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Our grantmaking efforts focus on mathematical and physical sciences, life sciences, neuroscience and autism research.

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Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution

The purpose of these awards is to provide support for students entering U.S.-based Ph.D. programs with a plan to perform research in ecology and evolution. While we will consider all projects in ecology and evolution, we are particularly interested in interdisciplinary research that jointly considers processes on both ecological and evolutionary timescales, or that links…
Program Area: Life Sciences

SPARK Research Match Expansion — Request for Applications

The SPARK Research Match Expansion RFA is an effort to engage with and increase research participation by individuals whose genetic ancestries have been undersampled in clinical research. Funding will provide per-person participant incentives (e.g., gift cards) for participation in projects that utilize SPARK Research Match to recruit participants into new research studies or to broaden…
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

Targeted Grants in MPS

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.
Program Area: Mathematics & Physical Sciences

Simons Collaborations in Mathematics and the Physical Sciences

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.
Program Area: Mathematics & Physical Sciences

Targeted Grants to Institutes

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.
Program Area: Mathematics & Physical Sciences

Simons Fellows in Mathematics

The Simons Fellows program in Mathematics provides funds to faculty for up to a semester-long research leave from classroom teaching and administrative obligations.
Program Area: Mathematics & Physical Sciences | Simons Fellows

Simons Foundation Autism & Neuroscience Conferences and Courses Awards

The Autism & Neuroscience division at the Simons Foundation is accepting applications for funding of courses or conferences. This year, courses and conferences that align with the scientific missions of any of the following programs will be prioritized: Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI), with a mission to advance the basic science of autism and…
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI) | Neuroscience

Pivot Fellowship

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.
Program Area: Simons Foundation | Life Sciences

Simons Investigator in Aquatic Microbial Ecology Awards

Microbes inhabit and sustain all habitats on Earth. In both marine and freshwater systems, microbes capture solar energy, catalyze biogeochemical… Read More
Program Area: Life Sciences

Shenoy Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Neuroscience (SURFiN)

The goal of the Shenoy Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Neuroscience (SURFiN) program is to spark and sustain interest in neuroscience among undergraduate students who have not had access to research training opportunities. SURFiN fellows will gain hands-on, in-person research experience during the 2025-2026 academic year with direct mentorship.
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI) | Neuroscience

Simons Dissertation Fellowship in Mathematics

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…
Program Area: Mathematics & Physical Sciences

Autism Rat Models Consortium 2.0 RFA

Grants awarded through this request for applications (RFA) are intended to recharge and extend a consortium of researchers using rats as an experimental system to advance our understanding of the behavioral and circuit neuroscience mechanisms underlying autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD).
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

Conference Support for Rare Neurodevelopmental Disorder Communities Participating in Simons Searchlight

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

Travel Support for Mathematicians

The goal of the program is to stimulate collaboration in the mathematics field primarily through the funding of travel and related expenditures.
Program Area: Mathematics & Physical Sciences

Simons Early Career Investigator in Aquatic Microbial Ecology and Evolution Awards

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,…
Program Area: Life Sciences

Fellows-to-Faculty Award

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…
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI) | Neuroscience

Scientific Software Research Faculty Award

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.
Program Area: Mathematics & Physical Sciences

Solar Radiation Management

The Simons Foundation has launched an international collaborative research program designed to fill fundamental scientific knowledge gaps relevant to Solar Radiation Management.
Program Area: Mathematics & Physical Sciences

Linking Early Neurodevelopment to Neural Circuit Outcomes — Request for Applications, Ph.D.

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 from a range of backgrounds, such as developmental neurobiologists and…
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

2024 SFARI Pilot Progression Award — Request for Applications

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.
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

2024 Pilot Award — Request for Applications

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…
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

NSF-Simons National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Institutes in the Astronomical Sciences

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.
Program Area: Mathematics & Physical Sciences

Cross-Species Studies of ASD — Request for Applications

Grants awarded through the Cross-Species Studies of ASD RFA were 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.
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

Human Cognitive and Behavioral Science — Request for Applications, Ph.D.

The Human Cognitive and Behavioral Science RFA prioritized research that produces foundational knowledge about the neurobehavioral differences associated with ASD. These projects were expected to inform or relate to the development and refinement of tools needed for translational efforts, such as biomarkers and outcome measures. Special emphasis was placed on objective, quantitative measures that may…
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

Neuroscience Collaborations Vision Statements Call

We seek vision statements to identify new, emerging breakthrough areas of neuroscience that are poised for high-impact funding by the… Read More
Program Area: Neuroscience

Genomics of ASD: Pathways to Biological Convergence and Genetic Therapies — Request for Applications

Grants awarded through this RFA were 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 was placed on the use of scalable methods, especially as applied to genes that are suitable targets for genetic therapies.
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

NSF-Simons Collaboration on a National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology (NITMB)

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.
Program Area: Mathematics & Physical Sciences

Simons Symposia

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.
Program Area: Mathematics & Physical Sciences

Autism Rat Models Consortium — Request for Applications

SFARI launched the Autism Rat Models Consortium (ARC) in 2022 with a group of researchers funded through the original Autism Rat Models Consortium RFA. These researchers are using rats generated with SFARI funding that carry mutations in high-confidence genes that in humans significantly increase the likelihood of developing autism and related NDD. As part of the consortium, these…
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

Maternal COVID-19 As a Potential Risk for Autism: Supplemental Funding for Ongoing Pregnancy Cohorts — Request for Applications, Ph.D.

Grants awarded through this RFA supplemented 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.
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

2020 SFARI Collaboration on Sex Differences in Autism — Request for Applications

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…
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

2020 Research Award — Request for Applications

Grants awarded through this RFA were 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 welcomed risk and novelty in Research Award proposals, but potential impact on the autism research field was the most important criterion. Competitive applications had…
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

Novel Outcome Measures in ASD — Request for Applications, Ph.D.

Grants awarded through this RFA were 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 participants and…
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

SPARK Clinical Site Network — Request for Applications

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 supported additional U.S.-based clinical sites for…
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

Explorer Awards — Request for Applications, Ph.D.

This RFA was intended 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 were encouraged. We especially encouraged applications from investigators who are new to the field of autism, but who have expertise…
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

Whole-Genome Analysis for Autism Risk Variants — Request for Applications

Grants awarded through this RFA were 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…
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

Functional Screen of Autism-Associated Variants Request for Applications

Grants awarded through this RFA were 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…
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

Innate Immune System Impact Request for Applications, Ph.D.

Grants awarded through this RFA were 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 were expected to include physiologically relevant activation/inhibition of the innate immune system…
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

Circuit Dynamics Request for Applications

This RFA was intended to advance our understanding of the circuit basis for behavioral and cognitive alterations relevant to autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The goal was 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.
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

Analysis of Simons VIP Biospecimens Request for Applications

This RFA sought proposals that take advantage of the unique combination of biospecimens and rich phenotypic information collected by Simons VIP. Although SFARI was open to many different approaches, we gave priority to those that aim to accomplish a comprehensive characterization of RNA expression differences and correlate such expression patterns with phenotypes. Furthering the ability…
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

Mouse Phenotyping Request for Applications

This RFA sought proposals that aimed 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 expected investigators to test at least three genetic models in the same background strain (C57BL/6). In addition, investigators needed to…
Program Area: Autism Research (SFARI)

Simons Postdoctoral Fellowships in Plant Science

The Simons Foundation Fellowships in Plant Science provide funding to Ph.D. recipients who aspire to a research career addressing fundamental problems in plant biology. We are interested in applicants already involved in the plant sciences or whose scientific backgrounds could be applied to plant biology. The program is purposefully flexible to allow alternative models of…
Program Area: Life Sciences | Plant Biology

Simons Collaborations in Ecology and Evolution

The goal of the Simons Collaborations in Ecology and Evolution is to bring together small groups of outstanding scientists to drive a deep understanding of the dynamics of biological systems of interacting species. We are particularly interested in bold projects implementing novel approaches that may be considered too risky for other funding organizations. We therefore…
Program Area: Life Sciences | Ecology and Evolution

SFARI Mouse phenotyping awardees

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

SFARI Innate Immune System Impact awardees

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

SFARI Circuit Dynamics awardees

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

SFARI Analysis of Simons VIP Biospecimens awardees

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