Funding Opportunities for Test Method Developers
NICEATM and ICCVAM seek to facilitate development of test methods that replace, reduce, and refine the use of animals in testing. In addition, both organizations are committed to the protection of human health, animal health, and the environment. This page lists announcements of funding opportunities intended to support the development of alternative test methods. If you are aware of a funding opportunity that could be included on this page, please contact NICEATM.
SBIR and STTR Omnibus Grant Solicitations of the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Food and Drug Administration
NIEHS is offering funding for small businesses developing technologies of interest to the Tox21 program. These technologies include:
- Informatics tools and platforms to organize, store, retrieve, extract, and integrate information on exposures and health effects data.
- Application of machine learning methods and natural language processing for extracting and integrating diverse data types and for generating causal networks from experimental data and public knowledgebases.
- Adapting or developing new methods and tools for automating environmental health-related literature and systematic reviews, including article selection and prioritization, data extraction, study quality evaluation, and summarization of for environmental health impacts.
- Mid- to high-throughput and high-content assays using in vitro or tissue chip technologies to screen and rank toxicity of emerging engineered nanomaterials for cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and metabolic toxicity.
- Human and rodent organotypic culture models and microphysiological systems.
- Approaches to characterize and integrate key molecular and cellular changes related to effects of toxicant exposures in carcinogenicity, developmental neurotoxicity, or cardiotoxicity.
- Screening systems that incorporate genetic diversity into toxicology testing.
- Short-term tests, assays, or systems designed specifically to reduce or replace existing regulatory animal studies for acute toxicity (oral or inhalation), reproductive or developmental toxicity, carcinogenicity, or ocular toxicity
The funding is being offered as part of the 2023 Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH, CDC, and Food and Drug Administration. This funding is available for small business grant applications to support development and commercialization of innovative technologies. View more information on the NIEHS website.
SBIR/STTR Omnibus Solicitations and Accompanying Resources
- Solicitation notices on NIH website (posted July 12, 2023)
- Program Descriptions and Research Topics
- Application Guide for SBIR/STTR Grant Applications
Next due date: April 5, 2024
For more information about this opportunity, contact:
NIH Funding Resources
The NIEHS SBIR/STTR Program Staff encourages applicants to submit grants at least one week before the deadline and to take advantage of the following resources:
- NIH "All About Grants" Podcast on the Office of Extramural Research website.
- NIH RePORTER Matchmaker – useful for an initial screen for matching your technology to an institute and a relevant study section for review. It is also a great place to better understand what types of technologies NIH institutes fund.
- NIH Grants Policy Statement – rules for applying for and accepting a grant.
- Frequently Asked Questions about SBIR and STTR grants on the NIH website.
- Frequently asked questions about SBIR/STTR grants in general.
- Annotated SBIR/STTR SF424 application forms.
- Webinar series for funding opportunities for environmental technologies.
- NIH study section identifier – allows you to search your topic of interest.
- Application cover letters are optional but provide you an opportunity to designate an institute or study section.
- Rules for calculating number of employees.
- Registration and application instructions (this process can take six to eight weeks and should be initiated well before the deadline).
Grants for Students to Attend Meetings Available from EPAA
The European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA) provides grants to help students and young scientists with outstanding work in the field of alternative approaches attend a high-profile scientific event. All grants cover the reimbursement of the event registration fees for the scientist, as well as travel and accommodation fees, on the basis of expense receipts. This year, a full grant of €1000 and a half grant of €500 will support travel to each of the following meetings:
- 22nd International Congress of the European Society of Toxicology In Vitro (ESTIV; June 3-6, Prague, Czech Republic): apply by April 15.
- 58th Congress of the European Societies of Toxicology (EUROTOX; September 8-11, Copenhagen, Denmark): apply by June 17.
- European Congress on Alternatives to Animal Testing (EUSAAT; September 18-20, Linz, Austria): apply by June 17.
Apply for International 3Rs Prize; Deadline May 1
Applications are being accepted for the United Kingdom National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement & Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) annual prize awarded for a paper that describes outstanding and original work that has or could have major impacts on the replacement, reduction, or refinement of the use of animals in research. This prestigious award consists of a £28k prize grant and a £2k personal award. GlaxoSmithKline has contributed £20k toward the prize grant. Apply by Wednesday, May 1.
ARDF Offering Research Grants: Apply by April 19
The Alternatives Research and Development Fund (ARDF) awards grants to support research projects that develop alternative methods to advance science and to replace or reduce animal use. ARDF is currently accepting applications for this year’s grants, with proposals due April 19.
The maximum grant is $40,000. While preference will be given to U.S. applications, proposals are welcome from any nonprofit educational or research institution worldwide. Expert reviews of each proposal will evaluate scientific merit and feasibility and the potential to reduce or replace the use of animals in the near future. Proposals in the fields of research, testing, or education will be considered. Projects may not use intact non-human vertebrate or invertebrate animals, or monoclonal antibodies produced by in vivo methods. Preference will be given to proposals that use in silico and in vitro methods with human cells or tissues.
IFER Accepting Proposals for Graduate Fellowships; Apply by April 30
The International Foundation for Ethical Research (IFER) is accepting applications for 2024-2025 graduate fellowships. Applications are due Tuesday, April 30. For more information, visit the IFER website or contact [email protected].
These one-year grants of up to $15,000 support projects by master’s and PhD students in the sciences. Eligible projects will address development, acceptance, and implementation of innovative scientific methodologies that advance science and reduce or replace the use of animals in research, testing, or education. Special consideration is given to proposals that are likely to replace the use of animals in research. Grants are renewable for up to three years, depending on student progress and availability of funds. NICEATM scientist Helena Hogberg is on the scientific advisory board of IFER.
Grants Offered to Support Development of Animal-free Antibody Applications
PETA Science Consortium International e.V., the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and the Alternatives Research and Development Foundation are offering grants for free recombinant antibodies for use in research and testing. Awardees will receive commercially available recombinant antibodies to test in applications that currently use animal-derived antibodies. Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae and a proposal describing in detail the how the antibody will be used. Awardees will be expected to provide updates to grant sponsors on the progress of their work and publish their results. The offering has a rolling deadline, and grant amounts will vary based on details of the projects.
Grants Will Support Development of Tissue Models for Cancer Research
The National Cancer Institute is offering grants to support the development and characterization of state-of-the-art biomimetic tissue-engineered technologies for cancer research. Projects supported by this funding will become part of the Cancer Tissue Engineering Collaborative (TEC) Research Program. The goals of the Cancer TEC Program are to (1) catalyze the advancement of innovative, well-characterized in vitro and ex vivo systems available for cancer research, (2) expand the breadth of these systems to several cancer types, and (3) promote the exploration of cancer phenomena with biomimetic tissue-engineered systems.
Applications for funding were accepted beginning in May 2022, with applications due quarterly through February 2025. Grants of up to $400,000 will be awarded to fund projects that can continue up to five years. Eligibility for these grants is open to for-profit and nonprofit institutions within and outside the United States.