Updated July 7, 2026

Cancer Research Grants

Open grants for cancer and oncology research, from NCI and DOD programs to disease-focused foundations. A live list sorted by relevance and updated daily.

Cancer research is one of the few areas of science funding that entered 2026 in decent shape. The National Cancer Institute received a budget increase when much of the government did not, and the institute has signaled it expects to fund more new research project grants and more early stage investigators this year than last. Add the Department of Defense's congressionally directed medical research programs and a deep bench of cancer-focused nonprofits, and oncology researchers have a wider set of live options than most of their colleagues.

That breadth is worth using deliberately. Federal mechanisms remain the backbone, but disease-focused foundations and societies fund everything from basic tumor biology to prevention, early detection, health services research, and survivorship, and many run programs targeted at specific career stages or cancer types. For labs facing longer odds on any single federal application, pairing it with two or three well-matched private opportunities is now standard practice.

This collection pulls together open cancer research funding across federal, foundation, and nonprofit sources, ranked by relevance to the field. It refreshes as new opportunities post and deadlines pass, so it stays current through the funding cycles rather than snapshotting a single moment.