Funder: Focused Ultrasound Foundation
Due Dates: Rolling (LOIs) | Within 90 days of invitation (full proposals and revisions)
Funding Amounts: Preclinical: typically up to $150,000 for 1 year; clinical: no budget cap
Summary: Supports milestone-driven preclinical translational research and clinical trials using non-invasive image-guided focused ultrasound to treat disease.
Key Information: Funding carries intellectual-property commercialization terms; company awards are not non-dilutive.
Description
The Focused Ultrasound Foundation funds milestone-driven, proof-of-concept research to accelerate new applications of focused ultrasound and its adoption as a standard of care. Its patient-focused, time-sensitive mission includes support for high-risk projects that may produce negative results. Awards support preclinical translational studies, including veterinary comparative medicine research relevant to human treatment, and first-in-human or other innovative clinical trials.
Priority mechanisms include immunomodulation, neuromodulation, gene and cell therapy, drug delivery—including blood-brain barrier opening—and sonodynamic therapy. Clinical priorities emphasize oncology and neurodegenerative disease: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, ALS, dementia, glioblastoma, DIPG, diffuse midline glioma, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, and metastatic cancer. Exceptional opportunities outside these priorities may be considered when they offer rapid clinical translation and immense patient impact.
