Grants for Schools & Universities

National Institutes of Health · Amount varies

Open to U.S. universities, research institutions, nonprofits, and certain government and tribal organizations; foreign organizations are not eligible. This NIH R21 funds exploratory, early-stage projects developing methods or agents to target 'undruggable' molecules in serious diseases. Award size isn't specified and follows standard NIH R21 limits; best suited to researchers pursuing high-risk, innovative therapeutics.

Dept of the Army -- Materiel Command · Amount varies

Open to higher-education institutions, nonprofits, and for-profit organizations, domestic or foreign (security restrictions may limit foreign participants; government labs, FFRDCs, and service academies can't be prime applicants). This Army Research Institute broad agency announcement funds basic, applied, and advanced research in the behavioral and social sciences tied to soldier performance and readiness. Applicants are encouraged to contact the listed technical point of contact first; funding varies by budget cycle.

DOC NOAA - ERA Production · $15K–$75K

Open to individuals (as legal entities), commercial organizations, state/local/tribal governments, universities, and nonprofits; federal agencies and employees can't apply, and projects must be conducted in Alaska. Funds marine workforce training, seafood-safety and management education, fishing innovation, and consumer outreach. Awards are small, roughly $15,000–$75,000.

National Institutes of Health · Up to $500K

Open to U.S. schools and colleges of nursing and other research institutions, nonprofits, and certain government/tribal organizations; foreign organizations are not eligible. This NIH P20 funds new research centers that build nursing-led, community-partnered research infrastructure and pilot studies. Awards up to about $500,000.

National Institutes of Health · Amount varies

Open to domestic institutions — universities, research institutions, nonprofits, and certain government/tribal organizations (foreign institutions are not eligible). This NIH T35 funds short-term (often summer) research-training experiences for health-professional and graduate students. It supports the institution's training program rather than an individual.

National Institutes of Health · Up to $1M

Open to U.S. universities, research institutions, nonprofits, foreign organizations, and certain government/tribal entities. This NIH R01 funds preclinical mouse-model testing of repurposed or investigational drugs — alone or with non-drug interventions — for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Awards up to about $1,000,000.

National Institutes of Health · Amount varies

Open to U.S. universities, research institutions, nonprofits, foreign organizations, and certain government/tribal entities. This NIH X01 provides access to TOPMed genomic and multi-omics data resources to study heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders — it offers data generation, not direct funding. Aimed at researchers doing functional-genomics and mechanism studies.

Food and Drug Administration · Up to $1.3M

Open to public and private higher-education institutions, including HBCUs, tribal colleges, and other minority-serving institutions. This FDA U18 forms long-term academic partnerships to research avian influenza and emerging zoonotic threats, intentional genomic alterations in animals, and products for minor and veterinary species. Awards up to about $1,250,000.

Food and Drug Administration · $0–$900K

Open to nearly any organization — universities, nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3)), for-profits and small businesses, state/local/tribal governments, and foreign organizations. This FDA R01 funds clinical trials of orphan products evaluating safety and efficacy to address unmet needs in rare diseases. Awards up to about $900,000; clinical trials are required.

National Institutes of Health · Up to $2.1M

Open to U.S. research institutions and universities, nonprofits, and certain government/tribal organizations; foreign organizations cannot apply, and (as of May 2025) projects with foreign subawards are ineligible. This NIH U2C-TL1 funds institutional networks that recruit and train researchers in kidney, urologic, and hematologic disease research. Awards up to about $2,100,000.

National Institutes of Health · Amount varies

Open to eligible NIGMS-funded investigators and new investigators at U.S. institutions; foreign organizations are not eligible, and projects with foreign subawards are excluded. This NIH R35 (MIRA) gives an investigator stable, flexible single-grant support for their lab's research within the NIGMS mission, rather than project-by-project funding. Early-stage investigators should use the separate ESI MIRA notice.

National Institutes of Health · Amount varies

Open to U.S. universities, research institutions, nonprofits, and certain government/tribal organizations; foreign organizations are not eligible. This NIH R61/R33 funds mechanistic clinical research on how mind-and-body interventions (e.g., meditation, yoga, acupuncture) affect emotional well-being and whole-person health, in two milestone-tied phases. Strong preliminary data are expected.

National Institutes of Health · Up to $500K

Open to U.S. and foreign research institutions, universities, nonprofits, and certain government/tribal organizations. This NIH R01 funds groundbreaking, high-impact Down syndrome research across any relevant topic, with no preliminary data required. Awards up to about $500,000.

National Institutes of Health · Amount varies

Open to U.S. and foreign research institutions, universities, nonprofits, and certain government/tribal organizations. This NIH R61/R33 funds milestone-driven development of clinical trials to treat co-occurring health conditions in people with Down syndrome — up to two years of planning followed by up to three years of trial support. Clinical trials are required.

National Institutes of Health · Up to $200K

Open to U.S. and foreign research institutions, universities, nonprofits, and certain government/tribal organizations. This NIH R21 funds exploratory, higher-risk Down syndrome research — feasibility studies, novel methods, or new applications of existing techniques. Awards up to about $200,000.

National Institutes of Health · Amount varies

Open specifically to federally recognized American Indian/Alaska Native tribes, tribal colleges and universities, tribal health programs, and tribal organizations. This NIH R34 planning grant funds preparatory work to develop competitive Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH) applications. Eligibility is narrow — limited to AI/AN tribal entities; award size follows standard R34 limits.

National Institutes of Health · Amount varies

Open to U.S. universities, research institutions, nonprofits, and certain government/tribal organizations; foreign organizations are not eligible. This NIH R21 funds projects that improve clinical-trial readiness for rare diseases — developing biomarkers and outcome measures, or characterizing a disease's course to enable future trials. Award size follows standard R21 limits.

Defense Health Agency Contracting Activity - DHACA · $750K–$50M

Open broadly to any type of entity — universities, nonprofits, businesses (including small businesses), and others. This Department of Defense / Defense Health Agency broad agency announcement funds extramural biomedical and human-performance research and development through FY28. Awards span a very wide range, from about $750,000 to $50 million.

National Institutes of Health · Up to $3M

Open to U.S. and foreign research institutions, universities, nonprofits, and certain government/tribal organizations. This NIH UG3/UH3 funds discovery and development of interventions — medications and devices — to prevent and treat substance use disorders and overdose, including preclinical and clinical studies. Awards up to about $3,000,000.

National Institutes of Health · Up to $500K

Open to U.S. universities, research institutions, nonprofits, and certain government/tribal organizations; foreign organizations are not eligible. This NIH R01 funds development of non-invasive or minimally invasive technologies to image the human olfactory system at high resolution. Awards up to about $500,000; multidisciplinary teams are encouraged.