Featured Opportunities

March 4, 2026

• The National Pork Board completed an industry-wide survey and convened an advisory group of producer leaders to identify swine health goals and priorities for the National Swine Health Strategy (NSHS), a producer-led initiative to improve the health of the U.S. Swine herd. The goals and priorities are 1) Reduce the impact of domestic diseases (PRRSV and PEDV Elimination) and reduce the spread of pathogens in the U.S. Pork industry and 2) Keep foreign and emerging diseases out through foreign animal disease (FAD) prevention & preparedness and monitoring & early detection of emerging diseases. The Swine Disease Research Task Force has developed a Request for Proposals to address each priority. The NPB task force is comprised of producers, veterinarians and subject matter experts. The purpose of the task force is to identify knowledge gaps related to the NSHS priorities and to fund research proposals that directly align with those priorities.
• The Department of State’s Fulbright Specialist Program, part of the larger Fulbright Program, was established in 2001. The program deploys highly qualified American academics and professionals to share their expertise and strengthen institutions overseas while addressing shared challenges that benefit American communities and our world. Specialists, who represent a wide range of professional and academic disciplines, share their knowledge, skills, expertise, and innovative ideas through two- to six-week projects designed and requested by foreign receiving institutions in over 150 countries and other areas. These institution-designed projects are recommended for selection by U.S. Embassies and Fulbright Commissions around the world, ensuring that U.S. expertise, skills, and perspectives drive progress in key academic, professional, and/or cultural sectors. Prospective U.S. Specialists must first apply through a merit-based process for placement on the Fulbright Specialist Roster. Individuals approved to join the Fulbright Specialist Roster based on their knowledge, skills, and ability to make significant contributions to projects overseas are then eligible to be matched with projects designed by foreign institutions.
• The Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research’s Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research (ROAR) program deploys urgent funding to support research and outreach in response to emerging or unanticipated threats to the U.S. food supply or agricultural systems. Plant and animal pests and pathogens can strike quickly, devastating crops, livestock and livelihoods. When such events occur, it often takes months to mount an effective response. Researchers must first understand these pests and pathogens before developing an effective solution. While the initial period after pest or pathogen detection is critical to stopping the threat, conventional research funding opportunities take significant time and effort to pursue. To address these outbreaks quickly, the ROAR Program funds rapid research related to response, prevention or mitigation of emerging pests and pathogens. ROAR’s one- to two-year funding fills urgent research gaps until traditional, longer-term funding can be secured.
• Each fall, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) offers a two-year Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship to support innovative thinking in conservation, collections care, and stewardship. The fellowship may be extended by one year depending on academic and professional experience and Smithsonian Institution policy. This full-time fellowship (40 hours/week) is designed for individuals who have a strong interest in collaborative conservation and are committed to advancing the field in ways that serve and benefit Indigenous communities. This fellowship moves beyond traditional treatment-focused conservation to embrace a broader, more integrated approach. The fellow will: Implement collaborative engagements; Develop integrated document practices; Engage in collections care and stewardship; Practice preventive conservation; Design artifact displays; Develop project management and decision-making skills; and Implement treatment using integrated, diverse knowledge sets. The fellow will work closely with Conservation staff to develop and implement a research project designed to serve the museum’s Native/Indigenous constituencies. This fellowship provides mentorship and resources to help the fellow reach personal, professional, and research goals.
• Government and the nation face a talent shortfall in artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity. The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) CyberAICorps Scholarship for Service (CyberAI SFS) program welcomes proposals that address AI and cybersecurity education and workforce development. CyberAI refers to using AI in cybersecurity as well as providing security and resilience for AI systems. The Scholarship Track provides funding to establish, or to continue, scholarship for service programs with integrated AI and cybersecurity components (CyberAI). Scholarship recipients must be U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents and work after graduation in the AI or cybersecurity mission of a government organization for a period of at least the length of the scholarship. The Innovation Track supports projects that enhance preparation of AI and/or cybersecurity professionals. Projects may expand existing educational opportunities, curricula, degree programs, educational pathways, methods and interventions, and partnerships among institutions of higher education, government, and employers.
• NSF’s Cyberinfrastructure for Public Access and Open Science (CI PAOS) program within the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC) aims to catalyze new and transformative socio-technical partnerships supporting research data infrastructure ecosystems across domains through early-stage collaborative activities between cyberinfrastructure researchers, scientists, research computing experts, data management experts, research labs, university libraries, and other communities of practice. The CI PAOS program supports the NSF Public Access Initiative by encouraging innovation across the CI ecosystem to address accessibility, discoverability, reliability, reproducibility, sustainability, and utility of data products in alignment with NSF and national goals for public access and open science.
• The goal of NSF’s Nanoscale Interactions program is to support research to advance fundamental and quantitative understanding of the interactions of nanomaterials and nanosystems with biological and environmental media. Materials of interest include one- to three-dimensional nanostructures, heterogeneous nano-bio hybrid assemblies, dendritic and micelle structures, quantum dots, and other nanoparticles. Such nanomaterials and systems frequently exhibit novel physical, chemical, photonic, electronic, and biological behavior as compared to the bulk scale. Collaborative and interdisciplinary proposals are encouraged. The Nanoscale Interactions program will support exploratory research projects on nanoscale interactions of quantum effects which explain macroscopic changes and physiological and metabolic processes; investigate quantum vibration and electron spin to elucidate nano phenomena and produce quantitative data and evidence of quantum effects.
• Kansas NSF EPSCoR helps Kansas build its research capacity and competitiveness in science and technology in areas that are clearly related to the current Kansas NSF EPSCoR focus - Adaptive and Resilient Infrastructures driven by Social Equity (ARISE). See http://arisekansas.org/ for more information about ARISE. The First Award program helps early career faculty become competitive for funding from the research directorates at the National Science Foundation by: 1) encouraging early career faculty to submit proposals to the NSF (or other federal funding agency) as soon as possible after their first faculty appointment, and 2) by accelerating the pace of their research and the quality of their subsequent proposals. First Awards are intended to be single-investigator awards to support the PI’s research program at their institution. The inclusion of Co-PIs, other senior personnel and subawards to other institutions is prohibited. However, applicants are encouraged to include collaborators or mentors from the ARISE team in their proposal. Applicants are allowed to contact team members to discuss how project ideas may relate to the current ARISE project.
• The PhRMA Foundation’s Faculty Starter Grant in Translational Medicine offers financial support to individuals beginning independent research careers at the faculty level at an accredited U.S. university. This program aims to bring scientific research and technological advancements from the laboratory to the clinic, where they can enhance the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease. This includes adapting hypothesis-driven basic research discoveries in cells, tissues, and animals for application in humans and then taking the knowledge of what did and didn’t work in the clinic back to the bench. The PhRMA Foundation seeks research proposals that focus on identifying unmet clinical needs and developing new diagnostic, therapeutic, and computational approaches and technologies to improve patient care.
• The Whitehall Foundation, through its program of grants and grants-in-aid, assists scholarly research in the life sciences. It is the Foundation's policy to assist those dynamic areas of basic biological research that are not heavily supported by Federal Agencies or other foundations with specialized missions. In order to respond to the changing environment, the Whitehall Foundation periodically reassesses the need for financial support by the various fields of biological research. The Foundation prefers to support young scientists at the beginning of their careers. However, productive senior scientists who wish to move into new fields of interest are also considered. The chief criteria for support are the quality and creativity of the research as well as the commitment of the Principal Investigator (a minimum time allocation of 20% is required). The principal investigator must hold no less than the position of assistant professor, or the equivalent, in order to participate in the application process. The applicant need not be in a tenure track position but must be an independent researcher and have Principal Investigator status at his/her institution, usually construed as having lab space independent of another Principal Investigator. The Foundation is currently interested in basic research in neurobiology, defined as follows: Invertebrate and vertebrate (excluding clinical) neurobiology, specifically investigations of neural mechanisms involved in sensory, motor, and other complex functions of the whole organism as these relate to behavior. The overall goal should be to better understand behavioral output or brain mechanisms of behavior.
• The Department of Health and Human Services’ Animal and Veterinary Innovation Centers (U18) NOFO solicits applications for inclusion as Animal and Veterinary Innovation Centers, which are intended to form long-term partnerships to address priority areas for FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM). This includes CVM developing cooperative agreement(s) with academic research institutions (public and private) to first drive research that supports the development of interventions to prevent, control, or eliminate Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus in animals, or interventions that reduce the circulation of the virus in the ecosystem. Work may also include other emerging zoonotic disease threats or One Health issues in future years. Second, to drive research that supports the development of intentional genomic alterations in animals and the advancement of regulatory science in this field, with a focus on intentional genomic alterations that support agricultural resilience, food security, animal health, or public health. Finally, to drive research that supports the development of products for minor species, minor uses in major species (dogs, cats, horses, cattle, pigs, chickens, and turkeys) and other unmet veterinary medical needs in major species that create a significant animal or public health burden.
• The Curtiss T. Brennan & Mary G. Brennan Foundation, a non-profit organization, was established in 1988 to provide funding support for archaeological field research, emphasizing in particular those regions of the world in which early centers of complex culture or civilization originated. Support of active field archaeology, particularly excavation, is emphasized. Post-excavation analysis, processing and publication, or other archaeological activities supportive of field research will only be considered in connection with previously funded field projects. The Brennan Foundation views its grants as seed money, as a catalytic agent enabling especially significant archaeological projects to initiate or dramatically expand work and progress to the point where traditional sources of major funding may be approached. Of particular importance in selecting applications to be funded in full or in part is the significance of the project in increasing an understanding of the origin and subsequent development of early cultural complexity and civilization in that particular region of the world in which the project is undertaken. Other factors of particular importance include the perceived leverage our funding would provide in gaining further support for the project in terms of matching funds or other support, the need for rescuing threatened archaeological resources of particular importance, the professional standing of the individuals and institutions involved and their experience in those regions and countries where work is proposed, the degree of cooperation established with existing national archaeological institutions, and the degree of funding and other support previously and currently evidenced by other research and funding institutions.
• The Patterson Foundation’s United WE Rural Research Fellowship is a new, competitive, interdisciplinary program designed to support scholars and practitioners whose work advances understanding of the most pressing issues facing rural American communities. The Fellowship aims to generate original research that informs policymakers and community leaders, leading to nonpartisan policy solutions that improve economic opportunity and quality of life in rural America.