Finding Funding

Federal Government Funding

All Federal funding opportunities are located on the GRANT.GOV™ web site. The federal government funds a wide variety of investigator initiated projects ranging from basic to bench top to community, training grants and research contracts, equipment grants and other grants. Simply clicking on the find grants opportunities section on the GRANT.GOV™ web page and following the prompts will allow you to view all grants in your area of interest.

Federal Agencies:

The National Institutes of Health (NIH): The NIH is part of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and is the is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research. The NIH funds investigator – initiated basic, clinical and translational research, program project grants, center grants, research training grants and other research related programs. The NIH is made up of twenty institutes and seven centers. Each institute and / or center has different research priorities and different application success rates. It is important to familiarize yourself with an institute before applying for funding.

The NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER): The OER is a central repository for guidance on grant, contract, and funding opportunities supported the NIH.

The NIH Guide to Grants and Contracts: provides weekly announcements on RFA’s (Requests for Applications), PA’s (Program Announcements) and recent notices (NO).

RFA’s and PA’s are the two major means by which various institutes request proposals. RFA’s tend to address a narrowly defined area for which specific funds have been set aside to support while PA’s have multiple suspense dates and specific funds may not be reserved.

The NIH Training and Career Development (F-T and K –series Awards): fund students, fellows, junior and senior faculty to develop their research skills.

The NIH T Series Grants: Ruth l. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Institutional Research Training Series provides long term (T32) and short term (T35) predoctoral and postdoctoral research training opportunities in biomedical, behavioral and clinical research.

The NIH F Series Grants: Ruth l. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Individual Research Training Series provides funds for postdoctoral training (F32) and senior fellowships (F33) as well as pre-doctoral minority students (F30) and students with disabilities ( F31).

The NIH K Series Grants: At least eight different K series awards are available to support faculty members at various points in their career to become independent researchers. A Career Award Wizard will assist in deciding which K award to apply for.

The NIH Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR): The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is a set-aside program (2.5% of an agency's extramural budget) for domestic small businesses interested in engaging in Research/Research and Development (R/R&D) that can be commercialized.

Heath Resources Services Administration (HRSA): The Health Resources and Services Administration is an agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HRSA’s six bureaus and twelve offices form this Federal agency with primary responsibilities for improving access to health care services for uninsured, isolated or medically vulnerable people. Current areas of funding focus include people living with HIV/AIDS, pregnant women, mothers and children, training for health professionals, rural healthcare, organ donation and telemedicine.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): The Center for Disease Control is an agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The CDC is composed of seven national centers. and has a primary responsibility of promoting health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability. Current areas of funding focus include environmental health, injury prevention, global health, health promotion, infectious diseases, public health information, health marketing, health statistics, bioterrorism preparedness and emergency response, workplace health and safety.

National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent Federal agency that was founded to promote progress in all fields of fundamental science and engineering except for the medical sciences. The NSF competitively awards grants and cooperative agreements for research and education in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) The primary responsibilities of DHS include leveraging the nation's scientific and technological resources to provide Federal, state, and local officials with the technology and capabilities to protect the homeland. DHS funds projects designed to counter threats to the homeland.

Department of Defense (DOD) through the office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) funds peer reviewed research aimed at preventing controlling and curing diseases such as breast, prostate, and ovarian cancers, neurofibromatosis, military health, and other specified areas.

Community of Science and other Search Engines for Grants and Funding Opportunities

Community of Science (COS): UNTHSC has contracted with COS, a leading global source for locating funding and research across all disciplines. COS is a leading resource for finding funding opportunities with more than 22,000 records representing nearly 400,000 funding opportunities, worth over $33 billion. COS also identifies experts and potential collaborators with 500,000 profiles of researchers from 1,600 institutions throughout the world including information on current research activity, funding received, publications and patents. The COS site allows showcasing your own research and expertise among researchers and scholars from universities, corporations and nonprofits in more than 170 countries.

Grants.gov: is a federally funded central storehouse for information on over 1,000 grant programs and approximately $400 billion in annual awards.

FedBizOpps: is the single government point of entry for federal business opportunities including an electronic search engine and a vendor notification system. Government buyers are able to publicize their business opportunities by posting information directly.

GrantsNet: provides an electronic search engine for grants and funding for science training and undergraduate science education

Foundations and Professional Associations

Private Foundations: Many private foundations provide funding opportunities for basic, clinical and public health research and related programs. The Foundation Center provides a wealth of information on foundations and fundraising, and finding funders. The Office of Research oversees submissions to foundations submitted in response to a specific announcement. The UNTHSC Office of Institutional Advancement oversees foundation funding pertaining to unsolicited proposals and should be contacted before an unsolicited foundation funding proposal is submitted.

A partial list of foundations providing funding is:
American Cancer Society
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Cancer Treatment Research Foundation
Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
American Psychiatric Foundation
Josiah Macy Foundation
March of Dimes
Lymphoma Research Foundation
Paralyzed Veterans of America Research Foundation
American Health Information Management Association
American Federation for Medical Research
Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Samueli Institute

Professional Associations: Many professional Associations provide information on grants and funding opportunities on their web sites.

A partial list of professional Associations with UNTHSC faculty as members providing funding is:
Alzheimer’s Association
American Diabetes Association
American Heart Association
American Osteopathic Association
American Psychiatric Association
American College of Surgeons Resident
American Lung Association
American Academy of Family Physicians