In addition to the Pilot Programs, CWRU’s CTSC regularly solicits proposals for other funding opportunities from NIH’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) throughout the year. Some current opportunities are described below. These lists are regularly reviewed and updated.
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)
NCATS Current Strategic Plan (temporarily unavailable)
RFA-TR-25-002 Preclinical Proof of Concept Studies for Rare Diseases (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Next due date: June 02, 2026
PAR-25-217 Information and Practice Needs Relevant to Late Talking Children (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). Next due date: October 02, 2025
PAR-25-220 Leveraging Extant Data to Understand Developmental Trajectories of Late Talking Children (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Next due date: October 02, 2025
See a full list of NCATS funding opportunities
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
PA-25-301: NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). Next due date: October 05, 2025
PA-25-305: NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Required). Next due date: October 05, 2025
Special Interest
NOT-DA-25-032: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Discovery and Development of Natural Products to Treat Substance Use Disorders (SUDs), First available due date: February 05, 2025
NOT-AG-24-043: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Digital Technology for Early Detection and Monitoring of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias (ADRD). First available due date: March 11, 2025
NOT-CA-25-035: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Addressing Cancer-Related Financial Hardship to Improve Patient Outcomes. First Available Due Date: February 05, 2025
NOT-AG-24-031: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Common Mechanisms and Interactions Among Neurodegenerative Diseases. First available date: March 11, 2025
NOT-HL-24-032: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Understanding and Addressing Weight Stigma, Bias, and Discrimination to Promote Health Equity
RFA-HL-26-010: Limited Competition: Data Analysis and Sharing Center (DASC) for the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study (MWCCS) (U01 Clinical Trials Not Allowed). Earliest submission date: April 02, 2025
NOT-DA-25-032 Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Discovery and Development of Natural Products to Treat Substance Use Disorders (SUDs), First available due date: February 05, 2025
NOT-NR-25-003: Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Transformative Research to Address Health Disparities and Advance Health Equity (U01 Clinical Trial Optional)
NOT-TR-24-017: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Administrative Supplements to NCATS CTSA Program T32/TL1 Institutional Training Program as part of the INCLUDE (Investigation of Co-occurring Conditions across the Lifespan to Understand Down syndrome) Project
NOT-DA-25-032: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Discovery and Development of Natural Products to Treat Substance Use Disorders (SUDs)
NOT-OD-24-079: Notice of Special Interest: Women’s Health Research
NOT-OD-24-179: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Research on the Health of Women of Underrepresented, Underserved, and Underreported (U3) Populations (Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)
NOT-DK-24-029 Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Analysis of Existing Linked Datasets to Understand the Relationship between Housing Program Participation and Risk for Chronic Diseases and Other Conditions (R01-Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
See a full list of NIH Medical Research Initiatives
With particular interest to Northern Ohio
PAR-25-298 Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) for Health Professional Schools and Graduate Schools (R15 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Next due date: October 25, 2025
Addiction / Pain Management
RFA-AT-25-003: HEAL Initiative: Pain Research Enhancement Program (PREP) (R15 Clinical Trial Optional). Next due date: October 28, 2025
PAR-25-329: Development of Medications to Prevent and Treat Substance Use Disorders and Overdose (UG3/UH3 - Clinical Trial Optional). Next due date: August 11, 2025
PAR-25-100: Pilot Health Services and Economic Research on the Treatment of Drug, Alcohol, and Tobacco Use Disorders (R34 Clinical Trial Optional) Next due date: October 16, 2025 *
RFA-DA-26-056 Accelerating the Pace of Substance Use Research Using Existing Data (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). Next due date: July 17, 2025 and December 03, 2025
Aging
PAR-25-331: Research on Current Topics in Alzheimer's Disease and Its Related Dementias (R21 Clinical Trial Optional). Next due date: October 16, 2025.
PAR-25-332: Research on Current Topics in Alzheimer's Disease and Its Related Dementias (R01 Clinical Trial Optional). Next due date: October 05, 2025
Artificial Intelligence
PAR-25-358 NEI Clinical Research Study Planning Grant Program (R34 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). Next due date: October 16, 2025
PAR-25-338 Academic-Industrial Partnerships for Translation of Technologies for Diagnosis and Treatment (R01 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed). Next due date: October 05, 2025
PA-25-169 Trailblazer Award for New and Early Stage Investigators (R21 Clinical Trial Optional). Next due date: October 16, 2025
PAR-25-284 Innovative Pilot Mental Health Services Research Not Involving Clinical Trials (R34 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) Next due date: October 16, 2025
Cancer
Case Comprehensive Cancer Center Funding Page
NIH National Cancer Institute Grants and Funding Page
PA-25-253 Exploratory Grants in Cancer Control (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) Next due date: October 16, 2025
Chronic Conditions
PAR-24-280 Clinical Observational (CO) Studies in Musculoskeletal, Rheumatic, and Skin Diseases (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). Next due date July 2, 2025 and then November 04, 2025
Communication Disorders
RFA-DC-24-001. BRAIN Initiative: Exploratory Research Opportunities Using Invasive Neural Recording and Stimulating Technologies in the Human Brain (R61 Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required). Next due date September 19, 2025
Community-Engaged Research
PAR-25-292: The Role of Work in Health Disparities in the U.S. (R01 Clinical Trials Optional). Next due date June 5, 2025
Dissemination and Implementation Research
PAR-25-143 Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (R21 Clinical Trial Optional). Next Due date: October 16, 2025
PAR-25-233 Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). Next due date: October 16, 2025
PAR-25-144 Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (R01 Clinical Trial Optional), Next due date October 05, 2025
Environmental Health
PAR-22-210: Research to Action: Assessing and Addressing Community Exposures to Environmental Contaminants (R01 Clinical Trial Optional). Next due date: June 5, 2025
Genomics
PAR-25-371: Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Research (R01 Clinical Trial Optional). Next due date: June 17, 2025
PAR-25-370: Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Small Research Grant (R03 Clinical Trial Optional), Next due date: June 17, 2025
Integrative Medicine: NCCIH
PAR-25-210: Enhancing Mechanistic Research on Precision Probiotic Therapies (R33 Clinical Trial Optional). Next due date: October 01, 2026
PAR-25-211: Enhancing Mechanistic Research on Precision Probiotic Therapies (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Optional). Next due date: October 01, 2026
RFA-AT-25-003: HEAL Initiative: Pain Research Enhancement Program (PREP) (R15 Clinical Trial Optional). Next due date: October 28, 2025
RFA-FD-25-007: Laboratory Flexible Funding Model (LFFM). Next due date: January 12, 2026
PAR-25-267: NCCIH Multi-Site Feasibility Clinical Trials of Mind and Body Interventions (R01 Clinical Trial Required). Next due date: October 20, 2025
PAR-25-210: Enhancing Mechanistic Research on Precision Probiotic Therapies (R33 Clinical Trial Optional). Next due date October 01, 2026
PAR-25-211: Enhancing Mechanistic Research on Precision Probiotic Therapies (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Optional). Next due date October 01, 2026
See a full list of NCCIH funding opportunities
Mental Health
RFA-MH-25-205: Bidirectional Influences Between Adolescent Social Media Use and Mental Health (R01 Clinical Trial Optional). Next due date: October 20, 2025
PAR-25-206: Pilot Effectiveness Trials for Post-Acute Interventions and Services to Optimize Longer-term Outcomes (R01 Clinical Trial Required). Next due date: October 05, 2025
PAR-25-352: National Cooperative Drug/Device Discovery/Development Groups (NCDDG) for the Treatment of Mental Disorders (U01 Clinical Trial Optional). Next due date: October 25, 2026
Rare Diseases
RFA-TR-25-002: Preclinical Proof of Concept Studies for Rare Diseases (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). June 02, 2026
PAR-25-122 Pilot Projects Investigating Understudied Proteins Associated with Rare Diseases (R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). Next due: October 16, 2025
Research Education
RFA-DK-26-009: New Investigator Gateway Awards for Collaborative T1D Research (R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). Next due date: June 26, 2025 and then March 06, 2026
Rural Health
RFA-MH-25-135 Research Opportunities in Crisis Response Services for Suicide Prevention (R01 Clinical Trial Optional). Next due date: October 08, 2025
Translational Science
PAR-25-115: Towards a Better Understanding of the Neurological Effects of Infection-Associated Chronic Illnesses (R21 - Clinical Trial Optional). Due date October 16, 2025
PAR-25-116: Towards a Better Understanding of the Neurological Effects of Infection-Associated Chronic Illnesses (R01 - Clinical Trial Optional). Next due date: October 05, 2025
Additional Opportunities
Please see The Office of Research and Technology Management Funding Page for additional resources
Fogarty International Center: Non-NIH Funding Opportunities - Grants and Fellowships
PCORI: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
Hope Foundation for Cancer Research
Lung Cancer Foundation of America. Membership required.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
*Are the last date in the notice for funding.
Search for Funding
Pilot Program funding should lead to funding from government agencies and private foundations. Explore the links below to find the right funding opportunities to take your Pilot Project to the next stage.
| NIH | NIH is the world’s largest funder of biomedical research. Search NIH’s funding list and learn about grants and other resources. |
| National Science Foundation | Browse the NSF’s current funding opportunities. |
| Department of Defense | The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program has a variety of funding opportunities focused on transforming healthcare through innovative and impactful research. |
| Grants.gov |
Grants.gov is a centralized location for grant seekers to find and apply for funding opportunities from all departments of the federal government. |
| Foundations | CWRU subscribes to Pivot, a service available to all faculty, staff researchers, and graduate students that helps you quickly discover the right funding opportunities. Follow the link above for the Office of Research & Grant Development’s quick start guide. |