Limited Submission Opportunities Portal

The Searle Scholars Program supports the career development of early-career scientists who demonstrate exceptional potential and have recently begun tenure-track assistant professor appointments. The program funds high-risk, high-reward independent research across a wide range of scientific disciplines, including biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, immunology, neuroscience, pharmacology, and related fields in chemistry, medicine, and the biological sciences. While it does not typically support purely clinical research, proposals that combine basic and clinical components may be considered.
Applicants for the 2026 competition (with awards beginning July 1, 2026) must submit a research proposal that builds on their previously described research program and will be evaluated for creativity, feasibility, clarity, and the potential for successful outcomes. Searle Scholars Program funding may supplement, but not replace, support from other sources, and overlapping research is allowed.

Managing Unit: VPDoR

The Schmidt Science Polymaths Program supports recently tenured faculty with extraordinary track records and bold, creative visions for exploring entirely new lines of research that are clearly distinct from their prior work. These grants are designed for “polymath” researchers, those who cross disciplinary boundaries and apply insights in unconventional ways, to pursue high-risk, underexplored ideas unlikely to receive traditional funding.
The program invests in individuals, not specific projects, and seeks candidates who are intensely creative, willing to take adventurous leaps, and capable of generating transformative breakthroughs. Successful nominees are not simply excellent scientists—they exhibit high-variance thinking, a strong desire to pivot into new research domains, and the courage to test “big if true” ideas. Proposals should reflect future research directions and describe the kinds of questions they want to explore if traditional constraints were removed.

Managing Unit: VPDoR

The Greenwall Faculty Scholars Program in Bioethics is a career development award to enable early-career faculty members to carry out innovative bioethics research. It supports research that goes beyond current work in bioethics to help resolve pressing ethical issues in clinical, biomedical, and public health decision-making, policy, and practice, and creates a community that enhances future bioethics research by Scholars and Alums.

Faculty Scholars will be selected on the basis of the strength of their research project, their commitment to the field of bioethics, their achievements, their potential for growth as a bioethics scholar, and support from their home institution, including after the end of this award. While the amount and quality of an applicant’s research in bioethics will count favorably towards their application, outstanding candidates with less direct experience in bioethics will also be considered when their proposed work aims to advance the bioethics field.

Managing Unit: VPDoR

The Integrated Data Systems and Services (IDSS) program supports national-scale, operational cyberinfrastructure systems and services that advance open, data-intensive, and AI-driven science and engineering research, innovation, and education. Projects must broadly serve the research and education community across multiple disciplines, enabling diverse users to access, integrate, and connect data with resources such as computing, facilities, instrumentation, and repositories. Proposals that primarily benefit a single discipline, project, or application are not supported.

Managing Unit: VPDoR

To support exceptional postdoctoral researchers in quantum materials who face financial challenges in their current postdoctoral appointment or in securing their next career opportunity.  This program will provide one year of bridge funding, professional development, and networking opportunities that sustain research momentum, foster interdisciplinary collaboration across physics, chemistry, and materials science, and strengthen the pipeline of talent advancing fundamental discoveries in quantum materials.

Managing Unit: VPDoR

Research projects must be hypothesis-driven, breast cancer-focused studies. They may be considered basic, translational, clinical and/or population science in nature and should align with Komen’s research priorities and mission to save lives from breast cancer. Komen’s research priorities are conquering metastatic and aggressive breast cancers, advancing personalized breast cancer care throughout the continuum of care, and improving health outcomes for everyone impacted by breast cancer. Metastatic breast cancer-focused studies may include, but are not limited to, the development of novel treatment strategies for existing metastatic disease, strategies to prevent or arrest metastasis and late recurrence, and innovative approaches to detect new or recurrent metastatic breast cancer. See guidelines for more details.

Managing Unit: SCI (Stanford Cancer Institute)

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting for revolutionary discovery solutions in the following thrust areas: a world beyond electronics, foundations beyond components, and materials beyond nature and current synthetic practice. Proposed discovery solutions should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice.

The DARPA Multi X Office (MXO) (formerly known as Microsystems Technology Office) will host an invitation-only, in-person Pitch Day on November 2, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois, in conjunction with the MXO Spark Tank event.

Principal Investigator who previously served as a Principal Investigator under a DARPA-funded award are not eligible.

Managing Unit: VPDoR

The primary goal of each S-STEM Research Hub is to support and carry out high-quality, innovative research on the factors, structures or interventions involved in supporting and promoting the success of domestic low-income undergraduate and graduate STEM students, regardless of other demographic factors. In addition, proposals aiming to investigate other STEM-related questions or issues but not focused on low-income student success, including those focused on the development of new STEM curriculum or academic programs, or specific research opportunities for undergraduates in some STEM-related topic, are not appropriate for the S-STEM-Hub funding opportunity and will be returned without review.

S-STEM Research Hubs are primarily formed to organize groups of researchers to conduct and disseminate rigorous qualitative and quantitative research on topics related to the S-STEM program and low-income student success. Each Research Hub should have a central focus that intersects a clear group of current and prospective S-STEM institutions.

Managing Unit: VPDoR

For nearly three decades, Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation has provided significant financial support to some incredibly promising physician scientists who are applying novel and state-of-the-art techniques to address fundamental problems in the genesis and treatment of blood related cancers. Since 1996, the Foundation has committed nearly $45 million in grants to over 330 junior faculty members at the nation’s leading institutions. These grants continue to be a sign of excellence and represent support for many of the most exciting new scientific ideas in blood cancer research. Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation remains committed to funding innovative, translational proposals and to supporting promising independent early-career investigators, rather than well-established, senior scientists.

Managing Unit: SCI (Stanford Cancer Institute)

The foundation's focus and mission is to “support science-based research, striving to advance a healthy and sustainable human future. It is intended for basic life science research addressing fundamental scientific questions that, when answered, will lead to significant advances in medicine or scientific knowledge.” The foundation is focused on supporting new investigators at the Assistant Professor level as they begin their careers.

Managing Unit: SoM

The Research Program seeks to benefit humanity by supporting fundamental projects in two specific areas (1) medical research and (2) science and engineering, that are distinctive and novel in their approach, question the prevailing paradigm, or have the potential to break open new territory in their field.
Applicants should have unsuccessfully attempted to secure funding from conventional sources and be able to share formal or informal feedback indicating the project's breakthrough, high-risk nature.

Managing Unit: VPDoR