***Limited Submission***
(one application per institution)
Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation
Program: 2025 Mallinckrodt Grants
Synopsis: Supports tenure-track faculty who are in their 1st to 4th year at their institution for early-stage biomedical research, both basic and translational research. The Mallinckrodt grant’s purpose is to advance the project to make it fundable by an R01 or other independent funding, hence, investigators who already have R01 funding should not apply. Applicants must have a doctorate.
Award details: $75K for direct cost annually for 3 years. Funding for years 2 and 3 are contingent upon progress made in the previous year. Grants are not renewable.
USC announcement on website: https://rii.usc.edu/limited-submissions/mallinckrodt/
External announcement on website: https://emallinckrodtfoundation.org/guidelines
USC Internal due date: June 16, 2025.
External due date: August 1, 2025.
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American Philosophical Association (APA)
Program: APA Small Grants Fund
Synopsis: Supports projects that benefit the field of philosophy, particularly innovative, short-term projects, rather than long-term, repeat, or sustaining funding for established projects. Examples of small grant projects include Does Philosophy make students better thinkers?, Mentor observation program for small philosophical departments, and Re-indexing the diversity reading list in philosophy. Also, recent grants have funded conferences and workshops.
Award details: Up to $5K.
Announcement on website: https://www.apaonline.org/page/grantfund
Application due date: June 30, 2025.
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National Geographic Society
Program: The Big Questions
Synopsis: Supports projects that should in some way explore the following questions
- What does it mean to be human?
- Curiosity: What are the boundaries of Earth? What are the limits to what we can understand?
- What is the relationship between the human and natural worlds?
The National Geographic Society will invite storytellers to delve into some of these big questions – questions we’ve wrestled with for millennia, and questions that are only just emerging.
Award details: Up to $100K, though applicants with 5 years of experience or less are advised to request up to $20K.
Announcement on website: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/society/grants-and-investments/funding-opportunity-the-big-questions/
Application due date: June 24, 2025.
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Paleontological Society
Program: Paleontology in the Parks Fellowship Program
Synopsis: Supports collaboration between members of the Paleontological Society (PS) and the National Park Service (NPS) by working together to help address fossil project needs in parks across the United States. The fellowship program aims to support mentor-student pairs — the pairing of early career faculty with a student to aid in paleontology projects, with a commitment to guide a student in leading that research collaboratively with the NPS. The goal is to provide research and professional development opportunities for students (including recent graduates) while supported by the expertise of a mentor suitable to contribute to specific NPS paleontology projects. Students in the program are additionally expected to participate in related education and outreach endeavors as part of the fellowship to foster their professional growth in learning more about federal careers and help promote the discipline. Mentors are encouraged to consider how these projects may be suitable for summer research experiences, senior capstones, MS theses, etc. Mentors must be members of the Paleontological Society; students are expected to be degree-seeking, enrolled in a university, or recent graduates.
Award details: Fellowship stipend for shorter-term / Small-scale projects: $1.5K. An additional $1K will be available for travel and field expenses, each for the student and mentor. Fellowship stipend for Longer term / Larger-scale projects: $3.5K. An additional $1K will be available for travel and field expenses, each for student and mentor. Note: Fellowship stipends start at these amounts but may be higher depending on the scope of work involved. Typically, projects that have no field component / expenses and instead require more intense literature or database research will have increased stipends.
Announcement on website: https://www.paleosoc.org/paleontology-in-the-parks-fellowship-program
Application due date: November 1, 2025. Typically, new opportunities are posted by September or October of each year (but start dates for positions may vary). Applications will be accepted by priority deadlines listed for specific projects or on a rolling basis afterwards as needed until positions are filled.
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United States – Japan Foundation
Program: Grants
Synopsis: Supports efforts to strengthen bilateral ties and address shared challenges. The foundation aims to empower next-generation leaders and fund innovative initiatives, catalyzing collaboration and exchanges among stakeholders in search of solutions.
Award details: Recent awards vary widely from $12K to $750K
Announcement on website: https://us-jf.org/en/grants
Letter of Intent due date: LOIs are accepted during each quarter. The next due date (2nd quarter) is June 27, 2025.
Full proposal due date (invited): Up to 30 days after invitation to submit proposal.
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Bibliographic Society of America (BSA)
Program: New Scholars Program
Synopsis: Supports researchers who have not previously published, lectured, or taught on bibliographical subjects by nurturing and promoting their scholarship. The New Scholars Program defines bibliography to include studies of the creation, production, publication, distribution, reception, transmission, and subsequent history of all textual artifacts.
Booksellers, librarians, curators, collectors, junior (i.e., untenured) academics, graduate students at the dissertation level, and independent scholars are all welcome to apply. Must be a U.S. citizen or visa holder.
Award details: In addition to the $1K cash award and $500 travel stipend, New Scholars may apply in one of the next two subsequent years for a stipend of the same amount to attend a second Annual Meeting. New Scholars also receive a complimentary one-year membership in the BSA, which includes a subscription to the Papers of the Bibliographic Society of America (PBSA).
Announcement on website: https://bibsocamer.org/fellowships-and-awards
Submission window: June 16, 2025, to September 4, 2025.
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National Humanities Center
Program: Scholarly Programs - 2026-2027 Fellowships
Synopsis: Supports primarily mid-career and senior scholars for year or semester-long fellowships at the Center. In addition to focusing on their work in the Archie K. Davis building, take breaks to wander paths through the surrounding pine forest, and share ideas with colleagues working on a fascinating array of projects from across humanities disciplines, scholars may also take advantage of the Center’s exceptional support services, including the Center’s outstanding librarians and attentive dining staff.
Award details: The stipend amounts awarded are individually determined, according to the needs of the Fellow and the Center’s ability to meet them. The Center seeks to provide half salary with the expectation that the Fellow’s home institution covers the remaining salary. Other grants or institutional support that Fellows will receive during their fellowship may also reduce the amount of the Center’s stipend.
Announcement on website: https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/scholarly-programs/faqs/
Application submission window: July 1, 2025, to October 2, 2025.
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Smith Richardson Foundation
Program: Domestic Public Policy
Synopsis: Supports research on and evaluation of existing public policies and programs, as well as projects that inject new ideas into public debates that will help the public and policymakers understand and address critical challenges facing the United States. , the Foundation’s grant-making portfolios include:
- identifying mechanisms that can inform thinking on fiscal practices on national, state, and local levels;
- supports human capital development, such as identifying ways schools can become more productive, e.g., increasing the teacher workforce or improving curricula;
- supports projects examining the efficacy of the criminal justice system while lowering costs to protect public safety; and
- supports projects related to post-secondary education.
Award details: Recent grants have ranged from ~$38K to ~$350K.
Announcement on website: https://www.srf.org/programs/domestic-public-policy/
Application due date: Submission of a maximum 6-page concept paper will be reviewed for further consideration, and selected projects will be invited for a full proposal. Requests for grants of $50K or less are reviewed on an ongoing basis and are handled as promptly as possible.
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American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Program: 2026 Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science
Synopsis: Supports early-career scientists, mathematicians, and engineers who demonstrate excellence in their contribution to public engagement with science activities. Public engagement activities are defined as the individual’s active participation in efforts to engage with the public on science- and technology-related issues and promote meaningful dialogue between science and society. Early career is defined as an individual who has completed their terminal degree within seven years of the deadline for nominations. Nominations are accepted from individuals, universities, research organizations, etc. Self-nominations are also accepted.
Award details: A monetary prize of $5K, a commemorative plaque, and recognition at the AAAS Annual Meeting.
Announcement on website: https://www.aaas.org/awards/early-career-public-engagement/about
Nominations due date: June 30, 2025.
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Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund
Program: Small Grants
Synopsis: Supports conservation efforts related to plants, animals, and fungi species without discrimination based on region or selected species. The fund is primarily interested in supporting in situ species conservation work (such as survey work and data gathering, direct action, recovery management, training, and the like) that focuses on the species in its natural habitat. However, the importance of ex-situ work (genetic analysis, workshops, ex-situ populations, etc.) is also recognized, so a few grants may be given to projects which focus on ex situ conservation work in certain circumstances.
Award details: Maximum award is $25K.
Announcement on website: https://www.speciesconservation.org/grants/
Application due date: June 30, 2025.
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Michelson Medical Research
Program: Next Generation Grants
Synopsis: Supports research that aims to tackle the current roadblocks to human vaccine development and expand our limited understanding of key immune processes that are fundamental to successful vaccine and immunotherapy development. Applicants from the full spectrum of related disciplines, including clinical research, biochemistry, molecular biology, protein engineering, computer science, artificial intelligence/machine learning, biophysics, nanotechnology, etc., are encouraged to apply.
Award details: $1.5K for one year.
Announcement on website: Next Generation Prize
Application due date: June 22, 2025.
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Amazon
Program: Amazon Applied Science Internship
Synopsis: Supports boundary-pushing graduate student scientists to conduct research into the theory and application of deep reinforcement learning and work on some of the most difficult problems in the industry with some of the best product managers, scientists, and software engineers in the industry. Students will propose and deploy solutions that will likely draw from a range of scientific areas such as supervised, semi-supervised and unsupervised learning, reinforcement learning, advanced statistical modeling, and graph models. Eligible candidates are enrolled in a Ph.D. program and are able to relocate to one of the locations where the internship will take place (e.g. San Diego, Palo Alto, and others). The ideal candidate should possess the ability to work collaboratively with diverse groups and cross-functional teams to solve complex business problems. A successful candidate will be a self-starter, comfortable with ambiguity, with strong attention to detail, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment.
Award details: Pay ranges from $63.38 to $107.40 per hour, plus health and other benefits.
Announcement on website: Amazon Science Internship
Application due date: Continuous.
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U.S. Department of State / U.S. Embassy of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Program: Cross Border University Partnership Initiative
NOFO #: PDS-SIV-100-FY25-NOFO
Synopsis: Supports academic collaboration, research partnerships, and/or student exchanges between universities in the United States and Ivorian universities. All programs must include an American cultural element, or connection with an American expert(s), organization(s), or institution(s) in a specific field that will promote increased understanding of U.S. policy and perspectives. These partnerships can take different forms but will facilitate academic exchanges, collaborative research, and professional development opportunities, ultimately supporting the exchange of ideas and expertise and contributing to the capacity of higher education institutions. Eligible applicants are universities in the U.S. and Côte d’Ivoire. Projects may include, but not be limited to, the following goals:
-- Foster partnerships between U.S. and Ivoirian universities to promote academic exchange and collaborative research.
- Strengthen the institutional capacity of universities through joint programs, faculty exchanges, and shared resources.
- Develop and implement new curricula that address global challenges and incorporate diverse perspectives.
- Promote joint research initiatives that address pressing global issues and encourage innovation.
Award details: Up to $75K for one month.
Announcement on website: Cross Border University Partnership Initiative
Application due date: July 4, 2025.
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Department of Energy (DoE) / Office of Science (SC)
Program: FY 2025 Continuation of Solicitation for the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program
NOFO #: DE-FOA-0003432 (Amendment 000001)
Synopsis: Supports projects in the following program areas: Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Basic Energy Sciences, Biological and Environmental Research, Fusion Energy Sciences, High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics, Isotope R&D and Production, and Accelerator R&D and Production. This NOFO seeks to support basic research to advance understanding rather than to address commercial opportunities, and therefore will not support applicants’ commercial activity.
Award details: The award size will depend on the number of meritorious applications and the availability of appropriated funds. Historically, awards from $5K to $5M have been made in response to the NOFO each year. The period of performance is 5 years.
Announcement on website: FY 2025 Continuation of Solicitation
Application due date: NOFO will remain open until September 30, 2025.
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Department of Defense (DoD) / DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory – Army Research Office (ARL-ARO)
Program: Quantum Characterization, Calibration, and Control (QC3) BAA
NOFO #: W911NF25S0002
Synopsis: Supports research in Quantum Characterization, Calibration, and Control (QC3). This is a proposed four-year program and is primarily focused on three topic areas in the field of quantum computing (QC).
The topic areas are as follows:
(1) Characterization: Primary Research Goal: Advance the state-of-the-art to assess the performance of qubit operations in multi-qubit circuits quantitatively and to extract error models.
(2) Calibration: Primary Research Goal: Advance state-of-the-art for bringing up multi-qubit circuits for high-performance operations near or better than fault-tolerance thresholds.
(3) Control: Primary Research Goal: Advance state-of-the-art control techniques to operate multi-qubit circuits operating near or better than fault-tolerant thresholds, accounting for the specifics of error models for the circuit.
Award details: Anticipated awards will be made in the form of procurement contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements, Other Transactions Agreements, and are subject to the availability of appropriations. 1st Year Awards are anticipated at $500K-$2M. Funding for the second year and beyond will be contingent upon satisfactory performance and the availability of funds. The project period is 4 years.
Announcement on website: Q3C BAA
White Paper due date (strongly encouraged): May 30, 2025.
Full proposal due date: August 7, 2025.
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Forecasted Opportunities for NIH Programs
NIH / Multiple Institutes
Program: Expanding the Target Landscape by Drugging the Undruggable (R21 Exploratory and Development)
Opportunity #: FOR-TR-26-001
Synopsis: Anticipates support for research on undruggable target classes within intractable human disease. Applicants will identify a human disease relevant undruggable target class and develop a method or agent that is selective for one or more targets within that target class. This anticipated Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is intended to jumpstart research that demonstrates innovative strategies to modulate targets that cannot be addressed by established therapeutic types, furthering the development of methods and/or agents selective for undruggable target classes. Projects proposed in response to this anticipated NOFO must address targets traditionally considered undruggable and perform preclinical proof of concept studies to further the development of methods and/or agents selective for undruggable target classes in intractable human disease. The proposed project should serve as a use case that demonstrates modulation of a traditionally undruggable target, but that also serves as a proof of concept for a larger study and / or technology development that could be applied to the undruggable target class as a whole.
Anticipated Program Funding: $1M
Announcement on website: https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/359154
Estimated Post date: August 15, 2025.
Estimated application due date: October 16, 2025.
Estimated project start date: July 16, 2026.
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NIH / The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA
Program: Consortium on the Neurobiology of Adolescent Drinking in Adulthood (NADIA) Administrative Resource
Opportunity #: NOT-AA-25-006
Synopsis: Anticipate support for research across various research institutions to investigate the mechanisms responsible for the effects of repeated adolescent alcohol exposure on brain maturation and adult outcomes. To establish a robust foundational knowledge base that can be utilized in developing enhanced treatment methods and more effective strategies for preventing alcohol and alcohol-related problems. NIAAA supports research across various fields, including biomedical and genetic factors, psychological and environmental influences, alcohol-related problems and medical conditions, health services research, and prevention and treatment strategies. Applications are not being solicited at this time. Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects. The anticipated Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) anticipates utilizing the U24 activity code. Investigators with expertise in molecular insights are encouraged to begin to consider applying for the anticipated NOFO. In addition, collaborative investigations combining expertise are encouraged, and these investigators should also begin considering applying for this application.
Anticipated program funding: No estimate posted.
Opportunity #: https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/358997
Estimated Post date: July 30, 2025
Estimated application due date: September 30, 2025
Estimated Project Start date: May 30, 2026.
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NIH / National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH)
Program: NIMH Biobehavioral Research Awards for Innovative New Scientists (NIMH BRAINS)
Opportunity #: FOR-MH-26-200
Synopsis: Anticipates support for the research and research career advancement of outstanding, exceptionally productive scientists who are in the early, formative stages of their careers and who plan to make a long-term career commitment to research in specific mission areas of the NIMH. This award seeks to assist these individuals in launching innovative clinical, translational, or basic research programs that hold the potential to profoundly transform the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of mental health disorders. Research projects proposed in response to this anticipated NOFO will be expected to have a defined impact on our understanding of the pathophysiology, trajectories, effective treatment, and/or prevention of mental illness. The anticipated NOFO will utilize the R01 activity code.
Anticipated program funding: Program funding anticipated to b $3M.
Announcement on website: https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/359153
Estimated post date: September 20, 2025.
Estimated application due date: October 20, 2025.
Estimated start date: July 1, 2026.
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NIH / The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
Program: Mind and Body Interventions to Restore Whole Person Health via Emotional Well-Being Mechanisms
Opportunity #: NOT-AT-25-006
Synopsis: Anticipate support for the research and research career advancement of outstanding, exceptionally productive scientists who are in the early, formative stages of their careers and who plan to make a long-term career commitment to research in specific mission areas of the NIMH. This award seeks to assist these individuals in launching innovative clinical, translational, or basic research programs that hold the potential to profoundly transform the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of mental health disorders.
Anticipated program funding: $2M
Announcement on website: https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/359155
Estimated post date: October 14, 2025.
Estimated application due date: December 15, 2025.
Estimated start date: July 1, 2026.
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NIH / The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), with other NIH Institutes and Centers
Program: BRAIN Initiative: Theories, Models and Methods for Analysis of Complex Data from the Brain
Forcaste #: FOR-DA-27-006
Synopsis: Support for the development of computational tools (theories, models, methods) for understanding dynamic brain circuits, which will be made broadly accessible to the greater research community. This program supports applications focused on tool building and dissemination in the domain of theories about neural circuit mechanisms, models of circuit structure and function, and/or computational methods of analysis spanning the scale of neurons and firing rates (or proxies thereof), or finer resolution. Applications are not being solicited at this time. Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects. The anticipated Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will utilize the R01 activity code. Investigators with expertise and insights into this area of computational models, theories, and models of neural computations, and AI are encouraged to begin to consider applying for this anticipated NOFO. In addition, collaborative investigations combining expertise in mechanistic, interpretable, and predictive models of neural dynamics and neural circuit function will be encouraged, and these investigators should also begin considering applying for this application.
Estimated program funding: $6K program funding
Announcement on website: https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/359068
Estimated post date: November 5, 2025
Estimated application due date: February 5, 2026
Estimated award start date: December 1, 2026.
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Dornsife Advancement / Corporate and Foundation Relations
(for more info please contact Kerri Bennett at keriben@usc.edu)
Sparks Neuroscience Translational
Program: Call For Proposals: 2026 Cohorts
Synopsis: Supports biomedical research group leaders at academic or nonprofit research institutions in the US, Canada, the UK, and Europe. Principal Investigators with promising discoveries in Parkinson's disease or autism are invited to apply for the SPARK NS Translational Research Program, 2026 Cohort. SPARK NS will provide selected projects with funding, education, mentorship, and networking opportunities to advance their discoveries to first-in-class therapeutics. Based on the individual needs of participating projects, SPARK NS will vary certain aspects of the program and tailor provided resources. However, all will have access to the following four program components:
Award details: Provides milestone-based funding of up to $2M per project during the two-year program based on development plans that will be created after a project is selected. This includes discretionary funding for the PIs of each project of $50K per year.
Announcement on website: https://sparkns.org/call-for-proposals/
Application submission window: Portal opens June 2, 2025 and closes July 11, 2025) Please contact Jennifer Lidar from University Advancement at jlidar@usc.edu, if you intend to apply.
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Help With Crafting Your Proposals
Our periodic reminder that you do not have to go it alone when writing your proposal. Dornsife's Grant Strategist, Dr. Heidi Parker is available to assist with science related proposals, especially federally sponsored opportunities. Heidi can be reached at hparker@usc.edu. Dr. Sarah Bishop is Dornsife's grant consultant for both crafting proposals as well as identifying funding opportunities in the humanities and sometimes social sciences. Sarah may be reached at sarahbis@usc.edu Please feel free to reach out to either of these two experienced individuals for insight and one-on-one collaboration.
