Our editorial team is keeping abreast of the current status of federally funded opportunities. Such opportunities advertised here, to our knowledge at time of publication, are active. However, please continue to check solicitation websites for updates to U.S. Government opportunities of interest.

What is a Limited Submission?

A limited submission solicitation places a cap on the number of proposals Auburn may submit to a sponsor. Auburn coordinates limited submissions with notifications via this newsletter and competitions created in the Auburn University Competition Space (InfoReady). To apply to any limited submission posted in this newsletter, click on the link within the announcement. Please refer to the Limited Submission Procedures page for a general list of requirements.

Found a Limited Submission opportunity that interests you?

If so, please contact the PSFS office sooner than later so that an internal competition can be created for a timely, university-wide, fair and equitable selection process that allows for ample time for review, feedback and revisions.

NSF TIP: Accelerating Research Translation (ART) - Track 2 Only

NSF seeks to increase the scale and pace of advancing discoveries resulting from academic research into tangible solutions that benefit the public. The overarching goal for the ART program is to advance the U.S. scientific and economic leadership by building capacity and increasing the number of robust translational research ecosystems in Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs). Achieving translational outcomes as a mechanism to drive sustained economic impacts is the primary aim of the "Accelerating Research Translation" (ART) program.

Track 2: Growing Capacity for Research Translation (GROW): This opportunity is for IHEs that currently have a high level of research with a modest research translation infrastructure in place but where the level of research translation remains relatively low. Track 2 is aimed at IHEs that have a high potential and desire to substantially elevate the overall level of research translation to unleash innovation and create significant opportunities for sustained economic and collective impacts.

Track 2 proposals must be led by and focused on outcomes of one IHE in partnership with one mentoring IHE with a high RTRL.

The solicitation strongly encourages proposals to have a representative of the IHE’s technology transfer office (IPX) serve as a PI or at least a Co-PI.

**Requirements for this competition differ from typical limited submission contests.

Institutional Limit: One (1) Proposal

Internal Due Date: November 10, 2025, 4:45pm

Funder Deadline: January 15, 2026, 5:00pm CT

Saint Baldrick's Foundation

The St. Baldrick's Foundation is a committed to supporting the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives. St. Baldrick's focuses on funding 1) new discovery research, 2) translational research and early phase clinical trials, 3) phase III clinical trials & infrastructure support of participating institutions, 4) education of new pediatric oncology researchers. There are two opportunities available:

St. Baldrick Research Grants

These grants are for specific research projects which are hypothesis driven and may be either laboratory, clinical, or epidemiological in nature.

St. Baldrick's Scholars

The three (3) year Scholar (Career Development) Award, with an option for two (2) additional years based on progress, is meant to help develop the independent research of highly qualified individuals still early in their careers.

Internal Deadline: November 5, 2025, 4:45pm

Funder's LOI Deadline: December 8, 2025, 5:00pm ET

Institutional Limit: **Three (3) LOIs - one per opportunity and the exception outlined below:

**An additional LOI/application for either the Research Grant or the Scholars Grant (not both) will be accepted only if focused on one of the following: 

• Brain tumors – all types, including rare forms, especially atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT), diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG)/diffuse midline glioma (DMG), and glioblastoma (GBM)
• Burkitt lymphoma – all types, especially sporadic
• Rhabdoid tumors - Extrarenal
  

Required registration coming soon!

Funding Opportunities

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: Innovation Grants

The Foundation supports research studies that will increase our understanding of suicide or test treatments and other interventions that save lives. All AFSP research grants are designed to support research on suicide from a variety of disciplines including psychiatry, medicine, psychology, genetics, epidemiology, neurobiology, sociology, nursing, health services administration, social work, and many others. The following grants are available:

• Distinguished Investigator Innovation Grants
• Standard Research Innovation Grants
• Early Career Researcher Innovation Grants
• Postdoctoral Research Innovation Grants
• Pilot Innovation Grants
  

Applications Due: November 15, 2025

National Geographic Society: The Future of Learning

NGS aims to support projects or research that aim to cultivate learners of any age with the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to take action in ways that benefit the planet and its people. Projects will be supported that advance knowledge about how to spark curiosity and inspire learners of all ages to care for and protect our world; pilot new, or scale proven, educational solutions; enable learners to acquire new knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes that help them care for and protect our world; and use interdisciplinary approaches. Programmatic and research efforts are supported.

Applications Due: November 19, 2025, 11:59pm ET

The Water Research Foundation: Balancing Water Distribution System Flow Capacity and Water Quality for Fire and Natural Disasters

Balancing storage and transmission capacity with water quality in water distribution systems is a critical challenge, especially in the context of fire protection and an increasing range of natural disasters. This opportunity focuses on balancing water distribution system capacity for fire and disaster response while maintaining water quality. It aims to assess infrastructure impacts, analyze trade-offs, develop design strategies, and provide planning recommendations to enhance resilience, public health, and effective communication in diverse community settings.

Proposals Due: November 20, 2025, 3:00pm MT

Alzheimer's Association: Zenith Fellows Award Program

The objective of the Zenith Fellows Awards competition is to provide funding support for investigators who

• have contributed significantly to the dementia science field – Alzheimer’s and all other dementia research.
• have contributed significantly to neuroscience breakthroughs that have informed our broader understanding of Alzheimer's and other dementias.
• are likely to make substantial contributions in the future.

The proposed research should address fundamental problems related to early detection, etiology, pathogenesis, treatment, or prevention of AD/ADRD. The Foundation seeks proposals at the cutting edge of basic science or biomedicine that may challenge prevailing orthodoxy or not conform to traditional funding mechanisms, but which promise a sustained and positive impact on the future of AD/ADRD research.

LOIs Due: December 1, 2025, 5:00pm ET

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers: New Investigator Award

The ASHRAE New Investigator Award (NIA) assists new university faculty members to develop research capabilities in HVAC&R related fields.  The purpose of the award is to:

1) Enhance the academic careers of recent Ph.D. recipients by providing support for research activities.

2) Promote research related to ASHRAE goals in universities and colleges.

3) Promote educational efforts related to the goals of ASHRAE in universities and colleges.

Nominations Due: December 1, 2025

FDA: Laboratory Flexible Funding Model (LFFM)

This cooperative agreement is intended to enhance the capacity and capabilities of state human and animal food testing laboratories in support of an integrated food safety systems. This is achieved through prioritized sample testing and food defense preparedness in the areas of microbiology, chemistry, and radiochemistry, as well as method development and capacity/capability development projects that support and expand food safety and food defense testing.

This project will strengthen and improve FDA’s efforts to prevent foodborne illnesses and minimize foodborne exposures through building a nationally integrated laboratory science system and equip our partner laboratories with additional resources that can be employed to build and increase sample throughput capacity within their state

Applications Due: January 12, 2026, 5:00pm CT

Important Updates

AU Libraries Open Access Week

October 20 - 26, 2025

Open Access (OA) refers to free and immediate digital access to the results of scholarly research. Publishing open access allows you to boost your research impact while also fulfilling federal funding mandates. Join AU Libraries during Open Access Week to learn about the benefits of OA and hear about the different options for making your work more open and discoverable.

Check out and register for workshops here.

Hanover Research Webinars

Engaging Non-specialist Audiences in Grantwriting

Thursday, October 30, 2025

11:00am CT

Grant proposals are often sophisticated, scientifically rich documents; however, review panels frequently include non-specialists.This session will dive into how best to engage non-specialist audiences in grant proposals, allowing researchers to communicate the importance of the work without alienating non-subject matter experts.

Register Here.

• Upcoming Webinars in 2025
• Recently posted to the archives: Cultivating Relationships with Foundations

2026 Southeast Regional Clinical and Translational Science Conference
March 11-13, 2026
Callaway Gardens, GA

Join fellow CCTS partners and researchers from across the region to present the best new health-related preclinical, clinical, implementation, and population-based research and build collaborative relationships.

Register Here.

Submit Your Abstract by November 10, 2025.

Hanover Research Queue Proposal Review Availability

Slots available after December 8

Auburn University has partnered with Hanover Research for a number of grant development solutions including Pre-proposal Support; Proposal Development; and Capacity Building. Hanover's full-service grant development solutions are available to set goals, build strategies to achieve key grant-seeking objectives, and develop grant proposals that are well-planned, researched, and written. 

For information regarding Hanover’s core capabilities and project timelines, click here. If you are interested in a slot in the queue, please e-mail Tony Ventimiglia.

Council on Government Relations (COGR) Resource Page

This resource page offers continually updated information concerning the 2025 Administration Transition in regards to federal funding.

Hanover GLC Modules for NIH, NSF-CAREER & Grant Development

The Hanover Research Grants Learning Center (GLC) on-demand grant development training portal offers faculty enrollees the unique opportunity to receive targeted training through self-paced, interactive modules with step-by-step guidance and templates for prospective applicants to develop compelling proposals. In addition to NIH and NSF-CAREER modules, AU faculty now have access to a variety of new modules on grant seeking, development and revisions.

Auburn faculty interested in signing up for this training should contact Christine Cline for registration information.

Free CITI Training Modules

Auburn subscribes to several training modules via the CITI Program website that may be of interest to researchers and research administrators. Each module is self-paced and can be finished in one or multiple sessions. Click on the link above to read descriptions.



• Essentials of Grant Proposal Development
• Essentials of Research Administration

Adobe Creative Cloud for Researchers 

All AU employees now have full free access to Adobe Creative Cloud resources, and AU Libraries offers several tutorials on the I&RC Instructional Content page researchers will find helpful for creating schematics within proposals and publications. These include the Adobe Creative Cloud for Researchers and the recently posted video Photoshop for Researchers which shows how to 1) set up or resize an image for 300 dpi (the usual requirement for article submissions & grant applications), 2) create a labeled graphic, and 3) export images and graphics for submissions.

The federal funding landscape is changing daily, necessitating extra due diligence on the part of funding seekers. When perusing a solicitation, 1) make sure you are viewing the latest version, 2) read all notes in the headers and margins, and 3) follow provided links to ensure a solicitation is still active and accepting applications.