Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Program
Limited submission
Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Program supports early-career scientists pursuing high-risk basic research in cancer, immunology, neuroscience, and pain to explore bold ideas with groundbreaking potential.
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Funder: Rita Allen Foundation
Due Dates: September 3, 2026 (Scholars LOI) | October 14, 2026 (Scholars application) | October 14, 2026 (Pain applications open) | January 31, 2028 (Institutional inclusion LOI, 2029 cycle)
Funding Amounts: Scholars: up to $110,000 annually for up to five years; Award in Pain: $50,000 annually for up to three years
Summary: Supports early-career investigators pursuing innovative, high-risk basic research in cancer, immunology, neuroscience, and, through a separate award, pain.
Key Information: The main Scholars program requires nomination by an invited institution, limited to one nominee per review cycle.
Description
The Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Program supports early-career biomedical scientists establishing laboratories and pursuing research with above-average risk and groundbreaking possibilities. The main program funds basic research in cancer, immunology, and neuroscience. It emphasizes bold approaches to scientific questions addressing problems of global concern, alongside investigators’ potential for learning, leadership, and collaboration.
Since 1976, the program has supported more than 225 scientists. Pain research is supported through the separate Scholars Award in Pain, offered in partnership with the U.S. Association for the Study of Pain (USASP). That award supports early-career investigators studying basic mechanisms and molecular biology of pain, including research related to developing new analgesics and improving chronic pain treatment.
