 per award
Eligibility: The applicant must be the Principal Investigator (PI) or co-PI of an immunology-focused NIH R-, K-, or F-series grant (including K99/R00 and F99/K00 grants), or DP2 or DP5 grant, or a grant from NSF or another U.S. federal agency, that was awarded to an eligible institution (see below) AND was terminated in 2025 or 2026 due to non-scientific reasons. Be an AAI member in good standing for at least two of the last three years (2024-2026) and at the time of application.
Due Date: ROLLING DEADLINE until December 1, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The Elsa U. Pardee Foundation funds research to investigators in United States non-profit institutions proposing research directed toward identifying new treatments or cures for cancer. The Foundation funds projects for a one-year period which will allow the establishment of capabilities of new cancer researchers or new cancer approaches by established cancer researchers. It is anticipated that this early-stage funding by the Foundation may lead to subsequent and expanded support using government agency funding. Project relevance to cancer detection, treatment, or cure should be clearly identified.
Max Amount and Period: No limit for 1 year
Eligibility: Priority is given to researchers at non-profit institutions in the United States who are new to the field of cancer research, or to established research investigators examining new approaches to cancer cure.
Post-docs are eligible to apply and need to have an independent researcher included as a co-PI.
Due Date: December 1, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: CRI invites LOIs focused on accelerating the development of effective immunotherapies for chordoma, a rare type of cancer that occurs in the bones of the skull base and spine. This joint research program seeks to harness the power of the immune system to improve outcomes for chordoma patients. Please be advised that CF has chordoma models and banked tumor samples (including a new TMA consisting of 95 chordoma specimens) that are available to the research community.
Max Amount and Period: $300,000 over 2 years
Eligibility: Candidates for a CRI Impact Grant must hold a faculty appointment as a tenure-track assistant professor (or higher rank) at the time of award activation. If not, documentation from their institution must accompany the Letter of Intent indicating they will hold the position of assistant professor (or higher rank) by the time of award activation.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: December 1, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: This program supports full-time faculty members in becoming independent investigators as clinician scientists. The ACS-ASTRO Dr. Felix Feng CSDG funds a practicing radiation oncologist pursuing research questions relevant to improving health across the cancer continuum.
Max Amount and Period: $729,000 over 3-5 years
Eligibility: Applicants must be a full-time faculty member, have a doctoral degree, an active clinical license, and participate in clinical care. Applicants may also be board-certified clinical medical physicists. Applicants must not be a current or former principal investigator (PI) of an individual mentored training grant. Applicants must also not have been the PI of an independent extramural research grant that is more than 1 year AND more than $100k direct costs, including multi-PI awards.
Due Date: December 1, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: This grant is designed for individuals trained primarily as clinicians who want to maintain clinical practice and conduct cancer research. The applicant must be in the radiation oncology field.
Max Amount and Period: $729,000 over 3-5 years
Eligibility: Applicants must be a full-time faculty member, have a doctoral degree, an active clinical license, and participate in clinical care. Applicants may also be board-certified clinical medical physicists. Applicants must not be a current or former principal investigator (PI) of an individual mentored training grant. Applicants must also not have been the PI of an independent extramural research grant that is more than 1 year AND more than $100k direct costs, including multi-PI awards.
Due Date: December 1, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: Research projects must address a critical unmet need in monosomy 7 AML and/or other rare, high-risk cytogenetic AML subtypes that remain poorly understood or inadequately treated despite existing funding mechanisms. Proposed research projects must be basic, translational, clinical, and/or population sciences in nature, with a clear rationale for how findings could enable improved diagnosis, risk stratification, therapeutic targeting, treatment response prediction, survivorship, or durable remission for patients with high-risk AML.
Max Amount and Period: $300,000 over 3 years
Eligibility: Applicants must have a doctoral degree and be independent investigators. Applicants must not concurrently hold another AACR grant. Applicants must also be AACR members in the active membership category.
Due Date: December 1, 2026 at Noon CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Batool Akhtar-Zaidi in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: SU2C is soliciting applications for platforms to detect early-stage cancers (Stage 1 and 2) before treatment to improve patient outcomes in smokers. The applications should suggest modalities alternative to DNA-based and blood-based assays such as RNA in saliva, protein analytes in urine, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from breath. Assays from other bodily fluids will also be considered.
Max Amount and Period: $200,000 for 1 year
Eligibility: The Team must include a Team Leader. Other potential team roles are defined below. No more than one additional Team Principal may be included, with a maximum of two participating institutions.
Due Date: December 2, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: This Patient-Centered Clinical Research Award (PCCRA) supports junior-level to senior-level full-time faculty investigators who have demonstrated a commitment to improving the understanding, treatment and experience of bladder cancer patients and are launching careers in patient centered clinical research (e.g. studies of shared decision making, access to care, quality of care, quality of life, health disparities, comparative effectiveness research, patient-centered outcomes research and survivorship).
Max Amount and Period: $250,000 over 3 years
Eligibility: The applicant must have a full-time faculty appointment as at least the level of an assistant professor, research assistant professor, or equivalent.
Due Date: December 2, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The objective of the AGA Research Foundation Research Scholar Award (RSA) is to support early-career investigators working toward independent and productive research careers in digestive diseases by ensuring that a major proportion of their time is protected for mentored research.
Max Amount and Period: $300,000 over 3 years
Eligibility: Applicants for this award must hold an MD, PhD and/or equivalent degree (e.g., MBChB, MBBS, DO), and a full-time faculty or equivalent position at an institution in North America (U.S., Canada or Mexico) by the start date (i.e., July 2027) of this award. See RFA for full eligibility details.
Due Date: December 2, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The objective of this AGA Research Foundation Research Scholar Award (RSA) is to support early-career investigators working toward independent and productive careers in pancreatic cancer research by ensuring that a major proportion of their time is protected for mentored research (i.e., a minimum of 50 percent effort dedicated to the proposed project). The award will support junior faculty (not fellows) who have demonstrated exceptional promise and have some record of accomplishment in research.
Max Amount and Period: $300,000 over 3 years
Eligibility: Applicants must be MD, PhD, and/or equivalent and be a full-time faculty member. Applicants must classify as “early career” according to specific criteria. See RFA. For MDs, no more than 7 years since completion of clinical training and the award start date. For PhDs, no more than 7 years since conferment of the PhD degree and the award start date.
Due Date: December 2, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Career Development Award represents an effort to encourage and support junior faculty to conduct pancreatic cancer research and establish successful career paths in this field. The grants provide $250,000 over two years for junior investigators that have yet to secure their first major research funding. The research proposed for funding may be basic, translational, clinical or epidemiological in nature and must have direct applicability and relevance to pancreatic cancer. Special consideration will be given to understudied areas in pancreatic cancer research.
Max Amount and Period: $250,000 over 2 years
Eligibility: Applicants must have a doctoral degree (including PhD, MD, DO, DC, ND, DDS, DVM, ScD, DNS, PharmD or equivalent) in the biomedical sciences and hold a faculty position of Instructor, Research Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor or the equivalent. Applicants must have completed their most recent doctoral degree within the past 11 years. Applicants must not have currently or previously served as a principal investigator on major research awards or grants (e.g., NIH R00, NIH R01 or equivalent).
Due Date: December 9, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Batool Akhtar-Zaidi in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) Nina Nicolai Pancreatic Cancer Innovation in Collaboration Award is available to members of the SU2C scientific community to explore synergistic and innovative collaborations that enhance the SU2C mission to accelerate the development of new cancer treatments for pancreatic cancer. Emphasis will be placed on submissions that involve new SU2C collaborations.
Max Amount and Period: $225,000 over 2 years
Eligibility: At least one of the Co-leaders must be an Early Career Investigator.* At least one of the applicants must be affiliated with an academic, medical, or research institution.
Due Date: December , 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: 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.
Max Amount and Period: $180,000 over 3 years
Eligibility: Applicants must have an MD, PhD, or MD/PhD or equivalent and must not have achieved an appointment higher than Instructor. Assistant Professors, including adjuncts at this level, will not be considered. Applicants not from accredited clinical fellowship programs must meet specific criteria. See full RFA. A minimum of 75% of the applicant’s time during the Young Investigator period must be allocated as non-clinical protected time for all research activities. This percentage of time includes both Young Investigator activities and the applicant’s other research responsibilities. Research mentor(s) must be identified and have a track record in pediatric cancer research.
Due Date: December 10, 2026 at 7pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Batool Akhtar-Zaidi in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The purpose of this award is to support contemporary basic or clinical research focused on neoplastic disease by full time academic head and neck surgeons; to promote novel translational research preferably with biomarker ideas.
Max Amount and Period: $100,000 over 2 years
Eligibility: Head and Neck surgeons, who are active members of the AAOHNS. OR Surgeons who are in head and neck fellowships or have completed a head and neck surgery fellowship and are active or candidate members of the AHNS. PLEASE NOTE: Medical oncologists and radiation oncologists are not eligible to apply for this award. Cannot be higher than an Assistant Professor rank.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: December 15, 2026 at 10:59pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The purpose of this award is to support a collaborative AHNS/AAO-HNSF research project by fostering the development of contemporary basic or clinical research skills focused on neoplastic disease of the head and neck among new full-time academic head and neck surgeons. The award is intended as a preliminary step in clinical investigator career development and is expected to facilitate the recipient’s preparation of a more comprehensive individualized research plan suitable for submission to the National Institutes of Health or comparable funding agency.
Max Amount and Period: $50,000 over 2 years
Eligibility: Head and Neck surgeons, who are active members of the AAOHNS. OR: Surgeons who are in head and neck fellowships or have completed a head and neck surgery fellowship and are active or candidate members of the AHNS. PLEASE NOTE: Medical oncologists and radiation oncologists are not eligible to apply for this award. Priority will be given to fellows or junior faculty who have completed residencies or fellowships within four years of the application receipt date.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: December 15, 2026 at 10:59pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The purpose of this award is to support basic, translational, or clinical research projects in head and neck oncology. Clinical or translational research studies are strongly encouraged and should be specifically related to the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, outcomes, or pathophysiology of head and neck neoplastic disease. The Alando J. Ballantyne Trainee Research Pilot Grant memorializes Alando J. Ballantyne, M.D., a giving teacher, dedicated surgeon, and a devoted husband and father.
Max Amount and Period: $20,000 for 1 year
Eligibility: Applicants must reside in the U.S. or Canada and be medical students, residents, fellows, graduate students, PhDs, or faculty members at the rank of associate professor or below. All applicants must be members of the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) in good standing. Trainee applicants (medical students, residents, fellows, and graduate students) are expected to have appropriate faculty support and mentorship. Previous AHNS or AAOHNSF research grant recipients are eligible to apply. However, applicants who have successfully obtained funding from a private or federal agency for the same research project are not eligible.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: December 15, 2026 at 10:59pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The purpose of this award is to support basic, translational, or clinical research projects in head and neck oncology. Clinical or translational research studies are strongly encouraged and should be specifically related to the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, outcomes, or pathophysiology of head and neck neoplastic disease.
Max Amount and Period: $20,000 for 1 year
Eligibility: Candidates for this award should reside in the U.S. or Canada, be medical students, residents, or MD faculty members at the rank of associate professor or below and be an AHNS member in good standing. Previous AHNS or AAO-HNS Foundation research grant recipients are eligible to compete for this grant. However, candidates who have successfully obtained funding from a private or federal funding agency for the same research are ineligible.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: December 15, 2026 at 10:59pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The head and neck oncology community must implement a comprehensive care framework that incorporates: 1. Quality measures: Quantifiable metrics that demonstrate care improvement, such as meeting treatment timelines, enhancing resource utilization, and reducing perpatient costs. 2. 3. Process measures: Metrics that capture adherence to evidence-based practices, including clinical guidelines and established best practices. Outcome measures: Metrics that directly reflect improvements in patient care, specifically related to head and neck cancer treatments and surgical procedures or cost reduction through innovative care pathways. We are seeking proposals that improve one or more of the components of this framework. Proposals must clearly demonstrate evidence of care gaps while facilitating meaningful comparisons against industry standards and benchmarks at institutional, regional, and national levels.
Max Amount and Period: $15,000 for 1 year
Eligibility: Applicants must reside in the U.S. or Canada and be medical students, residents, fellows, graduate students, PhDs, or faculty members at the rank of associate professor or below. All applicants must be members of the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) in good standing. Trainee applicants (medical students, residents, fellows, and graduate students) are expected to have appropriate faculty support and mentorship. Previous AHNS or AAOHNSF research grant recipients are eligible to apply.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: December 15, 2026 at 10:59pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) invites applications for innovative, multidisciplinary research that integrates emerging technologies with translational clinical and epidemiologic studies in head and neck cancer (HNC). The goal of this FOA is to close critical knowledge gaps that impede early detection, precision prevention, effective, and cost-effective treatment, especially among patients with locally advanced disease and those experiencing treatment-related morbidity.
Max Amount and Period: $15,000 for 1 year
Eligibility: Applicants must reside in the U.S. or Canada and be medical students, residents, fellows, graduate students, PhDs, or faculty members at the rank of associate professor or below. All applicants must be members of the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) in good standing. Trainee applicants (medical students, residents, fellows, and graduate students) are expected to have appropriate faculty support and mentorship. Previous AHNS or AAOHNSF research grant recipients are eligible to apply.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: December 15, 2026 at 10:59pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The purpose of this award is to support innovative research that advances the science and practice of head and neck surgery. Proposed studies should focus on the development, evaluation, or implementation of novel surgical approaches, intraoperative technologies/methodologies, perioperative strategies, novel reconstructive techniques, response-adapted surgical approaches, and/or multidisciplinary integration models of care that can improve surgical outcomes for patients with head and neck cancer.
Max Amount and Period: $15,000 for 1 year
Eligibility: Applicants must reside in the U.S. or Canada and be medical students, residents, fellows, graduate students, PhDs, or faculty members at the rank of associate professor or below. All applicants must be members of the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) in good standing. Trainee applicants (medical students, residents, fellows, and graduate students) are expected to have appropriate faculty support and mentorship. Previous AHNS or AAOHNSF research grant recipients are eligible to apply.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: December 15, 2026 at 10:59pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The purpose of the AAO-HNSF Maureen Hannley Research Grant is designed to fill “research gaps” identified by the AAO-HNSF clinical practice guideline panels. Research gaps listed by subspecialty are available at: https://www.entnet.org/resource/clinical-practice-guidelineresearch-needs/. Applicants are strongly encouraged to develop projects which address research gaps. In addition, the AAO-HNSF seeks to support the career development of investigators committed to patient-oriented research by providing opportunities to develop independent research skills and gain experience with the advanced methods and approaches needed to establish successful, independent research careers.
Max Amount and Period: $50,000 for 1 year
Eligibility: Applicants must be an otolaryngologist in the United States or Canada. Applicants must demonstrate strong potential for excellence in research and teaching, as well as a clear commitment to pursuing an academic research career in otolaryngology–head and neck surgery. Priority will be given to junior faculty members who have completed residencies or fellowships within 7 years of the application receipt date. All candidates must be sponsored by the Chair of their Division or Department.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: December 15, 2026 at 10:59pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The purpose of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) Bobby R. Alford Endowed Research Grant is to support innovative research in the specialty and help facilitate the career development of young investigators. This mentored research award is intended to promote research that could ultimately lead to critical discoveries or major advancements that will translate into improved understanding into the cause, treatment, or outcome for diseases of the head and neck. Proposed projects can be related to any area of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery and must have direct or potential clinical significance for patients seen by otolaryngologist head and neck surgeons. Basic science, translational, and clinical research projects may be funded.
Max Amount and Period: $30,000 for 1 year
Eligibility: Applicants must be an otolaryngologist in the United States or Canada who has completed their residency or fellowship within the past 7 years. Applicants may be independent practitioners or practitioners affiliated with academic or similar institutions. All applicants must be members in good standing of AAO-HNS. Senior faculty mentorship and/or collaboration is required and encouraged. Past recipients of AAO-HNSF grants are eligible to apply, as are individuals who have competed successfully for independent research grant support from a private or federal funding agency.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: December 15, 2026 at 10:59pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The purpose of the AAO-HNSF Humanitarian Research Grant is to support investigatorinitiated research conducted in conjunction with humanitarian outreach activities that advance the understanding, delivery, quality, and outcomes of otolaryngologic care in resource-limited settings. This funding opportunity seeks to encourage meaningful scholarly investigation embedded within humanitarian clinical work and to promote sustainable, ethical, and collaborative global health research partnerships.
Max Amount and Period: $10,000 for 1 year
Eligibility: This grant is open to individuals at all stages of training and practice, including residents, fellows, PhDs, junior faculty, and practicing otolaryngologists and related clinicians. Applicants may be independent practitioners or affiliated with academic or similar institutions. There are no restrictions on the country of residence. All applicants must be members in good standing of AAO-HNS. Past recipients of AAO-HNSF grants are eligible to apply, as are individuals who have competed successfully for independent research grant support from a private or federal funding agency.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: December 15, 2026 at 10:59pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The purpose of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAOHNSF) Reg-ent Research Grant is to stimulate original research using the AAO-HNSF’s clinical data registry, Reg-ent. Projects should be well-conceived and scientifically valid, with the potential to advance otolaryngology.
Max Amount and Period: $10,000 for 1 year
Eligibility: Otolaryngologists in the United States or Canada are eligible to apply. Preference will be given to residents, but other early-career trainees are also eligible to apply. All applicants must be members in good standing of AAO-HNS. Past recipients of AAO-HNSF grants are eligible to apply, as are individuals who have competed successfully for independent research grant support from a private or federal funding agency. Special consideration will be given to applicants that are already affiliated with a Reg-ent site; however, Reg-ent participation is not required.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: December 15, 2026 at 10:59pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The purpose of this award is to provide support for the research career development of otolaryngologists – head and neck surgeons who have made a commitment to focus their research endeavors on research oriented to pediatric otolaryngology (e.g. patient-oriented clinical trials, health services, outcomes research, translational research, basic science).
Max Amount and Period: $40,000 over 2 years
Eligibility: Otolaryngologists-head and neck surgeons who hold full-time medical school faculty appointments and who have made a commitment to focus their research endeavors on research oriented to pediatric otolaryngology may apply. A minimal effort of 40% for protected research time (not necessarily for just this grant application) will be required.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: December 15, 2026 at 10:59pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology (ASPO) awards funds annually to support innovative research in pediatric otolaryngology.
Max Amount and Period: $20,000 for 1 year
Eligibility: Researchers (MD, PhD, DMD) in disciplines who will conduct research directly relevant to pediatric otolaryngology are eligible to apply.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: December 15, 2026 at 10:59pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: To promote the establishment of a new generation of basic and translational scientists interested in tackling inherited hematologic malignancy predisposition disorders with a focus on RUNX1-familial platelet disorder. We believe that providing capital to early career investigators not only injects funding to where it is needed most, but also cultivates a new cohort of investigators who will be invested in an area of research that historically has had limited attention.
Max Amount and Period: $180,000 over 3 years
Eligibility: Applicant institutions may be based in the U.S. or outside of the U.S. Applicants need not be United States citizens. Funds must be granted to non-profit institutions or organizations. Applicants must have an MD, PhD, or MD/PhD (DO, MBBS, or equivalent) and be within five years of their first faculty appointment as an Assistant Professor or equivalent tenure-track position. Associate and Full Professors are ineligible. If at the Instructor level, the applicant must submit a letter of support from their mentor at the sponsoring institution. A minimum of 75% of the applicant’s time during the award period must be allocated as protected time for all research activities. This percentage of time includes both activities on this grant and the applicant’s other research responsibilities. Applicants may have research grants from other funding sources during the award period, but there must be clear documentation of mechanisms to avoid scientific and budgetary overlap. Applicants must have research experience working in, and a deep understanding of, normal or malignant hematopoiesis and/or immunology.
Due Date: December 17, 2026 at 7pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Batool Akhtar-Zaidi in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The ASH Clinical Research Training Institute (CRTI) is a unique, year-long education and mentoring program for hematology fellows and junior faculty at academic medical centers. CRTI offers a broad education on clinical research methods, research collaborations, statistical analysis, and managing the demands of family and career. The goal of the program is to produce leaders armed with ideas for clinical hematology research and the tools and resources to make their ideas a reality.
Max Amount and Period: ASH will cover participants’ travel and hotel expenses to attend summer workshop and spring meeting.
Eligibility: This opportunity is geared towards early-career faculty in hematology-related programs at academic medical centers. See RFA for full details.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: December 17, 2026 at 10:59pm CST
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: This Award is designed to support the research efforts of an advanced physician scientist who is engaged in independent clinical research and has demonstrated exceptional leadership, scholarship, and academic success.
Max Amount and Period: $300,000 over 3 years
Eligibility: Applicants must be MD, DO, or equivalent and be an independent clinician investigator who is mid-stage in their career. CLL considers this to be someone who is either an Associate Professor or within five years or less from becoming a Full Professor as of 7/1/2027. Eligible applicants must currently be practicing at an accredited academic clinical research institution located within the United States and perform their research at that institution for the duration of the award. US citizenship is not required, but the research itself must be conducted in the United States.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: December 21, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: This award is meant to support scientists who are specifically interested in researching how integrative medicine approaches might improve the lives of those living with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL).
Max Amount and Period: $200,000 over 2 years
Eligibility: Applicants for CLL Society’s Integrative Medicine Award can be faculty at any career stage.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: December 21, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: This opportunity is for researchers who are early in their careers, have not yet established themselves as independent researchers, and plan on having a career in the field of CLL/SLL and related disorders such as Richter’s transformation.
Max Amount and Period: $150,000 over 3 years
Eligibility: The Young Investigator is defined as a junior faculty member (instructor or assistant professor) and/or postdoctoral fellow whose focus is on pre-clinical research. Applicants should ideally be fellows or scientists with an MD, DO, and/or PhD from an accredited institution who plan to be tenure-tracked by the time the grant term begins. Young Investigator Award applicants should be within 7 years from achieving their terminal degree and/or within 7 years from completing specialty training (i.e., Hematology-Oncology Fellowship training).
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: December 21, 2026
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
January Deadlines
RFP Snapshot: We fund research to better understand the causes of DIPG/DMG and to advance its treatment and cure. To help achieve this goal, we expect researchers to publish their findings in peer-reviewed journals and to make their data available to other researchers.
Max Amount and Period: $400,000 over 3 years
Eligibility: The investigator may be either a newly independent researcher establishing a new DIPG/DMG research lab, or an established researcher who has not previously conducted DIPG/DMG research. Applicants must have held their faculty appointment for 6 years or less as of the grant start date (applicants who are more than 6 years beyond their first independent faculty appointment may still be eligible if they have no previous research experience in DIPG/DMG brain tumors). Applicants need not be U.S. citizens or based at a U.S. institution.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: January 11, 2027
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Batool Akhtar-Zaidi in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The proposed research must represent an innovative approach to a major challenge in DIPG/DMG research. The funded projects must have the potential to lead to groundbreaking discoveries in the field and transform our understanding of the tumorigenesis process or our ability to treat or detect DIPG. We welcome both single investigator and collaborative, multi-institutional research proposals. For collaborative proposals, a Primary Investigator must be identified with other participants listed as collaborating researchers.
Max Amount and Period: $600,000 over 3 years
Eligibility: Applicant must hold an M.D. and/or Ph.D. by the LOI application deadline.
Due Date: Letter of Intent Due: January 11, 2027
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Batool Akhtar-Zaidi in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: This competitive program is designed to support interventional Investigator Sponsored Research aimed at generating clinical evidence for atirmociclib in combination approaches in HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer (mBC) and/or HER2+ breast cancer. This RFP has two phases: Phase 1 requires applicants to submit a Concept application. Selected Concepts will then be invited to Phase 2, where applicants submit a full proposal for review.
Max Amount and Period: $1.3M over 3 years
Eligibility: The PI must have a medical or postdoctoral degree (MD, PhD, or equivalent), an advanced nursing degree (BSN with a MS/PhD), or a degree in Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, or Social Work. If the project involves multiple departments within an institution and/or between different institutions / organizations / associations, all institutions must have a relevant role and the requesting organization must have a key role in the project.
Due Date: Concept Due: January 12, 2027
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Julie Potter Najem in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: The CRI Lloyd J. Old STAR Program — Scientists TAking Risks — provides long-term, flexible funding to mid-career scientists, giving them the freedom to pursue high-risk, high-reward research at the leading edge of cancer immunotherapy. Rooted in CRI’s unparalleled track record of identifying and supporting individuals who have reshaped the field, these awards are not tied to a single research project. Instead, they are designed to support outstanding investigators whose body of work demonstrates exceptional promise and the potential for transformative impact.
Max Amount and Period: $1.25M over 5 year period
Eligibility: The applicant must have an MD, PhD, or MD/PhD and hold a tenure-track posiion. Assistant professors with a minimum of 3 years in that role and associate professors with a maximum 3 years may apply.
Due Date: January 15, 2027
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Glenn Floyd in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
RFP Snapshot: This grant is meant to foster and develop talented early-career breast radiation oncology researchers in biomedical research.
Max Amount and Period: $100,000 for 1 year
Eligibility: Applicants must hold a doctorate degree such as PhD, MD/PhD, MD, DO, or other equivalent degree(s) and must be Early-Stage Investigators as defined by NIH. Investigators must be working in the fields of radiation oncology, radiation or cancer biology, or radiation physics. The PI is required to commit at least 20% of their career responsibilities to the research project and career development/training plan described in the application.
Due Date: Concept Due: January 25, 2027
Application Assistance: Washington University faculty may reach out to Julie Potter Najem in Medical Corporate and Foundation Relations at [email protected] with any questions and for assistance with reviewing/editing your proposal.
Common Funders
- American Association for Cancer Research
- American Cancer Society
- American Institute for Cancer Research
- American Society of Clinical Oncology
- Association of American Cancer Institutes
- Cancer Research Institute
- Department of Defense
- Elsa U. Pardee Foundation
- National Institutes of Health centers, institutes and offices
- National Cancer Institute
- WUSTL Institute for Public Health – Center for Dissemination and Implementation
How are we doing? Send us your suggestions! Please let us know how we can improve this page, the newsletter, or anything else related to funding opportunity dissemination.
The newsletter and the list of open opportunities on this page are not fully inclusive of all available cancer-related funding. Please be sure to consult other sources to learn of other opportunities not listed here.