Funding Opportunities

• Bridge Funding Guidelines and Temporary Funding for Research Community: Updates as of May 2025.
• McCabe Fund Award Program: The McCabe awards support junior faculty who initiate innovative biomedical and surgical research projects. Eligible faculty are those who have received either limited or no external research funding while in their first three years on faculty at the PSOM or the School of Veterinary Medicine at Penn.
• Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR)
  
  • Discovering the Future Grant: Discovering the Future grants can be awarded to Penn faculty working on blue sky, high risk/high reward research.
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship: The Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellowships and CHOP’s Postdoctoral Fellowships are competitive programs intended to increase the diversity of the academic research community at the University of Pennsylvania and  Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Fellowships are available for postdoctoral training in all areas of study at either Penn or CHOP.  STEM applications are encouraged. 
  • University Research Foundation (URF): Conference Grant: The University Research Foundation (URF) is an internal funding program offering Research Grant and Conference Support Grant opportunities. For all funding mechanisms, faculty members are invited to submit their research applications to one of four disciplinary areas: Biomedical Sciences, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Engineering, and Social Science and Management.
  • University Research Foundation (URF): Research Grant: The University Research Foundation (URF) is an internal funding program that supports the research mission of the university. While the details of structure and funding have evolved over its 37-year existence, the goals have remained the same: to support faculty as they start their careers; to help established faculty pivot into new research directions; to compete for external funding; and, to facilitate collaborations across disciplines.
• Penn Provost’s Office
  • Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships Funding options are often specific to particular kinds of research, fields of study, grad year, etc. In addition, most (but not all) CURF funding is reserved for research conducted under the mentorship of a Penn faculty member.
  • Dual Career: Provides University funding when a standing faculty member is accompanied by a working spouse/partner, including a same-sex domestic partner, seeking employment at Penn.
  • Faculty Opportunity Fund: Enhances the academic strength and diversity of Penn faculty - reserved for candidates who, in the dean’s opinion, will make extraordinary scholarly contributions.
  • Impact Seminar Grant: Provides awards for large-scale, cross-School, cross-disciplinary events over one or two days and open to the entire University community.
  • Penn Global Research & Engagement Grant Program: Supports the development of innovative, actionable solutions to global and regional challenges by leveraging Penn’s interdisciplinary expertise and global resources. It promotes cross-school collaboration and equitable international partnerships that foster shared knowledge and research. The program includes four distinct funds, the Global Engagement Fund, China and India Research and Engagement Funds, and the Holman Africa Research and Engagement Fund, each with unique priorities for expanding research and teaching impact.
  • Penn PORTAL: The Penn PORTAL funding opportunities are directed toward early-career clinician and non-clinician investigators, faculty clinicians, and other healthcare professionals at Penn. Penn PORTAL is committed to training future LHS Scientists; fostering access, inclusion, diversity, equity, and engagement; and supporting projects aligned with Penn Medicine goals designed for rapid-cycle testing and integration into clinical operations.
  • Predoctoral Fellowships: These awards are designed to provide mentorship and access to Penn’s resources for doctoral students in the humanities and social sciences, enrolled in graduate or professional programs at universities other than Penn, as they complete their dissertations.
  • Postdoctoral Fellowships: The Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellowships and CHOP’s Postdoctoral Fellowships are competitive programs intended to increase the diversity of the academic research community at the University of Pennsylvania and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
  • Provost's Interdisciplinary Arts Fund: Supports art and culture initiatives at Penn that directly engage students and bring together multiple groups across campus, especially collaborations between art & culture organizations and academic departments or centers.

• Synergy Grant Program: The Synergy Grant program aims to connect faculty from different domains, through science and innovation.  Studies funded demonstrate new synergistic collaboration as well as potential for external funding.

Many of PSOM’s centers and institutes sponsor pilot and seed grant programs. These programs may vary from year to year; applicants are encouraged to reach out directly to the centers listed below for more information.

• Cardiovascular Institute (CVI)

• Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE)

  • Roybal Pilot Program: CHIBE invites proposals from affiliated faculty for pilot projects that translate ideas from behavioral economics into practice in ‘real world’ settings, specifically testing interventions that reach middle-aged and elderly Americans at high risk for premature morbidity and mortality.

  • Trio Pilot Program: Pilot funds are targeted to support small-scale, innovative or exploratory projects with a duration of one year. Funded projects must have the potential to generate academic publications and priority will be given to projects with potential to develop small-scale or preliminary research findings that would lead to applications for extramural funding, especially to the National Institutes of Health.

• Center for Molecular Studies in Digestive and Liver Diseases: The purpose of the Center is to unite investigators with interests in digestive and liver physiology and disease and to stimulate others in the biomedical community to enter this area of research. One of the most important aspects of this effort is the funding of Pilot/Feasibility Projects. The Pilot/Feasibility Project should be related to the focus of the Center, which encompasses molecular studies on the biology or disease of the alimentary tract, pancreas, and liver. 

• Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology Pilot Project Program: The Pilot Project Program is a key component of the CEET and aims to fund new directions in Environmental Health Science, with the goal of advancing research of center members, supporting the careers of junior faculty, attracting new investigators into the field, and promoting community-engaged research.

• Diabetes Research Center (DRC) Pilot & Feasibility Grant Program: This program provides support to perform pilot and feasibility studies in diabetes and related endocrine and metabolic disorders.

• Epigenetics Pilot Grants

  • At-Large Pilot Project Grant: To conduct Epigenetics-related research projects. A broad spectrum of proposal topics will be considered. Including those that involve fundamental studies in Epigenetics as well as more applied or disease-oriented studies that utilize Epigenetics as a central component of the research.

  • Chemical/Genetic Screening Epigenetics Institute Pilot Project Grant: The specific scientific focus of this pilot grant application is non-restrictive, but applications must utilize the services of the HTSC. Applications with a focus to utilize the cores’ ability to screen either a) FDA approved drugs and known bioactives library or b) siRNA libraries of Gene Ontology (GO) categories or user defined gene sets to identify/validate candidate gene targets are encouraged.

• Institute for RNA Innovation Pilot Grant Program: The Institute for RNA Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania, CHOP, and Wistar seeks to support RNA biology research to enhance basic science, translational, and clinical studies. Towards that goal, the Institute for RNA Innovation requests applications for the Pilot Grant Programs.

• Institute for Structural Biology Pilot Grant Program in Structural Biology: The ISB Pilot Grant Program in Structural Biology aims to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and advance Structural Biology techniques. It promotes appreciation for Structural Biology in fundamental and translational biomedical science, building a community of users at UPenn through shared Core facilities. The grant requires collaboration between at least two investigators on interdisciplinary projects.

• Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (ITMAT): The Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (ITMAT) maintains current grant funding opportunities on their own website, including a dedicated Pilot Grant Application System.

• The Orphans Disease Center: The ODC offers over 50 grant opportunities in 30+ disease areas annually to researchers across the globe, as well as within the Penn and CHOP community, doing rare disease research.

• The Penn Center for AIDS Research (Penn CFAR)

  • CFAR Development Pilot Awards: The Penn CFAR Developmental Core Pilot Award Program is designed to assist both faculty member applicants and future faculty (e.g., Instructors, Research Associates, or clinical fellows with a division chief’s commitment to support beyond fellowship) to launch a successful independently funded HIV/AIDS-related project. In addition to funding, this support is provided through mentoring (or collaborative partnerships for more seasoned investigators). Mentoring is available regardless of whether or not an application is funded.

  • CFAR Microgrants: Junior faculty and pre-faculty CFAR investigators can apply for microgrants to obtain support to generate targeted data needed for resubmission of a scored grant or other critical needs that will result in a stronger HIV research grant or related goals. 

• Penn Achilles Tendinopathy Center of Research Translation (PAT-CORT) Pilot Grant Funding: This grant program will support investigators to capitalize on novel hypotheses, emerging methodologies, or fundamental concepts that will uncover the mechanobiologic basis of Achilles tendinopathy, which is the focus of the Center.   

  Eligibility:

  • 1) This program is not meant for large undertakings where an extramural research grant could reasonably be submitted, nor is it meant to provide supplemental funds for ongoing research.

  • 2) It is expected that Pilot grants will lead to extramural funding. Therefore, in addition to scientific merit, the likelihood of future extramural funding is an explicit evaluation criteria for each proposal.

  • 3) Budgets will be for $20-60,000 for one year.

• Penn Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders (PCMD) Pilot and Feasibility Grant Programs: Categories of applicants include: 1) Established investigators with a proposal to test the feasibility of a new or innovative idea in musculoskeletal tissue injury and repair representing a clear and distinct departure from their ongoing research; 2) Established investigators with no previous work in musculoskeletal tissue injury and repair interested in testing the applicability of their expertise on a problem in this area; and 3) New investigators without significant extramural grant support as a Principal Investigator to develop a new project.

• Penn Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (PennLDI)

The PSOM Limited Application Committee coordinates with the Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) to determine nominees for grant competitions in instances where a limited number of applications are accepted from the University of Pennsylvania.  These opportunities are listed below.

*The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is also an invited nominating institution.  Faculty based at CHOP must apply through the hospital and may not apply through both CHOP and PSOM.

**Coordinated by PSOM only (no OVPR involvement).

^Coordinated by OVPR only (no PSOM involvement).

CHOP Funding & Awards: If you are affiliated or hold an appointment with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, you may be eligible for support by one of CHOP’s T32 Training Grants.

• Foundation Center: Foundation Center includes a searchable database of federal, foundation and corporate philanthropic opportunities. Log in with your PennKey through this link. Click “connect to resource” next to the word “Online”, or click “Foundation Directory Online” under the Location tab to access.
• Sponsored Programs Information Network (SPIN): The SPIN (Sponsored Programs Information Network) database provides info from private and government sources. Access SPIN by logging into PennERA and selecting “Find Funding” on the top left or by clicking the link above and loggin in with you PennKey ID.

The Office of the Vice Provost for Research manages a number of internal funding opportunities on behalf of the University as well as access to external funding opportunities. https://research.upenn.edu/funding/

Funding Alert Services:

• NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: A weekly email with the official NIH publication for grant policies, guidelines and funding opportunities.
• National Science Foundation (NSF) Update: A weekly or daily email alert service with programmatic subscription options that include new research opportunities, upcoming deadlines, and other useful information.
• SMARTS: An email alert system that allows investigators to receive e-mail notifications about funding opportunities matching their specific requirements.