Funding Opportunities
Internal and external funding opportunities collected by the CTSI.
CTSI PilotsThe Translational Pilot Program will solicit, review and award pilot grants designed to produce and test novel tools and methods to bridge translational gaps. |
Ignition FundsProviding ignition funding to accelerate progress for clinical and translational research projects. |
K12 FundingProviding 2-3 years of support for early-career research faculty from Wake Forest. |
Community Partnered Research AwardCommunity Engagement provides funding to support community and academic researchers via the Community Partnered Research Award. |
Special Populations Voucher FundsStudies that identify a financial need can request funds from the voucher program to help overcome barriers related to transportation, child care, etc. |
Team Grant AcceleratorSupporting planning, pre-award, and post-award stages to incentivize investigators to pursue new large awards. |
Recurring Funding Opportunities
The CTSI is proud to offer these funding mechanisms:
- Translational Pilot Program Ignition Funds
Deadline: 8/05/25
- Research Salary Bridge Funding
Deadline: 10/01/25
- Early Career Salary Support
Deadline: 10/01/25
School of Medicine and Advocate Health 2024 Requests For Proposals
The Wake Forest University Program for Leadership and Character invites proposals from any Wake Forest University School of Medicine or AHWFB or Advocate Health System employee with ideas for character development programs for current and/or future clinicians (i.e. students) and/or care team members.
Character in Medicine Grant: The Character in Medicine Grant exists to empower employees of the Wake Forest University and Advocate Health System to design, implement, and/or more rigorously assess educational programs that promote participants’ character development.
This grant will fund proposals to launch pilot projects, revise existing programs, and/or implement research and/or assessment on programs to better understand their character growth impacts.
The Character in Medicine Grant is hosted by Wake Forest University’s Program for Leadership and Character, which “inspires, educates, and empowers leaders of character to serve humanity.” Toward this end, the Program develops and disseminates evidence-based educational programming that supports professionals’ growth as leaders of character. The Kern Family Foundation funds the work of the Program for Leadership and Character in medical education.
Funding amount will vary from $1,000 to $30,000. Any project over $7,500 will require assessment; see more info in the Application Questions section.
Any employee of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine and/or Advocate Health System whose job responsibilities include designing, delivering, and/or assessing educational programming may apply for a Character in Medicine grant. Award recipients must be connected to an office (or resources) that will be able to carry out all of the program spending, reimbursements and budget tracking.
The Program is currently accepting applications for projects that will:
- Have a start date at least 2 months out from application submission in order to allow time for review. Review periods can take between two to six weeks.
- Will have completed spending by March 2026
Applications for projects taking place after March 2026 will be available in Fall 2025.
Download Character in Medicine Grant Application.
Contact Suzanne Danhauer, PhD, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Well-being at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, or Lauren Iley-Spear, Program for Leadership and Character in the Professional Schools, with questions.
July Deadlines
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2026 Searle Scholars Program
The Searle Scholars Program is inviting eligible institutions to nominate one individual to apply for the 2026 Searle Scholars Program. The Searle Scholars Program supports high risk, high reward research across a broad range of scientific disciplines. Grants are $300,000 for a three-year term with $100,000 payable each year of the grant. Applicants are expected to be pursuing independent research careers in biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, immunology, neuroscience, pharmacology, and related areas in chemistry, medicine, and the biological sciences.
Eligibility
Applicants should have begun their appointment as an independent investigator at the assistant professor level on or after May 1, 2024. The appointment must be their first tenure-track position.
Interested applicants should submit pre-proposals following the Limited Submission Pre-proposal Instructions electronically to the application system by Friday, July 25, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET. Questions should be directed to Katelyn Still.
Deadlines:
Internal Deadline: Friday, July 25th at 11:59PM ET
Selection of Applicants: Monday, August 18th
External Deadline: Tuesday, September 30, 2025, at 5:00 PM CT
Research Centers
An Institutionally-Supported Research Center is an interdepartmental unit focused predominantly on translational, clinical and/or basic science research which facilitates development of a common, focused research agenda aligned with strategic priorities, coordinating contributions from multiple disciplines (other centers, divisions/departments, and programs). We are pleased to announce the following opportunities are now available:
Research Centers – The purpose of this RFA is to invite applications to develop an Institutionally-Supported Advocate Health/Wake Forest University School of Medicine Research Center. This document also provides the framework for a renewal application of an existing center. Research Centers support mature areas of research that reflect depth in translational, clinical and/or basic science research. View the full RFA for Research Centers here.
Emerging Research Centers - The purpose of this RFA is to invite applications to develop an Institutionally-Supported Advocate Health/Wake Forest University School of Medicine Emerging Research Center. This document also provides the framework for a renewal application of an existing center. Emerging Research Centers support new ideas in need of investment for growth. The investment is intended to catalyze the formation of a team for the specific purpose of developing a strategic vision in order to grow a critical base of extramurally funded research. This research can be established in translational, clinical and/or basic science research. View the full RFA for Emerging Research Centers here.
Direct questions and applications to Lynne Wagenknecht, Vice Dean for Population Health Research, and/or Lindsay Trost, CTSI Administrative Director.
Foundation Funding Opportunities
Interested applicants may contact the Foundation Relations Team.
| Varied | Cures Within Reach | Clinical Trials to Validate AI-Driven Drug Repurposing LOI |
$100,000 | 8/25/2025 |
| Ophthalmology | Foundation Fighting Blindness | PRPH2 and Associated Retinal Diseases (PARD) Science Awards LOI |
$500,000 | 8/28/2025 |
| Women's Health, Varied | Foundations for Women's Health | Women's Health Grant LOI | $200,000 | 9/2/2025 |
View More Foundation Funding Opportunities
The Duke Endowment
The Duke Endowment has a long history of supporting our health system across the Carolinas. In accordance with the Endowment's request, all inquiries from the health system will be routed through the designated Philanthropy/Foundation representatives in each market. If you are based in the Charlotte market, please reach out to Rachel Ellis. Those in the Winston market, please contact Chad Daniel.
The Duke Endowment will not accept or review any applications submitted directly by faculty who have not coordinated with the Philanthropy/Foundation representative in their market. This ensures all submissions are properly managed and align with the Endowment's expectations and current funding priorities.
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Burroughs Wellcome Fund - Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease
The goal of the program is to provide opportunities for accomplished investigators still early in their careers to study what happens at the points where the systems of humans and potentially infectious agents connect. The program supports research that sheds light on the fundamentals that affect the outcomes of these encounters: how colonization, infection, commensalism, and other relationships play out at levels ranging from molecular interactions to systemic ones. In general, faculty in their first 2–3 years are not yet competitive for this award.
The awards are intended to give recipients the freedom and flexibility to pursue new avenues of inquiry and higher risk research projects that hold potential for significantly advancing understanding of the pathogenesis of infectious disease. Researchers who start from the human host are appropriate applicants, as are those who start from the microbe or virus. Research on under-studied infectious diseases, including emerging diseases as well as well established ones, is encouraged. Work on fungal, protozoan, and metazoan diseases and emerging infections is especially of interest. In addition, work done in excellent animal models of human disease, including in veterinary research settings, is within the program’s scope. Interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged. Work connecting pathogenesis itself to climate change is also encouraged. Work that involves more elements in studies of pathogenesis, for example, vector biology in the context of human and pathogen biology, is very welcome.
The ideal candidate is an accomplished investigator at the mid-to-late assistant professor level with an established record of independent research in a tenure-track position or its well-supported equivalent in non-tenure offering departments. Very few newly appointed assistant professors are competitive for this award. Most should consider applying later in their career.
For more information, please visit the website. Faculty interested in applying should contact the Foundations Team.
Deadline: July 17, 2025 at 3:00PM ET
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Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Climate + Health Excellence (CHEX) Centers
This limited submission, institutional application is being led exclusively by Dr. David Callaway, Senior Associate Dean of Planetary Health. Those working in the climate and health space interested in connecting with Dr. Callaway regarding the opportunity, please reach out directly or contact the Foundations Team.
Deadline: August 7, 2025
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Mathers Grant Awards Program
The G. Harold & Leila Y. Mathers Foundation is dedicated to advancing knowledge in the life sciences by funding bold, basic scientific research with the potential to transform human health. The Mathers Foundation Grants Program is a limited competition, where eligible organizations may submit up to three (3) applications per grant cycle. The typical project budget cannot exceed $600,000-700,000, inclusive of 10% indirect costs.
Eligibility
Principal Investigators with their own fully equipped labs are eligible. Applicants of all levels of professorship are encouraged to apply.
Research areas that are supported include: Immunology, Microbiome, Structural Biology, Cellular Physiology, Cancer Biology, Genetics, Genomics, Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, Stem Cell Biology, and Neuroscience.
Interested applicants should submit pre-proposals following the Limited Submission Pre-Proposal Instructions electronically to the application system by Friday, August 8, 2025, at 11:59PM ET. Questions should be directed to Katelyn Still.
Deadlines:
Internal Deadline: August 8, 2025, at 11:59 pm ET
Selection of Applicants: Tuesday, September 2, 2025
External Deadline: September 19, 2025, at 8:00 pm ET
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Foundation for Aging Research Grants
The RRF Foundation for Aging funds research that seeks to identify interventions, policies, and practices to improve the well-being of older adults and/or their caregivers. Preference is given to projects aimed at generating practical knowledge and guidance that can be used by advocates, policy-makers, providers, and the aging network. Of particular interest are:
- Interventional trials; translational studies; and health services and policy research
- Projects that build on the investigator’s past studies
- Proposals that include robust dissemination plans, if appropriate, to assure that findings reach audiences positioned to act on them
Organizations may only submit one Letter of Inquiry (LOI) per cycle. Eligible projects include proposing applied research projects that have immediate and direct implications on the adult population, age 60 and older. Proposing a project that will have national relevance across the U.S. or regional relevance within the state of Illinois. For more information regarding the RRF and eligibility criteria, please visit the RRF Foundation for Aging website.
Interested applicants should submit pre-proposals following the Limited Submission Pre-Proposal Instructions electronically to the application system by Friday, September 12, 2025, at 11:59PM ET. Questions regarding the electronic application system should be directed to Katelyn Still.
For questions related to the RFP: Faculty based in the Charlotte market, please contact Sarah Bailey. Faculty in the Winston market should reach out to The Foundation Relations Team.
Deadlines:
Internal Deadline: Friday, September 12, 2025, at 11:59PM ET
Selection of Applicants: Monday, October 6, 2025
External Deadline: Monday, November 3, 2025 at 5:00 PM CT
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Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is pleased to present the Exploring Equitable Futures LOI. The purpose of this call for proposals (CFP) is to support projects that seed new and unconventional ideas that could radically advance health challenges for generations to come. Preference will be given to applicants that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and are not private foundations or Type III supporting organizations. Applicant organizations must be based in the United States or its territories. Submissions from teams that include both U.S. and international members are eligible.
These projects should address one or more of RWJF’s Prioritized Systems. We are particularly interested in projects that seed new and unconventional ideas within the Health Science Knowledge System—or that reimagine this system completely. At RWJF, we believe that the knowledge and evidence that’s needed to guide better decision making, as well as policies that influence health, must include wisdom generated and shared by communities.
For more information regarding project criteria, please visit the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation website. Faculty interested in applying should contact The Foundation Relations Team.
Deadline: October 15, 2025
Other
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NeuroNEXT Grant
The NeuroNEXT Network is designed to efficiently conduct Phase II Clinical Trials. NeuroNEXT Network is now accepting proposals. Applications for exploratory clinical trials of investigational agents (drugs, biologics, surgical therapies or devices) that may contribute to the justification for and provide the data required for designing a future trial, for biomarker validation studies, or for proof of mechanism clinical studies are encouraged. Successful applicants will be given access to the NeuroNEXT infrastructure to support the efficient implementation of the proposed study at multiple sites and statistical and data management.
If you are interested, please schedule a meeting to discuss your proposal with the NeuroNEXT Study Team. This opportunity is ongoing until 2028.
- Benefits of Partnering with NeuroNEXT
- Applying for a NeuroNEXT Grant
- Contact: Mysha Sissine, Program Manager
NIH
Professional Associations and Societies
Please refer to the individual Program or Funding Opportunity Announcement for deadline information.
- American Cancer Society
- The Triological Society
- American Heart Association
- American Gastroenterological Association
- American Federation for Aging Research
- Alzheimer's Association
- ALS Association
- American Diabetes Association
- Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
- Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education
- Society for Pediatric Dermatology
Additional Resources
Listed below are some quick ways to find external funding opportunities through search mechanisms and announcement listservs.
Additional Resources
- For detailed information on funding opportunities, search www.grants.gov with keywords related to your research interests.
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- NIH Career Development Awards (K-Series)
- Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
- Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
- National Science Foundation (NSF)
- North Carolina Biotechnology Center