Funding Opportunities

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Foundation Funding Opportunities

The following foundations provide funding to researchers for eye research. For other grant opportunities not listed here, please visit the ARVO Funding Guide.

• American Glaucoma Society
• The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)
• BrightFocus Foundation
• Fight For Sight
• Foundation Fighting Blindness
• Glaucoma Research Foundation
• International Retinal Research Foundation
• Knights Templar Eye Foundation, Inc.
• Research to Prevent Blindness

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Baxter Foundation Faculty Fellows Program

Award:

• Range from $50,000 to $100,000

Purpose:

• The purpose of the Donald E. and Delia Baxter Foundation Fellows Program is to provide seed funding to help prepare and support young investigators as they embark on their careers and start up their independent research programs. This early stage of career development is a critical period for a new researcher. During this time, the new scientist requires some form of monetary support to develop preliminary data and build a research program to effectively compete for extramural research funding. The Foundation is interested in supporting researchers at this early stage so that they can conduct innovative and impactful research that has strong future potential for translation to new therapies, diagnostic tools, and/or approaches to disease prevention. The Foundation is particularly interested in supporting basic laboratory and mechanism-based research programs.

Eligibility:

• Faculty members with their primary appointment at the Keck School, including CHLA, holding the rank of Instructor or Assistant Professor (all tracks)
• Applicants should be in the building phase of their research programs; those who have already attracted substantial external funding other than training or career development grants are not eligible.

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KSOM Dean’s Pilot Funding Award

Award:

• Up to $75,000 for 1 year

Purpose:

• The Office of the Dean will once again collaborate with KSOM departments and institutes to provide faculty members with funding for initial exploration of new research areas. Priority will be given to projects that demonstrate innovation as well as likelihood of follow-on funding in a particular field. The primary target audiences include junior investigators starting a research program and established investigators moving to a new area of research that is clearly distinct from their prior research. The eligibility requirements, terms, and application process are outlined below:

Eligibility:

• Full-time faculty members at KSOM, including CHLA, as of July 1, 2022
• Single or multiple principal investigators are allowed
• Co-investigators from other USC schools are allowed, see below for budgetary restrictions
• Applicants cannot be in possession of startup or discretionary funds exceeding $150,000 at the time of application to the program

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SC CTSI Mentored Career Development in Clinical and Translational Science Program (MCD-CTS)

Award:

• Scholar’s salary support up to $90,000 plus fringe for effort devoted to the program (a minimum of 75% is required for non-surgical specialties, 50% for surgical specialties).
• Tuition/research costs of up to $25,000 annually for three years:
  • Travel Stipend (Year 1): Scholars may spend up $5,000 as part of the $25,000 on travel related to their research which must be completed in Year 1 of the program. A portion of travel stipend (approximately $2,500) must be used to cover hotel, transportation, meeting registration, food, and printing of poster presentation for the Translational Science Meeting in Washington, DC (mandatory attendance in first year of training to this conference.)
  • Travel Stipend (Year 2): Scholars may spend up $2,500 as part of the $25,000 on travel related to their research which must be completed by Year 2 of the program.

Purpose:

• The Mentored Career Development in Clinical and Translational Science (MCD-CTS) is a three-year program created to support research career development for health professionals or individuals with research doctoral degrees who wish to pursue formal training and a career in clinical and translational research.

Eligibility:

• Research Areas: To be considered for the MCD-CTS program, applicants must be pursuing a career path in clinical/translational research. Our program strongly encourages applications from a variety of schools and disciplines (medical, health science, pharmacy, social work, psychology, biomedical engineering, etc.), as well as from individuals from our partner institutions including but not limited to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Applicants do not have to have a clinical degree to apply to the MCD-CTS Program, but their career goals and interests must be in multidisciplinary clinical research.
• Other Criteria
  • MD, Pharm D, DOT, DSN, DNP, DPT, DDS degrees are examples of MCD-CTS Scholar-eligible professional doctoral degrees.
  • Research Ph.D. degree-holders are eligible.
  • Junior faculty or those who anticipate promotion to faculty status (Fellows) at the start of the award.
  • Have a primary appointment at an SC CTSI partner institution (Children’s Hospital Los Angeles).
• Career Stage: Scholars must hold a doctoral level degree and be in an early stage of their career as junior faculty who plan to conduct, or are conducting, clinical research. Some Scholars may be at the tenure-track or assistant professor level when they enter the program, but the ideal Scholar could be at an earlier stage. We expect that Scholars will have a faculty appointment in any track, once in the program. Fellows are eligible for the MCD-CTS program if in their final year of fellowship and have the support from their department to promote them to junior faculty status upon completion of their fellowship. This must be stated in the letters of support from the department/division chair as part of the application submission process.
• Citizenship: In accordance with NIH policy, these awards are only for U.S. citizens, non-citizen nationals or permanent residents. Individuals on who possess a temporary or student visa this includes H1B and J1 visas) are not eligible to participate. A non-citizen national is a person born in one of the outlying possessions of the United States, including American Samoa and Swain’s Island, to a parent who is a non-citizen national. This is a person who is a U.S. national but not a U.S. citizen.

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Technology Advancement Grants (TAGs) Award

Award:

• Up to $100,000 for 1 year

Purpose:

• Technology Advancement Grants (TAGs) support technologies invented at USC through validation or proof-of-concept development. The awards add value to unlicensed USC owned technology, aiming to increase the probability of obtaining a license in the future. These awards are not intended to fund basic research or app development. USC Stevens has a budget of $300,000 available to fund up to 6 projects in 2022. The amount available per project cannot exceed $100,000. The number of projects funded will be based on the budget requested for those selected for funding and shall not exceed $300,000 in the aggregate for all projects.
• TAGs have a competitive two-step application process comprising an initial review by USC Stevens’ staff and an external advisory board, and a final review and recommendation by a second external advisory board of industry experts. The final presentations will be held via Zoom. It is anticipated that part of the award may be spent on outside organizations that will work with the principal investigator and USC Stevens to further develop the technology. The external advisory board may recommend that changes be made to the Project Plan in order for the project to be eligible for funding.

Eligibility:

• The application must be based on existing Intellectual Property (IP) developed at USC with the rights assigned to USC.
• The IP cannot be licensed, optioned, or subject to any third-party rights at any time during the application or review process. USC Stevens reserves the right to withdraw funding if it learns that there is a party intending to license the technology (other than government interests via sponsored research).
• The principal investigator must be a USC employee eligible to serve as principal investigator, other than a term employee or visiting employee.
• A complete invention disclosure must be on file with USC Stevens prior to the submission of the letter of intent.
• The project submitted would benefit from using the types of permissible expenses as described in “Types of Assistance” below to move a project closer to commercialization.
• Examples of innovations or technologies that can benefit from TAG funding include, but are not limited to, new therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices, software (health and non-health) with commercial applications, new battery types, novel chip designs, new materials for aerospace and other projects with clear commercial applications.

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Wright Foundation Research Awards

Award:

• Applicants may request up to $100,000 annually for up to two years (i.e., $100,000 for year one and an additional $100,000 in year two pending significant progress and approval.) A timeline with specific milestones must be included for consideration of continued funding beyond the initial grant.

Purpose:

• The Robert E. and May R. Wright Foundation is seeking proposals for Transformative Cancer Research Grants from individuals or teams of scientists to accelerate new forms of cancer prevention and cures through innovative basic/translational research. The proposed laboratory-based work must have clear potential to move novel scientific discoveries into the clinic for an impact on patient care and outcomes.

Eligibility:

• Anyone who will be a full-time faculty member at the Keck School of Medicine as of July, is eligible to apply as principal investigator. Co-investigators may come from other schools at USC
• Scope of Research: The following are strongly encouraged:
  • Translational laboratory cancer research (particular interest in new treatment and biomarker development)
  • Innovative and new directions for cancer research
  • Clear pathway for translation to clinical research to change the paradigm of patient care and outcomes

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Zumberge Individual Award

Award:

• The program provides from $10,000 to $30,000 in seed funds.
• Applicants may add a formal mentoring component to their project by including a senior faculty member; mentors in support of proposed Zumberge Individual Award projects receive $2,000 for their own research or scholarly programs

Purpose:

• The purpose of the Zumberge Individual Award program is to help junior faculty launch and develop research, scholarly, or creative programs and projects that lead to sustained professional development and extramural funding.

Eligibility:

• Applicants must be permanent full-time tenure-track or non-tenure (research) track Assistant Professors. RTPC faculty on (paid and unpaid) research leave are eligible; RTPC faculty in between contracts as well as visiting and adjunct faculty are not eligible to apply.
• Current Research Support Limits: Faculty who have received significant internal or external support, in the form of faculty research start-up packages, ongoing laboratory support, research awards, grants or contracts, do not qualify for this program.
• Specifically, faculty who hold start-up, research, or gift accounts with a combined total in excess of $150,000 in unexpended funds for research at the time of application are not eligible to apply. An exception is made for non-tenure track (RTPC) faculty whose secured externally funded grants are covering their salary.
• Topics eligible for funding:
  • The Zumberge Individual program accepts proposals in a diverse range of research areas, scholarship, and artistic and cultural expression, including, but not limited to, social sciences, humanities, arts, literature, STEM, political sciences, social work, education, business, law, architecture, among others. As well, we encourage proposals that engage and benefit marginalized communities by advancing local economic, physical, health, cultural and/or social outcomes.
  • Projects do not need to be large. We welcome small projects that can make a difference in the field and to the applicant.
• Exclusionary criteria:
  • The program will not fund the same work that is being funded under other Provost programs or by external sponsors.
  • Previous recipients of a Rose Hills Award or a Zumberge Individual Award are not eligible to apply.
  • Applicants may apply to the Zumberge Diversity & Inclusion award program during the same award cycle (applications will be reviewed individually). However, the program is unlikely to fund multiple proposals originating from the same laboratory

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Zumberge Interdisciplinary Award

Award:

• Large Research Grants: provide up to $85,000 in funding and are intended to support activities that take place over a one-year period.
• Small Research Grants: provide up to $10,000 and are intended to support projects that typically last no more than three months.

Purpose:

• Zumberge Multi-School Interdisciplinary Research Awards provide seed funding for broad, collaborative research activities that are interdisciplinary and involve groups of faculty from multiple schools across USC. Successful proposals are led by faculty with strong records of previous research accomplishments. Interdisciplinary awards are intended for teams of such faculty who are preparing a proposal for an externally funded multi-investigator grant on the scale of an interdisciplinary center, training grant or program project award.
• To be considered for this award, applications must (a) plan to apply to a specific externally funded grant, (b) provide a realistic plan for sustained funding or support beyond the end of the award, and (c) demonstrate that a Zumberge award will make a difference in attracting further research support.

Eligibility:

• Applicants must be permanent, full-time faculty at USC. Tenure track and non-tenure track faculty are eligible; visiting and adjunct faculty are not eligible to apply.
• Proposals must designate a team that includes one Principal Investigator (PI) and at least one co-Principal Investigator; at least two separate schools within USC must be represented between the primary appointments of the PI and Co-PI. Applications should also specifically describe the involvement of other faculty or key personnel who have agreed to participate in the project.
• The corresponding PI must have a record of sustained funding from outside the university over the past 5 years.
• The Zumberge Interdisciplinary program accepts proposals in a diverse range of research areas, scholarship, and artistic and cultural expression, including, but not limited to, social sciences, humanities, arts, literature, STEM, political sciences, social work, education, business, law, architecture, among others.
• PIs and Co-PIs who received a Zumberge Interdisciplinary Award in 2020 or later are not eligible to apply for another award in the same category (Small or Large research grant). However, faculty may apply for a Large grant to support an activity that was previously supported by a Small research grant.
• Neither type of grant provides financial support beyond the duration of the award and neither carries the opportunity for renewal. Rather, applicants should use these grants as a step toward securing external funding or other forms of support for a sustained collaborative research program.
• Additionally, the Zumberge award will not fund the same work that is being funded under other provost programs or external sponsors.

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Revised 8/12/2022