External Funding Opportunities
***Limited Submission***
(USC may nominate up to 3 candidates)
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Program: 2025 Sloan Research Fellowships
Synopsis: Supports tenure-track professors (though not tenured as of September 15, 2024). Must have a doctorate in chemistry, computer science, Earth system science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, and physics. Nominees for this award are typically several years beyond conferral of their Ph.D. and must have a demonstrated record of accomplishment.
Award details: $75K
USC internal announcement: https://rii.usc.edu/limited-submissions/sloan/
External announcement on website: https://sloan.org/fellowships
USC Internal due date: July 12, 2024.
External due date: September 15, 2024.
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***Limited Submission***
(posted last week, now with limited submission info)
National Endowment for the Humanities
Program: Summer Stipends
Synopsis: Supports continuous full-time work on a humanities project for two consecutive months. NEH funds may support recipients’ compensation, travel, and other costs related to the proposed scholarly research. Specifically supports
- individuals pursuing advanced research that is of value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both
- projects at any stage of development, but especially early-stage research and late-stage writing in which small awards are most effective
- wide range of individuals, including independent scholars, community college faculty, and non-teaching staff at universities
Award details: The maximum award is $8K for 2 months.
USC Internal announcement: https://rii.usc.edu/limited-submissions/neh-summer-stipends/
External Announcement on website: https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/summer-stipends
USC Internal due date: July 19, 2024.
Application due date: September 18, 2024. Project start date: May 1, 2025, to September 1, 2026.
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***Limited Submission***
NSF / Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering
- Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure
Program: Advanced Computing Systems & Services: Adapting to the Rapid Evolution of Science and Engineering Research 2.0
Solicitation #: NSF-24-583
Synopsis: Supports organizations who are willing to serve as resource providers within the NSF Advanced Computing Systems and Services (ACSS) program. Resource providers would (1) provide advanced cyberinfrastructure (CI) resources in production operations to support the full range of computation, data-analysis, and AI research across all of science and engineering, and (2) enable democratized and equitable access to the proposed resources. The current solicitation is intended to complement previous NSF investments in advanced computational infrastructure by provisioning resources, broadly defined, in this solicitation to include systems and services, in two categories:
Category I: Capacity Resources: production computational resources maximizing the capacity provided to support the broad range of computation, data analytics and AI needs in S&E research; and
Category II: Innovative Prototypes / Testbeds: innovative forward-looking capabilities deploying novel technologies, architectures, usage modes, etc., and exploring new target applications, methods, and paradigms.
Resource Providers will be incorporated into NSF’s ACSS 2.0 program portfolio, which complements investments in leadership-class computing and funds a federation of nationally available advanced computing resources that are technically diverse and intended to enable discoveries at a computational scale beyond the research of individual or regional academic institutions.
Award details: Category I awards will range between $10M and $20M for up to 5 years of duration; Category II awards shall not exceed a total of $5M and are of 5 years of duration.
USC Internal announcement: https://rii.usc.edu/limited-submissions/nsf-24-583/
External announcement on website: https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/advanced-computing-systems-services-adapting-rapid/nsf24-583/solicitation
USC Internal due date: July 26, 2024.
External due date: Category I: October 29, 2024; Category II: June 24, 2025 (please note: during Category II submissions, no Category I proposals are accepted).
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***Limited Submission***
NIH / National Cancer Institute
Program: NCI Pathway to Independence Award for Early-Stage Postdoctoral Researchers (K99/R00 - Career Transition Award/Research Transition Award)
NOFO #: 23-286
Synopsis: Supports postdoctoral fellows with research and / or clinical doctoral degrees who do not require extended periods of mentored research training beyond their original doctoral degrees before transitioning to research independence, which is common for those working in cancer control, cancer prevention and cancer data sciences. Therefore, researchers from these disciplines are particularly encouraged to work with their institutions to apply. At the time of the award, candidates must be in a mentored, postdoctoral position.
Award details: The K99 Mentored Phase: NCI will contribute up to $100K per year toward the salary of the career award recipient's candidate for 2 years. NCI will contribute up to $30K per year toward the research development costs of the award recipient. Indirects will be reimbursed at 8%.
The R00 Independent Phase: The total cost may not exceed $249K per year. This amount includes salary, fringe benefits, research costs, and applicable indirect costs.
USC Internal announcement: https://rii.usc.edu/limited-submissions/par-23-286/
External announcement on website: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-23-286.html
USC Internal due date: July 26, 2024.
External due dates: Multiple dates through October 2026 for all types of applications, except AIDS applications. Next due date is October 15, 2024.
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Pen America
Program: Pen / Bare Life Review Grants
Synopsis: Supports literary works in progress by immigrant and refugee writers, recognizing that the literature of migration is of inherent and manifest value. Eligibility includes
- The submitted project must be the work of a single individual, written in or translated into English. The grant will be conferred to the original author in the case of translated works.
- The project must be an unpublished work-in-progress that will not be published prior to April 1, 2026, as the grants are intended to support the completion of a manuscript.
- The project must be a work of a literary nature: fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry.
- This grant is available to foreign-born writers based in the U.S., and to writers living abroad who hold refugee/asylum seeker status.
- Writers may only submit one project per year
Please note that scholarly or academic writings are not eligible.
Award details: $5K
Announcement on website: https://pen.org/pen-bare-life-review-grant/
Application due date: August 1, 2024.
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Google
Program: Google Academic Research Awards (GARA)
Synopsis: Supports groundbreaking foundational and applied research in computing and technology around the world. Each funding cycle, Google will identify key research areas and invite proposals from academics who are advising students and conducting research in a variety of technologically-focused domains that have societal implications.
Proposals are invited in the following areas:
- Creating ML benchmarks for climate problems
- Making education equitable, accessible and effective using AI
- Quantum transduction and networking for scalable computing applications
- Society-centered AI
- Trust and safety
- Using Gemini and Google’s open model family to solve systems and infrastructure.
Award details: $150K
Announcement on website: https://blog.google/technology/research/introducing-googles-new-academic-research-awards/
Application submission window: June 27, 2024 – July 17, 2024.
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National Eczema Association
Program: Eczema Champion Research Grant
Synopsis: Supports trail-blazing research by established investigators with recognized productivity – either within or outside the eczema field – to conduct highly innovative, cutting-edge investigations related to eczema. Data from this award can then be used to seek additional, larger-scale funding from the NIH or other funding entities to build on these discoveries. Eligible applicants are those who are at minimum Associate Professors who has been a PI on an NIH or NIH equivalent project within the past 5 years Proposals should address at least one of the following priorities:
- Cutting-edge basic and translational science;
- Eczema heterogeneity novel insights;
- Innovations in clinical care and practice;
- Understanding and alleviating disease burden; and
- Preventing eczema.
Award details: Applicants may request $100K for direct cost only for one year, with the option of a competitive 2nd year of funding.
Announcement on website: https://nationaleczema.org/research/research-we-fund/for-researchers/eczema-champion-research-grant/
Application due date: July 31, 2024.
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Bright Focus Foundation
Program: Alzheimer’s Disease Research: Standard Awards and Postdoctoral Awards
Synopsis: Supports researchers pursuing pioneering research leading to greater understanding, prevention, and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Standard Awards support researchers with significant funding who have already generated some amount of preliminary data, but are often required to demonstrate additional, significant progress before they can apply to governmental or industrial funding agencies.
Award details: $300K for 3 years
Postdoctoral Awards supports young researchers in their final stages of mentored training and who are within 5 years since the conferral of their Ph.D. These awards fund projects in an established laboratory that will serve as the basis for the applicant's independent research career.
Award details: $200K for 2 years.
Announcement on website: https://science.brightfocus.org/research/alzheimers-disease-research/rfp
Letter of Intent for FY 2025: August 2, 2024.
Full application due date (invited): December 20, 2024.
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American Hearing Research Foundation (AHRF)
Program: AHRF Discovery Grants
Synopsis: Supports studies that investigate various aspects of hearing and balance
disorders related to the inner ear. Proposals should relate to the hearing or balance functions of the ear. Both basic and clinical studies may be proposed that investigate aspects of the auditory and vestibular systems including but not limited to genetics, neurotology, anatomy, auditory processing, molecular and cellular biology, therapeutic studies, and investigations of current or experimental devices (i.e., cochlear implants). Priority is given to early career investigators who need funds to generate data to enable them to apply to larger NIH RO1 opportunities.
Award details: Up to $50K. Grant funds may only be used for direct costs, including
salaries of technical and supporting staff, equipment related to the research,
and supplies.
Announcement on website:
https://www.american-hearing.org/research-grants/grants-we-offer/
Application due date: August 15, 2024.
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Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts
Program: Opioid Crisis Innovation Challenge 2024
Synopsis: Supports projects that bring an innovative approach to long-standing and complex issues related to all aspects of stemming the tide of the nation’s opioid crisis. This request for proposals targets projects which can explore and / or evaluate new “outside-the-box” ideas, bring together approaches from several diverse fields, and engage multidisciplinary, cross-sector teams to solve some of the crisis’ most intractable problems. Applicants will focus on projects in the following three areas which are widely recognized challenges to adequately address the opioid and overdose crisis with few examples of how to approach differently to accelerate improvements in reducing overdoses, increase access to treatment, and support long-term recovery:
- Innovative Payment Models. Projects in this focus area may include the creation and / or evaluation of payment models for improving access to all aspects of an individual’s treatment plan, the development of quality measures to assess the value of care, and / or analysis of policy issues, such as parity for SUD care or disparities in treatment reimbursement
- Workforce Development. Projects in this focus area may include programmatic and policy work to expand and sustain the addiction and behavioral healthcare workforce pipeline, to deploy the current workforce in more strategic and impactful ways, and / or to create new training opportunities for peers.
- Supporting the transition from Treatment to Recovery. Projects in this focus area may include, for example, the development of and access to effective recovery housing models, as well as other innovative ways to address barriers facing those transitioning to long-term recovery.
For more information, there is an informational webinar tomorrow, June 27, 2024.
Award details: Up to $300K per year for 2 years.
Announcement on website: https://forefdn.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Innovation2_RFP_FINAL.pdf
Concept Paper due date: August 8, 2024.
Invitation to submit full proposal: September 6, 2024.
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Sandia National Laboratories
Program: President Harry S. Truman Postdoctoral Fellowship in National Security Science and Engineering
Synopsis: Supports postdocs who are within 3 years of having conferred their doctorate to conduct groundbreaking, independent research that directly supports Sandia’s national-security mission. Fellows have the freedom to choose their own research topics and benefit from access to state-of-the-art facilities at Sandia’s principal locations in New Mexico and California. Collaborating with some of the nation’s most accomplished scientists and engineers, Truman Fellows gain invaluable expertise and contribute to cutting-edge advancements in their respective fields.
Award details: Annual salary of $119,7K($131,7K for California) and benefits; flexible work arrangements for 3 years; plus a yearly allowance of $100K that can be used for research equipment, additional personnel, and travel.
Announcement on website: https://www.sandia.gov/careers/career-possibilities/students-and-postdocs/fellowships/truman-fellowship/
Application due date: September 12, 2024.
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Sandia National Laboratories
Programs: Jill Hurby Postdoctoral Fellowship
Synopsis: Supports women postdocs in science and engineering with this prestigious fellowship for independent research endeavors that align with Sandia’s overarching mission: the development of cutting-edge technologies to ensure global peace. With the privilege of proposing their own research topics, fellows will gain unparalleled access to Sandia’s state-of-the-art facilities and collaborate with some of the nation’s most brilliant scientists and engineers. To be considered for this 3-year fellowship, applicants must have been conferred their Ph.D. within the past 3 years display excellent abilities in scientific and / or engineering research and show clear promise of becoming an extraordinary leader. Fellows may work at either of Sandia’s principal locations in New Mexico or California. All qualified applicants will be considered for this fellowship.
Award details: Annual salary of $119,7K ($131,7K for California) and benefits; flexible work arrangements for 3 years, plus a yearly allowance of $100K that can be used for research equipment, additional personnel, and travel.
Announcement on website: https://www.sandia.gov/careers/career-possibilities/students-and-postdocs/fellowships/jill-hruby-fellowship/
Application due date: September 12, 2024.
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National Endowment for the Humanities
Program: Archaeological and Ethnographic Field Research
Synopsis: Supports empirical field research to answer significant questions in the humanities. Archaeology and ethnography are important methodologies utilized by many disciplines across the humanities and social sciences that provide observational and experiential data on human history and culture. Archaeological methods may include field surveys and field-based remote sensing, documentation or visualization, and/or excavations in support of answering research questions in all aspects of the human past, including but not limited to ancient studies, anthropology, art history, classical studies, regional studies, epigraphy, and other related disciplines. Productions of books (including book chapters), scholarly articles, field reports, etc. are the expected outputs of an award.
Award details: The maximum award is $150K over 4 to 36 months.
Announcement on website: https://www.neh.gov/program/archaeological-and-ethnographic-field-research
Optional draft due date: July 15, 2024.
Application due date: September 25, 2024. Project start date: June 1, 2025 - May 1, 2026.
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U.S. Department of Transportation / National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Program: State Legislative Research
NOFO #: 693JJ924R000070
Synopsis: Supports research to identify amended state traffic laws and trends in state traffic safety, and research legislation to determine the outcomes and effectiveness of the laws, and identify any trends (e.g. an increase in states requiring rear seat belt use). Award recipients will develop impartial education and training materials related to the state laws involving trends in state laws that may affect traffic safety. The information gathered, research conducted, and materials created would also be available to stakeholders and the public to benefit a larger understanding of the ways laws at the State level influence overall safety.
Award details: $1.4M Cooperative Agreement
Announcement on website: State Legislatures Research
Application due date: July 25, 2024.
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U.S. Department of State / Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL)
Program: Partnership to Advance Research and Scientific Evidence (PARSE)
NOFO #: DFOP0016713
Synopsis: Supports projects to implement PARSE, itself a project to generate evidence-based research to counter crime, illegal drugs, and instability abroad. The expected results from this project are twofold. First, the project should generate the identification of priority research themes, areas, or questions. Second, the project will enable the production of select synthesis reports and novel studies. Both results must fill public knowledge gaps by providing methodologically rigorous, relevant, actionable, and contextually diverse (international) insight on “what works best” to advance sustainable and effective criminal justice systems, approaches, and practices. Through actionable AND scientifically substantiated knowledge, the project results should be able to inform strategies or approaches to improve civilian security, mitigate internal and transnational threats and risks, and contribute to stable criminal justice institutions amongst U.S. partners abroad. Examples of minimal project deliverables include (partial)
- a plan to establish a research committee and shortlist of scholars, including future shortlists for any new members that may be nominated as a result of rotation;
- individual plans to generate and solicit each research product (synthesis reports and novel studies);
- plan to disseminate research findings and monitor results from the dissemination efforts;
Award details: Awards will range from $1M to ~$1.7M for one year. Cost share is recommended but not required.
Announcement on website: PARSE
Application submission due date: August 12, 2024.
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National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource Pilot (in partnership with the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy)
Program: Resource Requests to Advance AI Research
Synopsis: Supports the research community with access to assets of computing, models, platforms, and educational resources for projects related to advancing AI research. The call is open to meritorious proposals by US-based researchers and educators from US-based institutions including academic institutions and nonprofits, and whose projects encompass (partial)
- Advancing AI methods that enable scientific discovery;
- Using large-scale models to explore complex datasets interactively
- Addressing earth, environmental, and climate challenges via integration of diverse data and models.
Award details: After the review process, proposals will be matched to the appropriate resource.
Announcement on website: https://nairrpilot.org/opportunities/allocations
Proposal due date: Proposals will be reviewed on an ongoing monthly cycle. Typically, requests submitted by the 15th of the month will be reviewed and have their outcome decided by the end of the following month. Projects will be awarded for twelve (12) months duration.
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NIH / National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
and the National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Program: Interaction between environmental risk factors (ERF) and Lewy Body Dementia (LBD)
NOFO #: PAR-24-249
Synopsis: Support mechanistic, translational, and human subject studies to understand the relationship between environmental factors and LBD. It is expected that these studies will identify environmental risk factors related to the cause of LBD and its progression and their clinical relevance. Ultimately, these studies on LBD should accelerate mechanism-focused research to identify relevant pathways with the potential to lead toward better and novel therapeutic interventions and quality of life. Examples of research topics could include (partial)
- Occupational health studies to determine if the workplace is a risk factor for LBD and how exogenous ERFs play a role in LBD.
- Studies on how exogenous ERFs interact with genetic factors and how gene-environment interaction plays a role in LBD; and
- Epidemiological studies to identify exogenous ERF(s) associated with LBD in defined populations, e.g. cohort studies and case-control studies.
Award details: The maximum award for direct costs is $500K per year for five years.
Announcement on website: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-24-249.html
Letter of Intent due date: September 4, 2024.
Application due date: October 4, 2024.
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NIH / National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Program: NINDS Faculty to Promote Diversity in Neuroscience Research (K01 — Research Scientist Development Award – Research and Training)
NOFO #: PAR-24-228
Synopsis: Supports junior faculty from diverse backgrounds, including those from groups underrepresented in biomedical research (including racial and ethnic groups and women), with research cost support, protected research time, and career stage-appropriate mentorship and professional development in neuroscience research. Individuals are eligible for support under this award if they are in the first 3 years of a faculty tenure track or equivalent position at the time of application. The award will provide salary and research support for up to 5 years of “protected time” for intensive research career development, under the guidance of an experienced mentor, or sponsor, in the biomedical, behavioral, or clinical sciences. This award provides support for faculty development, sponsorship, and the promotion and tenure process.
Award details: The award will contribute up to $95K per year to the recipient’s salary (up to $125K for those with a clinical degree) and NIH will contribute $100,000 per year toward the research development costs of the award recipient, which must be justified and consistent with the stage of development of the candidate and the proportion of time to be spent in research or career development activities. The maximum project period is 5 years.
Announcement on website: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-24-228.html
Application due date: Multiple due dates for new, renewal, resubmissions, and revised applications through 2027. The next due date for new applications is October 12, 2024.
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NIH / Across Most Institutes
Program: Whole Person Research and Coordination Center (Whole Person RCC) (U24 — Resource-Related Projects)
NOFO #: RFA-AT-24-010
Synopsis: Supports the establishment of the Whole Person Research and Coordination Center (Whole Person RCC) under the NIH Whole Person Initiative. This center will be integral in coordinating the initial and future research programs in whole-person health research. The two aims of this NOFO are (1) to build a healthy human whole person physiome conceptual map to represent all physiological organ system functions and identify Common Data Elements (CDEs) appropriate for each major physiological function; and (2) to select and test existing datasets for the conceptual map and CDEs and build at least one prototype in silico model of whole person. The Whole Person RCC’s role will additionally include fostering multidisciplinary collaboration and providing the logistical support infrastructure for the entire NIH Whole Person Initiative. The Whole Person RCC applications to this NOFO are required to include four essential elements: a Scientific Leadership Core, an Expert Domain Mapping and Common Data Elements Core, a Data Science and Modeling Core, and a Coordination Core. Detailed descriptions of the Cores are provided in the NOFO.
Award details: $1.5M for direct costs per year for a maximum project period is 5 years.
Announcement on website: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AT-24-010.html
Letter of Intent due date: October 1, 2024.
Application due date: November 1, 2024.
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