Cancer Research New Funding Opportunities

Childhood Cancer Therapeutic Catalyst

LOI Deadline: April 30, 2026

Amount: £250K (approximately $337k)

This scheme aims to de-risk early-stage projects to enable further drug discovery research, funding, or partnering, with a focus on developing novel therapeutics for children and young people with cancer. It invites global applications for early drug discovery proposals across all childhood cancer indications and therapeutic modalities, including projects focused on identifying and validating novel targets and pathways, developing innovative therapeutic approaches to validated targets, creating platforms, assays, and screening tools for target identification, and conducting feasibility and de-risking studies to advance promising drug discovery efforts.

Please contact Mary Nunciato, Senior Director of Foundation Relations, at mary.hall@bcm.edu with any questions.

Bio-Therapeutics Impact Grant

Deadline: June 9, 2026

Amount: Up to $1.8 million over 3 years ($600k/year) – indirect costs not allowed

The ALSF Bio-Therapeutics Impact Award provides funding to support investigator-initiated clinical trials using biologic therapies, including but not limited to immunotherapy (including cell therapies), gene therapy, and small molecules. This grant category was initiated to accelerate the development of clinical trials for promising biologic approaches to treat childhood cancers.

Please contact Mary Nunciato, Senior Director of Foundation Relations, at mary.hall@bcm.edu with any questions.

Community Grants

Application Deadline: Ongoing until funds are used.

Budget: $20,000-$40,000, for one year.

Award: The Colon Cancer Coalition seeks to provide funds, to liked-minded partners advancing colon cancer research. Funds must be used on programs that will benefit individuals in and around the event city where the money is raised. Priority will be given to programs working to increase screening for adults over 50 to reach the national goal of 80%, patient screening navigation, or addressing young adult onset colorectal cancer.

Contact: Please contact Lyndsie Whitehead, Assistant Director of Foundation Relations at lyndsie.whitehead@bcm.edu for additional information.

Open Proposals Program

Application Deadline: Funding is available on a rolling basis and new grants are awarded frequently.

Budget: $50,000 ~ $828,027, from 6 months to 36 months (average $224,000 for 2 years). NTAP supports indirect costs at a maximum of 10% of direct costs.  

Award: The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine - Neurofibromatosis Therapeutic Acceleration Program (NTAP) supports research projects designed to accelerate development of effective treatments for NF1 associated peripheral nerve sheath tumors.  NTAP’s Open Proposal program is open to any stage of drug development.  However, proposal must focus on the peripheral nerve tumors of NF1 (Cutaneous, Plexiform and Atypical).

Please contact Lyndsie Whitehead, Assistant Director of Foundation Relations for additional information.