Funding Opportunities

SFARI offers grant programs to support bold, imaginative and rigorous research, relevant to the SFARI mission. Our standing request for application (RFA) programs include Pilot Awards and Fellow-to-Faculty Awards. We also feature ad-hoc targeted RFAs. SFARI also continues to be a key participant in the Shenoy Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Neuroscience (SURFiN).

Please read our blog post for more information about SFARI's 2024 funding initiatives.

Current & Upcoming RFAs

Award Type
Deadline
Budget and Duration
Description

2025 Data Analysis — Request for Applications

The goal of this award is to increase use of large, publicly available data resources by supporting investigators to allocate time and personnel toward working in and publishing from these previously collected data. Applications should leverage existing publicly accessible datasets to ask new questions and extract new knowledge. Priority will be given to applications that use SFARI-supported resources, although all applications will be considered as long as data are publicly accessible at the time of application. Proposed questions should be relevant to SFARI’s mission.

Image for SPARK RFA

SPARK Research Match Expansion — Request for Applications

Rolling

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 participation in ongoing Research Match studies.

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Past RFAs

Award Type
Status
Past Awards
Description

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 related neurodevelopmental disorders, the Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain (SCPAB), with a focus on healthy cognitive aging, and the Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain (SCGB), with a focus on the fields of systems and computational neuroscience.

Young Adult Head Silhouettes

Shenoy Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Neuroscience (SURFiN)

Annual

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 provides funds for paid, in-person undergraduate research assistantships during the academic year to students living near Simons Foundation-supported laboratories in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

Two rats on a green background.

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).

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 as well as those in early years of convening families and connecting to science.

Abstract image of a spiral in colored dots.

Linking Early Neurodevelopment to Neural Circuit Outcomes — Request for Applications

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 circuit neuroscientists, in order to convincingly demonstrate causal links between disparate phenotypes in the chosen model(s).

Pilot-Award-image

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 to ensure their projects are relevant to the human condition. We encourage applications that propose research to link genetic or other ASD risk factors to molecular, cellular, circuit or behavioral mechanisms and set the stage for development of novel interventions, including work in human subjects.

Stock image used to illustrate the SFARI Cross-Species RFA.

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.

Human Cognitive and Behavioral Science — Request for Applications

Annual

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 be used in conjunction with standardized clinical measures and genomic information to better characterize phenotypic and neurobiological variability within and across individuals with ASD.

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