Young Investigator Award (YIA)
Young Investigator Award (YIA) supports early-career neurofibromatosis researchers with salary support to advance NF investigation, establish independent careers, and prepare to secure larger research grants.
Funder: Children's Tumor Foundation
Due Dates: November 2, 2026, 9:00 a.m. ET (LOI opens) | December 1, 2026, 4:00 p.m. ET (LOI deadline) | July 1, 2027 (Award start)
Funding Amounts: Two years of salary support at levels outlined in the 2027 application guidelines
Summary: Supports early-career neurofibromatosis researchers as they establish independent research careers and prepare to secure larger grants.
Key Information: Applicants must have a senior researcher as their laboratory-based research sponsor; only one application per laboratory per year will be funded.
Description
The Young Investigator Award (YIA) is part of the Children’s Tumor Foundation’s Discovery Fund and is the foundation’s longest-running award program. It provides two-year salary support for early-career neurofibromatosis (NF) researchers, including senior doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows, to help them establish themselves as independent NF investigators.
The program acts as a seeding mechanism for continued NF investigation and future funding from larger grant programs, including the National Institutes of Health and the CDMRP Neurofibromatosis Research Program. Past recipients have made groundbreaking research findings and produced notable publications, and many have become leaders in NF research and clinical care.
