Updated September 26, 2026
Foundation Grants for Biomedical Research
Private foundation and nonprofit grants funding biomedical and life science research. A live alternative-funding list for labs looking beyond the NIH.
More biomedical researchers are looking past the NIH than at any point in recent memory. Federal awards have become dramatically scarcer in 2026, with far fewer new grants issued than in prior years and success rates falling at institutes across the agency. Labs that once ran entirely on federal money are now building foundation funding into their core strategy rather than treating it as a supplement.
Featured grants
Updated automatically from Atom's grant databaseCareer Awards for Medical Scientists
The Career Awards for Medical Scientists by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund support physician-scientists transitioning to independent faculty roles in basic, disease-oriented, or translational biomedical research.
Biomedical Research
This grant funds research institutions advancing prevention, treatment, and understanding of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and infectious diseases to benefit San Antonio and South Texas.
Falk Transformational Research Award
The Falk Transformational Research Award from Health Resources in Action funds advanced translational biomedical research to move discoveries from the lab toward clinical treatments and cures.
Private philanthropy cannot replace federal science funding at scale, but the foundation world is deep, and it moved in 2026. Several major foundations raised their annual payouts specifically in response to the federal squeeze, new bridge funding programs have launched, and disease-focused foundations continue to fund basic, translational, and clinical work across nearly every area of biomedicine. Foundation grants also tend to reward things federal review can undervalue: early stage ideas, pilot data generation, and higher-risk directions.
This collection surfaces open grants from foundations and nonprofit funders supporting biomedical and life science research. Expect more variety in process than you see with federal mechanisms. Many foundations require a letter of intent first, some run rolling deadlines, and a few work by nomination. Each listing links to the full details so you can see what the path to funding actually looks like.
Medical Research
The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Medical Research grant funds innovative scientific studies on major diseases to improve public health in the Pittsburgh region.
Translational Medicine Faculty Starter Grant
This grant funds early-career faculty conducting translational medicine research that bridges lab discoveries with clinical applications, emphasizing human-relevant validation and clinical collaboration.
Translational Medicine Postdoctoral Fellowship
The PhRMA Foundation's Translational Medicine Postdoctoral Fellowship funds research bridging basic science and clinical application to develop innovative strategies that improve patient care.
Research Funding
The SMA Foundation Research Funding program supports projects that accelerate late-stage translational research or clinical trials for new SMA therapeutics.
Falk Catalyst Research Award Program
Seed funding for innovative translational biomedical research targeting biomarkers, therapeutic targets, or agent development to overcome key barriers and accelerate progress toward clinical application.
Translational Research Grants
The Translational Research Grants from the National Psoriasis Foundation support research that turns scientific discoveries into clinical advances for psoriatic disease.
Scholar Program
The Edward Mallinckrodt Jr Foundation Scholar Program funds mid-career biomedical researchers to advance basic or translational projects toward major independent funding.
Translational Medicine Predoctoral Fellowship
The PhRMA Foundation's Translational Medicine Predoctoral Fellowship funds advanced graduate students translating laboratory research into clinical applications to improve patient care.
Translational Research Grant
The Translational Research Grant from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center funds NC university research teams to advance life sciences inventions toward commercialization and product development.
CFF/NIH R01-Unfunded Award
Provides one-year bridge funding for highly rated but unfunded NIH R01-level cystic fibrosis research to help generate data for competitive resubmission.
OREF/Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation Research Grant
Supports research on biologic reconstruction, bone regeneration, transplantation, allografts, and stem cell applications to improve musculoskeletal health and orthopaedic outcomes.
Pilot Grants
Supports innovative, collaborative research that advances computational and multiscale modeling to deepen mechanistic understanding of immune-related health and disease.
2027 Smith Excellence Awards Program for Excellence in Biomedical Research
The 2027 Smith Excellence Awards by Health Resources in Action support early-career faculty conducting innovative basic or translational biomedical research with high potential for impact.
Bridge Funding for Disrupted Neurodegenerative Research Grant Program (BFDN) Powering the Next Generation of Research
The Michael J. Fox Foundation's BFDN grant supports early career researchers whose neurodegenerative disease projects were disrupted by changes in U.S. federal funding.
Pew Biomedical Scholars
Supports early-career biomedical scientists pursuing innovative, independent research to advance human health, with a focus on high-impact, non-clinical projects.
Bridge Funding Award
The Bridge Funding Award from AAOGF supports OB/GYN physician-scientists in maintaining essential research during gaps in independent funding, with a focus on reproductive and women’s health studies.
Clinical Innovation Funding
The Bethesda Foundation's Clinical Innovation Funding supports clinician-led research projects that advance patient care and healthcare delivery through innovative solutions within the TriHealth system.
Frequently asked questions
Large funders include the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Foundation, and the Wellcome Trust, alongside hundreds of disease-focused foundations and professional societies that fund research in their areas.
Foundation grants are typically smaller and shorter, with shorter applications and faster decisions. Many start with a letter of inquiry, and some are open only to invited or nominated applicants. They can be well suited to pilot data, high-risk ideas, and bridge funding.
Often only partially. Many foundations cap indirect costs well below federal rates or exclude them entirely. Check each funder's policy and talk with your sponsored programs office before you budget.
They work best as a complement. Pairing a federal application with a few well-matched foundation proposals spreads risk and can generate the preliminary data that strengthens your next federal submission.