Funding
Opportunities

In order to advance the frontiers of research in science, the Simons Foundation’s Autism & Neuroscience division recognizes the need for diverse ideas and perspectives that contribute to the scientific enterprise. We offer the Fellows-to-Faculty Award program to identify scientists with extraordinary potential to advance our scientific areas of interest and nurture greater diversity in…

This program was titled “Early Career Investigator in Marine Microbial Ecology and Evolution Awards” from 2015-2022. The purpose of these awards is to help launch the careers of outstanding investigators in the fields of microbial ecology, microbial biogeochemistry and/or microbial evolution in marine or natural freshwater systems, who will advance our understanding through field work,…

The goal of the program is to stimulate collaboration in the mathematics field primarily through the funding of travel and related expenditures.

SFARI is accepting applications for funding of Patient Advocacy Group Family Conferences, with a focus on groups in the Simons Searchlight community. This funding is intended to support and enhance the research component of conferences, from scientist presentations to in-person research opportunities for families. It is open to both patient advocacy groups (PAGs) with well-established…

The Simons Foundation’s Mathematics and Physical Sciences (MPS) division invites applications for the new Simons Dissertation Fellowship in Mathematics to provide research support to excellent graduate students in the final years of their Ph.D. studies. This program has been created to honor the work of our late founder, Jim Simons, and his commitment to supporting…

The program is intended to support high-risk theoretical mathematics, physics and computer science projects of exceptional promise and scientific importance on a case-by-case basis.

The Simons Foundation’s Mathematics and Physical Sciences (MPS) division invites applications for its Scientific Software Research Faculty Award (SSRF Award) in the MPS program for faculty appointments to start between September 2024–September 2025. The foundation strongly encourages scientists from disadvantaged backgrounds or underrepresented groups to apply.

The aim of the Simons Collaborations in MPS program is to stimulate progress on fundamental scientific questions of major importance in mathematics, theoretical physics and theoretical computer science.

The program is intended to support established institutes or centers in the mathematics and physical sciences through funding to help strengthen contacts within the international scientific community.

The Simons Fellows program in Mathematics provides funds to faculty for up to a semester-long research leave from classroom teaching and administrative obligations.

The Simons Foundation is launching an international collaborative research program designed to fill fundamental scientific knowledge gaps relevant to Solar Radiation Management.

The Linking Early Neurodevelopment to Neural Circuit Outcomes RFA aims to bridge the gap in our understanding of whether and how developmental phenotypes caused by autism risk gene mutation lead to altered circuit formation and function. We strongly encourage proposals involving close collaboration between investigators of diverse expertise, such as developmental neurobiologists and circuit neuroscientists,…

The goal of the Pilot Progression Award is to provide continuing support for projects initiated during SFARI Pilot awards that have advanced significantly and produced insights that justify an extension. Eligible applicants will be contacted with instructions for submission. Applications open on April 11, 2024.

The goal of the Pilot Award is to provide early support for exploratory ideas considered higher risk but with the potential for transformative results, particularly those with novel hypotheses for autism. This funding mechanism is particularly suitable for investigators new to the autism field, though we encourage applicants to consult with experts in autism research…

The Neuroscience Collaborations at the Simons Foundation are accepting applications for funding of courses or conferences in fundamental neuroscience. Courses and conferences that align with the scientific missions of our programs, the Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain (SCGB), with a focus on the fields of systems and computational neuroscience, and/or the Simons Collaboration on…

The fellowship will enable today’s brightest minds to apply their talent and expertise to a new field and will consist of one training year where the fellow will be embedded in a lab of a mentor to learn the new discipline and its culture.

The Simons Foundation’s Life Sciences division invites applications for postdoctoral fellowships to support candidates who intend to pursue a career in basic research on fundamental problems in marine microbial ecology, with an emphasis on understanding the role of microorganisms in shaping ocean processes and vice versa. We are interested in applicants with training in different…

The goal of the Simons Foundation’s Shenoy Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Neuroscience (SURFiN) program is to spark and sustain interest in neuroscience among undergraduate students from diverse and/or historically underrepresented backgrounds in science. SURFiN provides funds for paid research assistantships for undergraduate students living near participating laboratories in the U.S., Canada, and Europe that are…

The Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain (SCPAB) Transition to Independence Award aims to facilitate the transition of the next generation of outstanding scientists from historically underrepresented groups to research independence in the field of cognitive aging.

The Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain (SCGB) Transition to Independence (TTI) program engages talented early-career scientists from diverse and/or historically underrepresented backgrounds to pursue research in systems and computational neuroscience and facilitates their transition into independent faculty positions at research institutions within or outside the U.S.

SFARI is invested in supporting the next generation of top autism researchers. The Bridge to Independence Award program engages talented early-career scientists to pursue autism research by facilitating their transition to research independence and providing grant funding at the start of their faculty positions at a U.S. or Canadian research institution.

The NSF and the Simons Foundation shall jointly sponsor up to two national AI research institutes in the astronomical sciences. These institutes shall have, as their primary focus, the co-advancement of astronomy, astrophysics and artificial intelligence through multidisciplinary, multi-stakeholder research on large-scale, longer-term horizon challenges.

Grants awarded through the Cross-Species Studies of ASD request for applications (RFA) are intended to support multi-disciplinary teams of PIs with expertise in both human and animal research to perform coordinated cross-species studies to advance our understanding of ASD-relevant behaviors and their underlying neurobiological mechanisms, with the potential for developing novel biomarkers or interventions. Applicants…

The Human Cognitive and Behavioral Science RFA prioritizes research that produces foundational knowledge about the neurobehavioral differences associated with ASD. These projects are expected to inform or relate to the development and refinement of tools needed for translational efforts, such as biomarkers and outcome measures. Special emphasis is placed on objective, quantitative measures that may…

Please Note: Because of the high volume and quality of vision statements received, we are revising our original timeline. Once… Read More

The purpose of these awards is to support recently tenured, outstanding investigators in the field of microbial ecology in marine or natural freshwater systems, who will advance our understanding through field studies, laboratory experiments, modeling or theory. The program will provide support for establishment of a new research direction or an innovative expansion of current…

Grants awarded through this request for applications (RFA) are intended to improve our understanding of the molecular and cellular consequences of genetic risk for ASD, and to provide a foundation for the development of new therapies. Special emphasis is placed on the use of scalable methods, especially as applied to genes that are suitable targets…

The SPARK Research Match Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity RFA aims to address historic disparities in research participation by Black or African American individuals by soliciting studies on autism that recruit Black or African American participants. Funding will provide per-person participant incentive (e-gift cards) for participation in projects that utilize SPARK Research Match to recruit participants…

Grants awarded through this request for applications are intended to advance the understanding of autism spectrum disorder through analyses of human postmortem brain tissue donated to the Autism BrainNet collection.   The annual budget is between $300,000 and $1,000,000, inclusive of 20 percent indirect costs, for a period of two (2) years.   We encourage…

The National Science Foundation Directorates for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (NSF/MPS) and for Biological Sciences (NSF/BIO) and the Simons Foundation Division of Mathematics and Physical Sciences (SF/MPS) shall jointly sponsor a new research institute to facilitate collaborations among groups of mathematicians (including statisticians and computational scientists) and biologists.

Each Simons Symposia series brings together mathematicians, theoretical physicists and/or theoretical computer scientists to interact and collaborate in a series of up to three symposia, held every second year and focusing on one topic or a tightly connected group of topics.

Grants awarded through this RFA are intended to capitalize on the rat as a model system to advance our understanding of the behavioral and circuit neuroscience mechanisms driving autism. This RFA will support a consortium of investigators to collaboratively use SFARI autism rat models to examine the biological basis of complex behaviors and the underlying…

Grants awarded through this RFA will supplement funding from other agencies for ongoing pregnancy cohorts to broaden biospecimen collection and to extend post-natal family tracking. These cohorts and biospecimen collections can be leveraged in future research to understand the effects of gestational infection and inflammation on autism risk in children. The maximum budget is $250,000…

SFARI Collaborations are a new funding mechanism that will provide substantive and stable funding support to multidisciplinary teams of investigators tackling critical issues in the autism research field. Collaborations will be led by a director who oversees interdisciplinary, synergistic research efforts across multiple laboratories. Investigative groups within a Collaboration will focus on the same conceptually…

Grants awarded through this RFA are intended to provide support for the investigation of key unresolved research questions in autism, particularly those that connect etiology to brain function and behavior. SFARI welcomes risk and novelty in Research Award proposals, but potential impact on the autism research field will be the most important criterion. Competitive applications…

Grants awarded through this request for applications are intended to develop and validate outcome measures that are suitable for use in intervention studies that target the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder. Such measures should provide objective data with strong psychometric properties, be scalable for use in large, multisite studies, not be unduly burdensome to…

SPARK is a SFARI initiative intended to recruit, engage and retain a community of 50,000 individuals with autism, and their family members, in the United States. This research cohort includes children and adults who span the full autism spectrum and individuals of all socio-demographic backgrounds. Through this RFA, SFARI will add additional clinical sites to…

Grants awarded through this RFA are intended to advance our understanding of the genetic basis of autism. Investigators who are interested in analyzing genomic data in innovative ways from thousands of SPARK families are encouraged to apply. Available data will include whole-exome and genome-wide genotyping data from approximately 4,500 individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)…

Application type for proposals requesting support of exploratory experiments that will strengthen hypotheses and lead to the formulation of competitive applications for subsequent larger-scale funding by SFARI or other organizations. Innovative, high-risk/high-impact proposals are encouraged. We especially encourage applications from investigators who are new to the field of autism, but who have expertise that could…

Grants awarded through this RFA are intended to advance our understanding of the genetic basis of autism, and in particular, to begin to assess genetic variants conferring risk in non-coding regions and in coding regions of the genome that may be less accessible to whole-exome sequencing. Investigators who are interested in developing innovative and efficient…

Grants awarded through this RFA are intended to advance our understanding of the genetic basis of autism, and in particular the potential role of missense and in-frame deletion variants in conferring risk. Investigators who are interested in developing medium- or high-throughput screens to test the functional effects of missense and in-frame deletion variants identified in…

Grants awarded through this RFA are intended to advance our understanding of the impact of activation of the innate immune system on behavioral, circuit, synaptic and neuronal functions in order to understand the consequences of infection and immune activation on autism-related behaviors. Experiments should include physiologically relevant activation/inhibition of the innate immune system in animal…

Grants awarded through this RFA are intended to advance our understanding of the circuit basis for behavioral and cognitive alterations relevant to autism spectrum disorders. The goal is to determine the downstream consequences of autism-associated genetic perturbations on neural circuitry, with an emphasis on how collections of neurons operate in concert during autism-relevant behaviors. Experiments…

This RFA seeks proposals that take advantage of the unique combination of biospecimens and rich phenotypic information collected by the Simons Variation in Individuals Project (Simons VIP). Although SFARI is open to many different approaches, we will likely give priority to those that aim to accomplish a comprehensive characterization of RNA expression differences and correlate…

This RFA seeks proposals that aim to comprehensively analyze the behavior of mouse models that have been generated with targeted genetic mutations based on strong human genetic evidence implicating them in autism spectrum disorders. We expect investigators will test at least three genetic models in the same background strain (C57BL/6). In addition, investigators should analyze…

The following SFARI grant was awarded in response to the Mouse phenotyping request for applications (RFA): Ted Abel, Ph.D. (University… Read More

The following investigators have been awarded SFARI grants in response to the Innate Immune System Impact request for applications (RFA):… Read More

The following investigators have been awarded SFARI grants in response to the Circuit Dynamics request for applications (RFA): Rui Costa,… Read More

  The following SFARI grant was awarded in response to the Analysis of Simons VIP Biospecimens request for applications (RFA):… Read More

This Innate Immune System Impact Request for Applications is closed. A PDF of its accompanying FAQ document is here. More… Read More