For Early Career Researchers:
NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program
CAREER: The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. Such activities should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from junior faculty members at all CAREER-eligible organizations and especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities to apply.
Jeffress Foundation Grants
Jeffress Foundation Grants are awarded to support basic research in chemical, medical, or other scientific fields through grants to educational and research institutions in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Grants are given to assist scientists in such institutions to conduct investigations in the natural sciences, generally considered to include chemistry, physics, biology (with the exception of field studies, classification, other largely observational studies), studies in the basic medical sciences, such as biochemistry, microbiology, and others. The Trust is particularly interested in supporting fundamental research by scientists early in their careers and new areas of research or more speculative projects by established investigators.
JMU PEER Funding
The Program to Enhance External Research (PEER) is intended to fund pilot or preliminary work in specific university research and other scholarly endeavors, including public service activities, which show high probability for attracting increasing levels of support from external funding agencies. The maximum PEER grant award will be $5,000. Generally, the range will be $2,000-$5,000. Funds may be used for such items as additional faculty release time or staff time during the academic year or summer, student assistance, clerical support, equipment, materials, and travel.
Other
List of Funding opportunities for junior faculty compiled by UC Berkley
Also see "Summer Funding", below.
Summer Funding
Faculty Summer Teaching and Research Grants
The College of Science and Mathematics offers Summer Teaching Grants and Summer Research Grants to assist faculty members who wish to engage in substantial instructional development, research, and other scholarly enhancement efforts that cannot reasonably be completed as part of their normal teaching and professional responsibilities.
Large Equipment grants
NSF MRI
The Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) serves to increase access to shared scientific and engineering instruments for research and research training in our Nation's institutions of higher education, museums, science centers, and not-for-profit organizations. This program especially seeks to improve the quality and expand the scope of research and research training in science and engineering, by providing shared instrumentation that fosters the integration of research and education in research-intensive learning environments. Development and acquisition of research instrumentation for shared inter- and/or intra-organizational use are encouraged, as are development efforts that leverage the strengths of private sector partners to build instrument development capacity at academic institutions.
Medical Research
NIH Small Research Grant Program
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) supports small research projects that can be carried out in a short period of time with limited resources. Investigator-initiated research, also known as unsolicited research, is research funded as a result of an investigator submitting a research grant application to NIH in an investigator's area of interest and competency. The R03 grant mechanism supports different types of projects including pilot and feasibility studies; secondary analysis of existing data; small self-contained research projects; development of research methodology; and development of new research technology. Any individual with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) is invited to work with his or her organization to develop an application for support. Direct costs are limited to $100,000 direct costs over the R03 two-year period, with no more than $50,000 in direct costs allowed in a single year
Funding for students
Sigma Xi Grants in Aid of Research
The Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research (GIAR) program awards grants of up to $1,000 to students from all areas of the sciences and engineering. Students use the funding to pay for travel expenses to and from a research site, or for purchase of non-standard laboratory equipment necessary to complete a specific research project.
NSF REU
The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation. REU projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects specifically designed for the REU program.
Helpful Articles
What to say - and not to say - to program officers
Search tools
LikeThis Search Tool Available Through NIH eRA Commons
Have you ever wanted to see what NIH has awarded in your area of interest? Would you like to find out which study section reviews the applications similar to the ones you are proposing?
LikeThis (beta) search tool allows you to enter a scientific abstract or access your own applications or grants and then click on LikeThis to get a listing of similar grants and/or publications.
After you log into Commons, you will find the link along the right side of the home page at the bottom of the Additional Links section.
Here are some helpful resources — an Overview, a User Guide and FAQs to navigate LikeThis.
