Updated November 5, 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 database. Summaries are AI-generated.Career 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.
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.
Medical and Scientific Research
Medical and Scientific Research supports university researchers through facilities, research resources, and laboratory programs that pursue innovative science to advance knowledge and improve human health.
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.
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.
Sarnoff Fellowship Program - Research Training for Medical Students
Sarnoff Fellowship Program - Research Training for Medical Students supports medical students in a year of mentored cardiovascular or cerebrovascular research to foster enthusiasm for research careers.
Medical Research Study
Medical Research Study supports medical research institutions pursuing innovative basic biological and applied medical research that challenges prevailing ideas to advance scientific knowledge and human health.
Medical Research
The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Medical Research grant funds innovative scientific studies on major diseases to improve public health in the Pittsburgh region.
Medical Research Grants
Medical Research Grants support Hawai‘i-based researchers with funding for basic and clinical studies and sustainable research infrastructure to strengthen local capacity and benefit Hawai‘i residents.
Research Funding
The SMA Foundation Research Funding program supports projects that accelerate late-stage translational research or clinical trials for new SMA therapeutics.
Translational Medicine Postdoctoral Fellowship
Translational Medicine Postdoctoral Fellowship supports postdoctoral researchers in collaborative training that translates laboratory discoveries into clinical approaches to improve patient care.
Early-Career Scientific Research Grants Program
Early-Career Scientific Research Grants Program supports early-career investigators’ original research in blood banking, transfusion medicine and biotherapies to build data and advance research independence.
Mathers Grant Awards Program
Mathers Grant Awards Program supports investigators’ individual and collaborative basic biological and medical research projects with translational potential to help transform human health.
Early Clinical Investigator Awards
Early Clinical Investigator Awards support postdoctoral trainees in Oregon conducting clinical or translational research to build independent research careers and lay the groundwork for future funding.
Research Funding - Focused Ultrasound Foundation
Research Funding - Focused Ultrasound Foundation supports scientists conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials of focused ultrasound to accelerate new disease treatments and adoption as standard care.
Translational Research Grants
Translational Research Grants support researchers moving basic discoveries toward clinical applications, funding work across psoriatic disease to benefit people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
Translational Research Grant
Translational Research Grant supports North Carolina researchers advancing university-held life sciences inventions toward commercial products that solve real-world problems through milestone-based research.
Translational Medicine Predoctoral Fellowship
Translational Medicine Predoctoral Fellowship supports doctoral students conducting research that translates laboratory discoveries into human applications to address unmet clinical needs and improve patient care.
Medical Research-Other
Medical Research-Other supports medical research institutions with funding for research-related work other than studies, within a broader commitment to advancing scientific knowledge and human health.
Scientific Research Grants
Scientific Research Grants support investigators and multidisciplinary teams conducting innovative breast cancer pilot research to advance understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes.
Research Grants - Breast Cancer Research Foundation
Research Grants from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation support scientists and clinical investigators pursuing creative clinical and translational research to advance breast cancer prevention, understanding, and treatment.
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.