Funding Opportunities

Grants awarded through this RFA are intended to provide early support for exploratory ideas, particularly those with novel hypotheses for autism. Appropriate projects for this mechanism include those considered higher risk with less assurance of ultimate impact, but with the potential for transformative results.

Investigators new to the field of autism are encouraged to apply for these awards. The total budget of a Pilot Award is $300,000 or less, including 20 percent indirect costs, over a period of up to two (2) years.

Grants awarded through the Bridge to Independence Award program are intended to invest in the next generation of top autism investigators by identifying talented early-career scientists interested in autism research and facilitating their transition to independent research careers.

This request for applications (RFA) is aimed at senior postdoctoral fellows who intend to seek tenure-track faculty positions during the 2018-2019 academic year. Successful applicants will receive a commitment of $495,000 over three years, activated upon assumption of a tenure-track professorship.

Grants awarded through this RFA are intended to advance our understanding of the genetic basis of autism. Investigators who are interested in analyzing genomic data in innovative ways from thousands of SPARK families are encouraged to apply.

Available data will include whole-exome and genome-wide genotyping data from approximately 4,500 individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their biological parents. Approximately half of these families will also have genomic data from an unaffected sibling. In addition, whole-genome sequencing data will be available from approximately 400 other ASD individuals, plus their biological parents and unaffected siblings. A limited phenotypic dataset for all participants will be available.

We expect to fund several awards in the range of $100,000 (direct costs) for 18 months. Higher budgets will be considered, but we expect such budgets to be strongly justified.

Application type 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 are encouraged. We especially encourage applications from investigators who are new to the field of autism, but who have expertise that could be brought to bear on this complex disorder. The maximum budget is $80,000, including indirect costs, for one (1) year, non-renewable.

** Note: The Explorer Award program has ended (the last receipt of applications was June 15, 2018). Please read our blog post for more information.

Grants awarded through this RFA are intended to provide funding for investigators conducting bold, creative and rigorous research into the underlying biology, causes and treatment of autism spectrum disorders.

Pilot Awards are intended for investigators who are requesting support for small-scale projects or early-stage experiments that will build on preliminary data or a prior track record and lead to competitive applications for funding by SFARI or other organizations. Investigators new to the field of autism are encouraged to apply for these awards. The maximum budget is $330,000, including indirect costs, for two (2) years.

Research Awards are intended for investigators with demonstrated experience who are requesting support for compelling, high-impact research on an experimental hypothesis for which preliminary data have already been gathered. The maximum budget is $975,000, including indirect costs, for three (3) years.

** Note: SFARI has recently made a number of changes to the Pilot and Research Award programs. Please read our blog post for more information.

Grants awarded through this request are intended to support a network of U.S.-based clinical sites to recruit individuals and families affected by autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to participate in SPARK. The overall goals of SPARK are to recruit, engage and retain a community of 50,000 individuals with ASD, along with their family members in the United States. This research cohort will include children and adults with ASD, who span the full spectrum of autism and include individuals of all socio-demographic backgrounds. Selected clinical sites will receive funding of up to $150,000/year for a maximum of three years.

Grants awarded through this RFA are intended to support a network of U.S.-based clinical sites to recruit individuals and families affected by autism to participate in a national autism cohort. The overall goals of the national autism cohort initiative are to recruit, engage and retain a community of 50,000 individuals with ASD, along with their family members in the United States. Selected clinical sites will receive funding of up to $150,000/year for a maximum of three years.

Grants awarded through this RFA are 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 ways to analyze whole-genome sequencing data from 500 Simons Simplex Collection (SSC) families are encouraged to apply. The maximum budget is $250,000, including indirect costs, for eighteen months, non-renewable.

Grants awarded through this RFA are 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 the Simons Simplex Collection (SSC) and other autism collections are encouraged to apply.

Grants awarded through this RFA are intended to develop and validate objective outcome measures for use in clinical trials targeting core symptoms of ASD (i.e. social communication impairments and restricted, repetitive behaviors) and disruptive behavioral symptoms (e.g. anxiety, tantrums). Such outcome measures should be objective and yield quantitative data, be feasible and not unduly burden participants and families, capture data from the participant in their natural environment, be scalable and affordable for large clinical trials, and have high test-retest reliability. They should be applicable to individuals with autism within a wide range of functioning levels, as well as being valid for a broad age range.