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:
- Tools for exposure assessment, including assessment of exposure to nanomaterials.
- Improved or expanded testing methods for toxicity screening.
- Computational approaches for predictive toxicology.
- Technologies such as alternative or improved methods for fixing and preserving tissues.
The funding is being offered as part of the 2021 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 16, 2021)
- Program Descriptions and Research Topics
- Application Guide for SBIR/STTR Grant Applications
Next due date: September 6, 2022
For more information about this opportunity, contact:
- Daniel T. Shaughnessy, Ph.D.
- Health Scientist Administrator
- 530 Davis Dr Durham, NC 27713
- 984-287-3321
- shaughn1@niehs.nih.gov
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 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.
Nominations for Lush Prize Due June 17
Nominations are being accepted through June 17 for the 2022 Lush Prize, which recognizes advancement toward animal-free testing. The Lush Prize is the largest prize fund in the non-animal testing sector, with a prize fund total of £250,000. Nominations for the prize are accepted in the six categories of Lobbying, Public Awareness, Science, Training, and Young Researcher. Alternatively, the entire £250,000 may be awarded as a Black Box Prize, to recognize a key breakthrough in human toxicity pathways likely to lead to practical non-animal tests that could be accepted by regulators. Candidates and projects from anywhere in the world are eligible: visit the Lush Prize website for details. Requirements of the recipients include attending an awards ceremony and preparing an explanation of the winning project for the ceremony and the Lush Prize website.
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 will be accepted beginning on May 5, with applications due June 5 and quarterly thereafter 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.