Funder: Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative
Due Dates: January 13, 2027, noon Eastern time (Full application) | October 21, 2026, 1:00–2:15 p.m. Eastern time (Webinar)
Funding Amounts: $600,000 over three years for faculty research, plus optional postdoctoral support of $110,000 annually for up to two years
Summary: Supports mentored early-career scientists transitioning to independent laboratories in autism, brain aging, and ecological neuroscience.
Key Information: Applicants must not accept a formal tenure-track faculty offer or equivalent before award notification.
Description
The Simons Foundation’s Autism & Neuroscience division offers the Fellows-to-Faculty Award to help scientists in mentored research positions launch independent laboratories. The program supports high-risk, high-reward basic science with transformative potential that advances the missions of the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI), Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain (SCPAB), or Simons Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience (SCENE).
The award centers on a scientist’s vision for a future laboratory rather than a discrete three-year project. It welcomes human subject studies, research in other experimental systems or models, and theoretical and computational approaches. Scientists already working in these areas and those newly applying their expertise are welcome, including researchers with clinical training. Faculty research funding, optional postdoctoral support, and career-development programming help fellows transition to independence.
