https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/alt-funding

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.

On April 17, 2020, the NIEHS SBIR/STTR program in coordination with NICEATM presented a webinar-based town hall meeting, "Development of New Approach Methodologies to Reduce Animal Use in Toxicity Testing." View presentations >>
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

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:

Travel Award Available for In Vitro Training Course; Apply by June 30

Early-career scientists who are interested in non-animal testing are invited to apply for an award to attend the Applied In Vitro Toxicology Training Course organized by the European Society of Toxicology In Vitro. The course will be held at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology in Belvaux, Luxembourg, from November 24-29.

This award, presented by PETA Science Consortium International, offers an early-career scientist the opportunity to learn about and gain hands-on experience with in vitro and in silico methods. The award is open to postdoctoral fellows and scientists who have been out of school or a postdoctoral program less than 10 years, 18 years of age or older, residents of any country. The deadline to apply is June 30. The winner will be notified in August.

Funding Offered for Development of In Silico Models for Evaluation of Medical Devices

The National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have established the Foundations for Digital Twins as Catalyzers of Biomedical Technological Innovation (FDT-BioTech) program to accelerate innovations in biomedical technologies through development of principled mathematical, statistical, and engineering foundations for digital twins and synthetic human models in healthcare applications. The program is offering six to ten awards totaling $4-5M to support interdisciplinary research projects, including projects to develop and use digital twins and synthetic data in biomedical and healthcare applications, with a particular focus on digital in silico models used in the evaluation of medical devices. This is a multiyear program; the first deadline for funding proposals is Friday, June 21.

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:

  • 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.
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.